[Editor’s Note: This is part 1 of 2. Part 2 will appear tomorrow.]
Lost in the discussion of all the amazing technology used in healthcare today is a topic that is very important to Robert Slepin: change management.
Slepin knows a thing or two about change management. In his role as CIO emeritus advisor to electronic health records giant Epic, he continually helps healthcare chief information officers across the country transform their health IT setups.
There are only about a dozen of these contractors, available at the request of Epic supplier customers who need strategic consulting or temporary operational support from someone with deep experience on planning, implementing, and maintaining the Epic EHR system.
Slepin – who has served as chief information officer or other top IT roles at health systems such as Johns Hopkins Medicine International, Sutter Health, John C. Lincoln Health Network in Arizona, University Health Network in Toronto and AxisPoint Health in Colorado – enjoy helping other healthcare leaders manage operational challenges and optimize EHRs. And how to manage change – which he is there to do.
We sat down with Slepin to dig deeper into change management, a topic he says is important for more health IT leaders to better appreciate and understand.
Q. Why do you believe change management is an important topic in healthcare today?
ONE. According to the American College of Healthcare Executives, clinical workforce shortages and burnout, increased costs and reduced reimbursement and capacity to care for patients with behavioral health/addictions issues – here are the top issues facing US hospitals.
Faced with powerful headwinds, leading healthcare managers are aiming to achieve better results and accelerate time to impact, which often requires changes in the way work is done. work and technology support. While there is no magic wand to speed up progress, in my experience, you can significantly improve the results of your healthcare transformation initiative by intentionally focusing and Disciplined approach to change management.
Conversely, not being thoughtful and effective in leading change can hinder your efforts or negatively impact the results, possibly even causing disaster. “Most organizational change initiatives either fail spectacularly (in the worst cases) or deliver results,” said John Kotter, professor emeritus of leadership at Harvard Business School. not very positive (in the best case).
In the healthcare sector, research shows that “nearly two-thirds of change projects fail for a variety of reasons, such as poor planning, unmotivated staff, deficient communication or widespread changes”. Because change often does not result in desired improvements in the operating conditions or performance of healthcare organizations, achieving the most value from a change initiative is arguably requires an effective approach to leading change.
Ask. In your experience, what is the best leadership approach to be adopted and engaged when it comes to new technology?
ONE. Positive and clear leadership is vital. In my experience, a key factor in success in maximizing participation in projects and adopting changes is the role modeling of leaders. This includes clearly and continuously communicating the new direction, executing throughout the project and setting an example for others to follow.
The simple approach of barking orders from the corner office and asking others to “let me know when it’s done” won’t work. When people see their senior leadership behave in alignment with the vision, invest time and energy, and actively participate in planning, design, and implementation, they will pay attention.
When leaders get involved and take the time to discuss changes with their respective teams early in an initiative, those affected by the program will be aware that change is happening. . Over time, interest and excitement will build. Finally, through education and training, users will develop a basic knowledge base about changes in policies, roles, workflows and technology as well as the reasons for the changes there.
Once the new technology goes live, the workforce will continue to learn, adapt and enhance their skills, knowledge and confidence in the new systems and work processes – underpinned by change supports delivered not only after the project go-live milestone but also ongoing, supporting sustainability and enabling continuous improvement.
In addition to being clear and realistic, the best leaders I have worked with also demonstrate a positive style; for example, they are authentic, coachable, transformative, engaging, and compassionate. They eliminate fear and build trust, while inspiring, educating, coaching and supporting people working together toward a common, long-term goal.
On the other hand, leaders who are less effective at mobilizing people to participate and accept change tend to be negative, authoritarian, transactional, bureaucratic, or laissez-faire.
According to John Kotter, an example of a less effective leadership style is one that views a program as a “burning platform” that stimulates “fear-driven momentum.” Focusing on fear to motivate the group encourages some initial action but increases discomfort and anxiety, which increases the difficulty for people to speak up, stand up, and take the necessary actions. needed to promote change.
