BOSTON – John Halamka, CIO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston – and also of Harvard Medical School – is used to juggling projects. But for his newest endeavor, connecting 300 physician practices affiliated with Beth Israel,  he decided to get some outside help.

The Beth Israel Physicians Organization is working in tandem with the Beth Israel Medical Center to connect an initial 300 physician practices scattered in disparate locations around Massachusetts and New England.

Halamka says more practices can come on board after the initial 300 are up and running.

The pilot is in the design stage and is slated for rollout in April.

The 300 practices are made up of what Halamka calls “non-owned physicians.” They are affiliated with Beth Israel, but not part of the hospital staff.

Beth Israel Deaconess has never before outsourced an IT project, Halamka said. There are significant challenges in rolling out EHR applications, he indicated, particularly when the clinicians are non-owned and not located within the confines of the hospital itself.

Supporting these physician offices is not the hospital’s forte, he added.

So, instead of trying to support these practices himself, he assembled a team that includes: