Things can go wrong without the right equipment in place
I recently read an article that tried to explain the cost overrun experienced by a hospital during the launch of its new EMR. The article was clear about what caused the overflow, but failed to communicate why the decision that created the cause was made.
In many hospitals, emotions can rise due to attitudes of resistance to change. The pressures and stress associated with start-up can be challenging for management; however, allowing those forces to affect decision-making can have long-lasting adverse financial effects. When all the planning, budgeting, constraints, and common sense that need to be applied are set aside, you can almost always expect the worst. Appeasement may seem like the right thing to do for stress relief, but it may not be the best thing to do. Sticking to the plan and staying on budget should always be the guiding factor driving decisions, even when the pressure is great.
It’s unfortunate, but some decisions are based on issues that may not exist at all, but are only perceived on the basis of excessive negativity. Having an experienced team that can help you make fact-based decisions is vital.
Negotiation skills pay off!
When doing logistics, treat it like your money
Getting one of the best hotels in town to offer you the lowest rate with great concessions is great. In this arrangement, the hotel managed the flight itineraries and provided transportation to and from the airport. They provided a large conference room for orientation and then surprised us on the contract with a complimentary welcome reception for 120 guests with strong hors d’oeuvres. Two fifty-six-seat luxury buses and various transportation services were provided to transport the consultants to the training facilities and vice versa. They also agreed to use their shuttles to take consultants who worked within a two-mile radius of the hotel to work and back every day. Everything mentioned above was in the room rate $ 105.09 with taxes. Note that this took a heavy burden off the consulting company and the savings were transferred to the hospital.
When a hospital hires a consulting firm, that consulting firm should do everything possible to save money, not waste money. Creating a positive cost variance (CV) indicates that the consulting firm is indeed on your team. Bargaining for the best price is good, but getting the highest value for the lowest price is better.
The consultants saved the day!
Good consultants can make the difference between success and failure
I sat in an auditorium with more than three hundred consultants when the speaker invited the senior manager of implementation projects to the podium. “Dr. So-and-So has overseen the implementation of EMR for more than nineteen hospitals, please give him a round of applause.” Wow, nineteen projects is awesome. However, it turned out to be a challenging project in many areas, but mainly with significant workflow issues.
Although it is unclear why this happens, it is clear that the leadership was out of touch. Finding someone with excellent qualifications can be attractive to any hospital, but having someone with the perspective who can eliminate problems before they exist is priceless. I’m not sure why this project manager didn’t know this.
Fortunately for everyone, the consultants came with the experience and knowledge to handle these types of problems. Jumping into action and building on past experiences, they began the process of educating staff and leadership on what works. This startup would never have survived without the tremendous efforts of the consultant.
