Some medical IT leaders at supply organizations favor in-house software development, believing that purchasing technology from an external vendor is not cost-effective and will only lead to down time. longer. Meanwhile, many vendor executives, of course, believe that their software products offer powerful and sophisticated capabilities that a homegrown build may not be able to do. .
The study was published in Harvard Business Review showed that in a sample of 1,471 IT projects, there were 200% over cost as well as nearly 70% over schedule. These numbers indicate that one in six projects is out of control and further contributes to an organization’s higher risk and lower ROI. Additionally, others warn of the “do-it-yourself software trap,” claiming that indoor constructions often lack longevity.
Ashish Kachru is the CEO of DataLink, a technology and services provider of real-time data aggregation, EHR connectivity, dashboards and dynamic reporting. We interviewed him to discuss the pros and cons of using external vendors for organizational software, including how vendors are equipped to enable growth and functionality. The healthcare industry is changing rapidly.
Q. Buy versus build is an age-old question for CIOs and other health IT leaders at healthcare delivery organizations. What are the pros and cons of buying, and what are the pros and cons of building?
ONE. There are many advantages to buying. For starters, it allows the organization to stick to its core mission of taking care of its members/patients and improving outcomes. A large internal software project will require many internal resources involved in discovering, planning, testing, and deploying the software, time-consuming activities that often divert attention from the role of their core roles and responsibilities.
The increasing complexity of technology in today’s market makes it more difficult for an independent healthcare organization to build a next-generation solution with the latest technology and tools.
This challenge requires cross-functional skills and talent, which is hard to find and expensive in today’s economy, where all stakeholders are jostling for resources.
In addition, these types of human resources tend to turn to innovative software vendors that are leading the way. They want to work with the latest technology with multiple companies so they can continue to grow and learn, making it harder for internal teams to recruit this top talent.
Vendors also focus on a wide range of organizations across multiple businesses and industries, and are positioned to deliver best practices based on their experience outside the four walls of the internal team. the set.
Much faster time to market with vendor solutions, rather than building in-house. While most vendors today have offsite solutions that can very quickly serve a payer or vendor’s needs, these solutions also allow customization to meet specific needs. their bodies. The result: payers and providers get the best of both worlds.
But buying also has its cons. A healthcare organization needs to be willing to work within a solution provider framework to be able to influence change in product. This may require a responsive approach on the part of the payer/vendor and the flexibility to always be open to a new way of operating to get the change they want.
If there are some very custom aspects of how the plan/provider manages its members, the solution may not be suitable for that workflow. This may require the healthcare organization to change and adapt its standard solution delivery.
If the organization is expecting too much change at a rapid rate, the solution may not deliver changes in the software at the same pace – unless it can be managed with in-built configuration capabilities. soft.
For indoor construction, there are advantages here. You can create a more customized version that meets your workflow needs for managing your members and activities.
You can make changes faster during your home build, though that doesn’t mean you’ll finish the final product faster. You may feel more in control of your destiny than working in a matrix fashion with one supplier.
And if there is some proprietary process or aspect of work in your plan, it will allow you to keep it in-house.
The downsides of building in-house include the fact that you can easily get distracted from your core duties when focusing on building. It will be difficult to focus on member outcomes and build a world-class software solution at the same time.
Time: It will usually take longer than you planned to complete. You will not benefit from the best practices of solution vendors and their other customers in the industry. Simply put: You will be on an island.
Q. What reasons support your view that healthcare delivery organizations should buy software rather than build it?
ONE. Healthcare is difficult and complex. Internal teams know their organizations well, but they are not always up to date with the latest trends and industry complexities around business, regulatory, data, clinical practice, financial dynamics and consumption trends.
It’s easy to underestimate the amount of knowledge required to build a successful tool and stay up to date with changes that will affect workflow, reporting, etc. Having a service provider is also important. Your cooperation in this endeavor is very important. They do the heavy lifting for you so you can focus on running your organization and helping achieve better health outcomes.
Q. Do you think healthcare providers buy software? equipped to enable growth and functionality in a rapidly changing industry. Please explain how.
ONE. Often, home-run programs are just a mixture of manual workarounds to correct an ever-increasing range of defects. As a result, employees waste valuable time, introduce manual errors into the workflow, and can eventually destabilize software programs. Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of customers and members, who ultimately bear the brunt of this approach.
In contrast, professionals with the experience and expertise create highly configurable, scalable and flexible solutions for an organization’s needs. Today’s healthcare software programs are built at scale so that organizations can easily add new lines of business, new markets, or thousands of new members.
Features and functionality that you may not need in the first place can be enabled or customized as needed, allowing you to grow and scale much faster. With a homegrown system, you may be forced to go back to the drawing board and assess what it takes to grow.
This requires time and even more money than a tool with a strong roadmap that always looks ahead and builds the new functionality needed for the future.
Q. Please discuss an example of one of the healthcare providers you helped buy medical IT and how they did it better than if they built the same technology themselves. .
ONE. A national payer has partnered with DataLink to help them join their network of providers in a value-based contract environment. To manage hundreds of supplier groups, customers have deployed the Evoke360 Platform for them to improve quality performance and optimize risk accuracy.
This initiative aims to promote data sharing between payers and their provider networks, assist providers in clinical decision making, and improve patient care and outcomes.
With our roots and expertise in supplier organizations, we are able to understand their workflow and how suppliers enter into risk-based contracts. Not only can we provide software for our paying customers and their vendors to collaborate on, but we can also bring experiences and best practices to their businesses.
Internal software developers could have built a tool to track some of their internal workflow, but they don’t have all the experience needed on the vendor side to make sure successful application of tools and processes.
DataLink worked with an independent consultant, FTI Consulting, to research this client and its impact, and determine that they are getting an ROI of 5:1, making it worthwhile to invest in one. providing outside service is well worth it.
Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT
Email the writer: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.
