Wright Consulting

Starting out on the “right foot” is imperative for healthcare organizations to succeed - when commencing a major project.  Let’s keep in mind that with the HiTech Act - that the projects facing healthcare organizations are larger in scope and size than they have probably ever dealt with previously. TWO key stepping stones for a successful beginning are characterized with the following titles - “Everybody needs a voice” and “Everybody needs a little education”.  What is vital for the project success is to allow for each group within the organization to VOICE their existing/ongoing needs and understand how they can benefit from the prioritized project that is commencing. You are in effect giving the leaders of the organization an update on the business & technology strategy plan.  Hopefully, there is a plan - if not, its time to formulate one - or you will be faced with the continual naysayers in pivotal positions constantly undermining efforts because they do not understand the big picture and how their needs will be addressed.  Once the VOICE has been heard, documented, and responded to - its time for EDUCATION. Very few leaders of healthcare organizations realize the importance of their stake holder roles and need to have a brief course in project management - how it will impact them, their teams.  Its about leadership and accountability and it starts at the top.  Somebody, very credible, needs to deliver this message and make sure that it gets heard. The education should entail some measurement and escalation practices.  I have executed these two steps during numerous successful engagements - let me know if I can be of further help.

Rarely, in a healthcare acquisition due diligence effort will the technology findings materially impact the final decision, but they can certainly help once the deal is completed - if the technology due diligence effort is comprehensive - not just counting servers and establishing financial application risks!  A thorough evaluation would acknowledge what business systems need to be enhanced to maximize efficiencies and improve growth.   The analysis should include the infrastructure and implementation costs of the new systems, as well.  Upon close, immediate  execution of those findings could help the new owner’s recognize their financial expectations - perhaps even in a shorter time frame than projected.

Many healthcare organizations have minimized their information technology “spend” over the past decade to simply cover the basics.  Technology has not really been viewed by executives as a potential business revenue differientator. Now,  with the movement towards quality measures, electronic medical records, transparency and business intelligence requirements a greater investment in technology is being considered by many.  I would advise executive teams to seek out a proven process and subject matter expertise  from both a business and technology perspective and devise a “roadmap”, ” strategy”, “architecture”, “gameplan” that considers all priorities and  associated weights.   Do not let projects commence individually within your organization - they need to “fit” into a longterm plan to reap maximum benefits.

The caution “Yellow” light items that CEO’s need to observe when pursuing an EMR system implementation fall into 2 major categories Project management and Change management - which are typical high risk processes for any major project. ” YELLOW LIGHTS”  include:

1. Clear scope - precise definition of what the company expects as results/deliverables/return on investment.

2. Implementation investment - the hardware/software component is straightforward, but the resource and revenue impacts need to be carefully analyzed.  Supplemental resources may be helpful, but insure a defined transition plan for knowledge and skill to internal employees.

3. Integration of current systems and processes - if the existing clinical and operational processes and  systems are not carefully considered as to how they “fit in” the newly defined EMR system negative impacts to staff,  patients and revenue may result.  System security and process credibility are imperative to insure.

4.  Accountability - the decision making and execution process  needs to have executive sponsorship both from a management and clinical perspective.  Physician buy-in is pivotal to the overall success.

5.  Communication Planning - a communication plan needs to be outlined and managed by the project team to insure roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and understood.  A process for all corporate team members and stakeholders  to share thoughts and ideas needs to be defined.  Project milestones  and issues need to be made public internally.  This level of communication is essential for the project team  morale and ultimate successful project completion.

Several of these concepts are further discussed in this month’s issue of Healthcare Executive a periodical published by ache.org

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