Making sense of change(s) in Healthcare
"$400 Million"
"$85 Million"
"$43 Million" costs that need to be taken out of the Healthcare system.
The challenges in healthcare are by now well-known and well documented. The healthcare business model is flipping to an outcome focus with a stress on revenue and margins. Patients have expectations as do the providers in an outcome driven world. The interactions with patients is evolving from episodic to one of a consumer of healthcare services.A profound change that has impacts to strategy, structures, systems, process and people.
To focus outcomes the healthcare system needs a broader access to patients- the perimeter of the hospital shifts to where the patient lives.
Most healthcare compensation systems such as value based purchasing are now biased towards quality, safety and patient experience.
Brand image and patient experience become competitive differentiators providing comparative advantages. An acute hospital in Florida was able to attract patients from its competitor by leveraging capabilities enabled through technologies focused on patient and family experience.
With shrinking reimbursements and payments tied to outcomes there is an increased focus on conserving CAPEX and OPEX as well as drive operational efficiencies.
At the same time, there is a need to retain and attract the best talent and providers have to look to create better workplaces for the workforce.
Buying decisions no longer rest with IT. As in other verticals buying centers have shifted to the Business. There are competing priorities for investments. Portfolio investment decisions are determined by business use cases, value drivers, process improvement and operational efficiencies initiatives.
"We are not getting a bang for the buck" a refrain heard often in healthcare systems. There is no shortage of technology- in fact many a hospital system has bought competing technologies- lying underutilized.
The issue is not one of technology, the issue is one of a solution. Technology has not seamlessly integrated into the work process.
It all starts with the process:
Assess existing clinical process and the teams involved
Identify lean waste in the process
Identify key issues of communication, collaboration, coordination and synchronization of activities
Identify all events and notifications that are passive and open loop in nature
Based on the above identify all use cases that can leverage a solution to mitigate the issues.
Prioritize the use cases and identify the systemic integration needed to make the technology seamless into the process.
Understand the economics of buying, implementing and using the solution as well as the value they bring to the work process and operations
Identify the change management needed to train the staff to the changed process and the solution.
A large part of my practice has been focused on the process aspects. At a major hospital system, we identified several use cases for solutions that had already been procured but heavily under-utilized.
While the nature of the problems are similar each system is unique. My team and I have engaged with major healthcare systems around the world in the US, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia and the Middle East- where our engagement focuses the business and operational challenges to:
- Transforming Patient experience
- Transforming workforce experience
- Workflows to improve patient flows and drive operational efficiencies
- Digital healthcare strategies