- Do your leadership and operations teams feel unprepared to go live, or do they think their voices have not been heard?
- Are your providers unhappy? Do they feel like they are spending too much time charting, or are they unsure how to complete their workflows?
- Maybe your finance department is frustrated by the lack of understanding of how clinical workflows impact payment outcomes.
Do any of these sound familiar? These questions can indicate a gap in where you are today and where you want to be when your Epic project launches. The bridge to cover that gap is proactive and intentional change management programs and planning. Strong focus on change management and readiness programs before go-live can impact your project’s ultimate success and the engagement of your organization.
Your staff and change management
Change management for an Epic implementation or optimization project is about preparing users and operators for the changes that will come with the installation. That is, proactive planning and communication to improve outcomes and engagement of your most important resources: your staff. Efforts that go into great build, design, and training can be compromised if you have not spent the time truly preparing your organization for the coming changes. Involve users in the process to help drive adoption of the new product’s best practices.
Develop a change management plan that covers four major user groups and their concerns:
Role
|
Concerns
|
Change Management activities to bridge the gap:
|
Positive outcomes
|
CLINICIANS
|
- Concerned about spending too much time charting
- Concerned about new processes eroding focused time from patient care
- Uncertain about new workflows and where to find the information they need in the system
|
Readiness Programs to prepare clinicians in…
- Workflow and tools review
- System training
- Readiness Assessments
- User preferences and usability labs
- Policy review
- Agile governance
|
- Confidence in workflows and tools
- Time savings through completion of tasks more efficiently
- Additional time to focus on patient care
- Enhanced patient care and communication
|
FINANCE
|
- Uncertain on how clinical workflows and documentation affect payment outcomes
- Looking for opportunities to minimize manual work and back end clean-up
|
Readiness Programs to prepare users in…
- Transition to new workflows and tools (work queue based)
- System training
- Readiness assessments
- Ownership and accountability for future metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs)
- Policy review
- Agile governance
|
- Confidence in expected income and the accountability to ensure success
- Enhanced communication and partnership with clinical operations and finance
|
LEADERSHIP
|
- Apprehensive of how staff will respond to the change and the impact on patient satisfaction
- Unsure if their voices have been heard in the system design, goals and project vision
|
- Involvement in both the clinical and administrative readiness programs
- Partnership with communications throughout the install
- Key players in the selection, monitoring and ownership of KPIs
|
- Project meets strategic goals and mission
- Efficiency is improving with enhanced visibility and accountability
- Clinicians are well prepared and empowered by new tools and information at their fingertips
- Patients are well cared for and satisfied
|
STAFF
|
- Concerned about an increase in complex or time-consuming system tasks and its impact on patient interactions
- Unsure on how future EPR will accomplish former paper processes
|
- Careful selection of subject matter experts and leaders
- Thoughtful goals and future state planning
- Intentional involvement in communications
- Solid training programs
|
- Clear training leads to time savings and job enjoyment
- Measurable outcomes and goals
- Communication improves as work is no longer siloed by user groups
- Patient care improves with more accurate and timely data available to staff users
|
A change management Lead, someone focused on change management with knowledge of operations at your organization, can help build your program to meet the needs of each unique area. There are many considerations such as:
- Your staff and their goals/needs: Who your subject matter experts are, who your staff program leaders will be, and what the program's goals should be based on their needs.
- Policy Review and Updates: How will policy review work? Who will do the review, and how long will it take? How will changes be governed, updated and implemented?
- Solid training programs: How will training work? Who is leading it? Is the physical space ready, wired and set up? Is it virtual? How are you tracking your user’s requirements and proficiencies?
- Communication Planning: How will communication be handled throughout the project, for the team and for end users? How is marketing involved?
- Readiness and Accountability Programs: What is your plan for ongoing workflow review, education, planning and readiness assessments with your operational teams? How will you build accountability with your program leaders and ultimately measure your success?
At CereCore, we are healthcare operators who have seen the impact of strong change management initiatives. We understand concerns and questions that come from your staff from clinical, IT, and revenue perspectives, and we know organizations with well-prepared staff can truly take advantage of the Epic system and use its capabilities meaningfully. A change management program customized for your service offerings and your staff’s skill mix will serve your organization well as you navigate your Epic initiatives. We can help you use the resources developed by Epic, apply specific understanding of your organization’s goals, and develop a change management plan that’s made for your implementation journey.