Human psychology is one reason why positive leadership styles work best, especially in healthcare because it is a business of caring for people and caring with particular complexity. social and technical. Many daily decisions and actions can really affect a person’s health and life.
Caregivers put patient safety first, do no harm, and are motivated to do what is best for their patients; they are not inspired by managers telling them what to do, especially when management directives seem contrary to the patient’s (or caregiver’s) best interests.
Ask. In your opinion, what are the important components of a change management initiative? What should CIOs do?
ONE. In health IT, a change management initiative can be a project or program, which is a collection of related projects that have a significant impact on the organization, including employees and patients, Aim to change for the better. The scope could be electronic health record implementation, enterprise resource planning, clinical information systems, digital health, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and/or other technologies .
There are many factors that contribute to the success of a change initiative. I’ll talk to some of the most important components, in my experience.
Clear sponsorship. A change initiative will have the best chance of success if it is critically important to the organization and has clear sponsorship. The initiative should address a key weakness, such as workforce burnout or reduced reimbursement levels, or a strategic opportunity, such as improving safety, quality, experience or patient equity and the case for change must be extremely clear and communicated repeatedly throughout the organization.
To set the tone and signal the importance of the initiative, the project needs one or more executive sponsors who support the cause. One of the sponsors should usually be the CIO because most change initiatives have a major information and technology component.
Encourage participation. The right to participate in change initiatives. A related concept is inclusion. Leaders use their change superpowers when they create an inclusive environment where people feel they belong and are encouraged to participate in something bigger than themselves. Most people feel comfortable being part of a group. Being involved and participating in group activities not only benefits people but also organizations working towards innovation and transformation.
Here are three tips on engagement as a tool to lead change:
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Include everyone. Anyone who impacts or is affected by change should get involved. Let people take it at their own risk.
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Start early. Involvement means more than participating in follow-up activities such as training or operations. It should start much earlier, ideally at the problem identification and solution ideation stage.
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Be curious and humble. If you believe you have all the answers and are attracting people to participate as a technique to manipulate them, then you are being dishonest and there is a high risk that people will not participate. Instead, be truly open and curious. Ask lots of questions, listen attentively and be open to adjusting your perspective and make decisions in collaboration with others informed by evidence and different perspectives.
Persuasive communication. Communication is a key aspect of a leader’s role during the implementation of a transformation initiative. Leaders must see and be able to clearly articulate what success looks like, framed in a positive light, and adopt a can-do attitude while remaining realistic, honest, and straightforward in their actions. the consideration and discussion of the challenges, issues and risks inherent in a complex change programme. .
Some examples of excellent communication and change leadership include celebrating important milestones, for example: launch, complete design, complete construction, complete testing and go live :
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Participate in major project events. Invite project leaders, provide guidance, acknowledge progress, express thanks, and ask “How can we help” at senior executive meetings.
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Occasionally visit project advisory and steering committee meetings to observe and show support. Give inspirational introductions or closing remarks at project team all-staff meetings, especially saying “thank you” to teams for their efforts and “congrats” for their achievements. their achievements.
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Meet and talk with team members and subject matter experts one-on-one and in small groups, ask insightful questions, listen attentively, and respond with humility, curiosity, and encouragement .
Here are three ideas for using persuasive communication as a tool to lead change:
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Be intentional. When deciding what to say, choose your words wisely because they are important.
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Be consistent. From day to day, week to week, message to message, be consistent. Repeat. Consolidate. Consistency and repetition are more likely to cut through conversational clutter and get your message across, understood and acted upon; risks of inconsistency and lack of exposure include inattention and poor reliability.
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Get help. Perhaps most importantly, don’t go alone. Work with professional media partners. They are experts. You need all the help you can get. Change is really difficult. Make things easier with professional contact support.
When people making changes and being impacted by those changes hear and see the inspiring words and actions of leaders, they are more likely to follow the direction, volunteering to participate. and feel safe to speak up, take action, and go beyond your comfort zone. to help the organization progress towards its ambitious goals.
[Editor’s Note: To be continued tomorrow.]
