Nayan Patel, chief information officer at Upson Regional Medical Center, sat down with Phil Sobol, chief commercial officer and host of The CereCore Podcast, and shared how he has fine-tuned an approach to working with key business stakeholders in a way that helps IT and healthcare operators better understand and communicate with each other.
Earning trust and establishing relationships with healthcare operations and clinical leaders is a first step in healthcare IT leaders being included in strategic planning discussions and decisions. How does a HIT leader resolve the disconnect that often seems present between IT and the business?
The heart of the solution begins with transparent and consistent communication.
Stream the episode for the full conversation.
Here are several practical takeaways to consider from Patel’s conversation on the podcast.
1. Create transparency about IT initiatives.
From semiconductors to hospitals, Nayan Patel is a leader who looks for opportunities to combine his aptitude for technology with giving back to others. After he had been with Upson Regional Medical Center only a few months, he began documenting what IT was working on and sharing it with the organization. In being transparent about technology priorities, it opened doors for conversations with stakeholders and clinicians about ways they could work together to improve operations.
“Be transparent about what you're working on and then help the business prioritize," said Patel.
They worked to formalize IT steering committee meetings and discussions about the overall project portfolio. Collaborative discussions during those meetings were key in understanding ownership and priorities. "If the business is appropriately setting priorities, that's going to help us a lot,” said Patel.
A solid discipline around communication allows for better coordination and oversight among key stakeholders and IT leaders. The byproducts of such transparency are often greater trust and respect, broader participation in strategic planning and opportunities for IT to deliver value to the organization.
“Governance is about saying, here's what you're working on and helping you set priorities to make sure you're working on the right things aligned with whatever strategic plan might be in there. It could be a three-year strategic plan, it could be a five-year strategic plan, but you're working on different activities that support a strategic plan,” said Patel.
“Some organizations are fortunate to have true PMOs that can help manage the governance process and have a product management office with multiple PMs. But it doesn't take a lot if you keep the process simple. Have a list of some sort, whatever tool you have.”
Patel concluded that it’s important to show “the business and the top-level leadership here's what we're working on. And, we can do it all, just not all today, right? We have to be good at having the ability to say ‘yes, but not now.’ So, help us figure out what to work on. And then put that in front of them on a regular weekly basis.”
2. Keep your message and method simple. Try a top 10 list.
Patel explained, “Within our organization, we have a top 10 list...some projects need more attention than others. And there's a reason why it's just a top 10 list, because if we just put the top 100 on there, we would never really get a true focus of conversation on a weekly basis.”
Healthcare technology is complicated, but you will gain more ground and build trust when you communicate to your audience the right amount of information in the right manner.
“It was funny. When I started, the top 10 only had two or three IT items on there. Now the running joke is that most of them are ITs. It's okay, because we step in and we either recognize that there is technology impact, or I'll take ownership,” said Patel.
Being ready to communicate with stakeholders means you also need solid communication disciplines within your own IT team. Patel reviews the top 10 list weekly with the admin team, and the day before he meets with IT colleagues to prepare.
“Whatever's on that top 10—I better have an answer for it. Or at least some type of update, even if it says we're not moving along,” explained Patel.
3. Explain how IT initiatives help the business.
Often healthcare IT leaders find themselves in the role of translator. “In a hospital environment, it really is about getting to understand your hospital administrators and service line leaders within the organization. Trying to identify what their needs are, and then translating that into what is the business impact. A lot of it in the hospital system is about patient care and clinical impact,” said Patel.
“Every project you might be involved in is still a business project at the end of the day, and that means you have to explain it in business terms,” said Patel.
Of course, every organization will have things happen that are out of your control, regardless of the environment. Transparency will help quiet the noise and break down silos.
Patel explained that you not only communicate about what you are working on, but also “here's how it impacts your business, and then how can we continue to work together to make those improvements and execute them as best as you can in a timely manner.”
4. Meet regularly with key stakeholders to understand their top needs.
As a leader you need to identify your key stakeholders and begin building trust. One of the best ways to establish rapport is through a regular cadence of one-on-one meetings.
“Anytime you join a new organization, they're going to tell you, here's what I'd like to see improve. And if you just sit there and listen, but don't take any action, then that's where it's really going to fail. But if you come back and say ‘ok, we can't do everything, but here's what I can help you with,’ and then take some action. That's what it's about,” said Patel.
Often healthcare IT leaders are faced with an application inventory that has ballooned over time, applications may overlap in capabilities and perhaps there’s an opportunity to reduce duplication and gain operational improvement.
Patel shared his experience that "different service lines would like to have XYZ application do ABC for us, not knowing that A and B can also be done in some other app application that's out there.”
“We all still need to continue to improve operations and look for the latest technology that is going to keep us up to speed. But there is a lot of technical debt that's out there. And so modernizing IT to help with that application rationalization are the type of things that we need to be aware of. While trying to say, ‘hey, how are we going to do AI today?’” said Patel.
5. Respond appropriately instead of reacting.
Knowing how to respond appropriately when IT issues arise is a much-needed soft skill for healthcare IT professionals.
“I tell the team to try to respond and not react. We live in a very reactive environment. It's hard not to just say, ‘OK, something broke. OK, well, let's just go do this to help.’”
“Well, let's assess it first and then try to respond versus reacting. That's not easy to do,” said Patel.
While we champion ongoing improvement, sometimes it’s just as important to pause and consider your response in a thoughtful manner. Perhaps the better response when troubleshooting problems or talking with someone who is frustrated with a situation is to work to understand the situation and then respond appropriately.
"So transparency and being responsive are the two things that I would definitely say have to bring value to your business.”
“Every business project out there probably has some form of IT in it,” said Patel. “We're always working with the business and businesses working with IT.”
Get advice on how to mitigate the impact of technical debt. Download the ebook: Technical Debt and the Patient