Hi fellow CMIOs, CNIOs, #HealthIT, and #Informatics leaders and friends,
Change is important. As a clinical leader, you'll want to know how to make workflow changes, either to help fix a workflow that's not ideal, update a workflow that needs updating, or build a new workflow. (As long as there are new journal articles and conferences, there will be necessary updates to clinical practice to stay current.)
So this week, I thought I'd write about a topic that can help a clinical leader to feel comfortable with making changes in their area:
"How to get from Point A to Point B"
I once alluded to a problem with making changes back in 2016, when I blogged about the Red Sneaker Problem - And How To Fix It. To help avoid frustration for you and your team, it's helpful to understand 'How does anything change?'. Without understanding the change process, it can be hard to make change.
Although clinical leaders often need to focus primarily on clinical services, functions, and expertise - it's still helpful to know the basics about two important things, related to 'how things get done' :
- Project Intake / Scoping - Helps you secure necessary people, time, and resources before you start a change project.
- Project Management - Helps you effectively use those people, time, and resources to get things done (accomplish the change)
Without understanding these two steps, it can be very hard to accomplish much change. And without regular, smooth, and predictable changes, clinical leadership can seem more daunting than it needs to be.
So as a brief introduction for new clinical leaders, let's review these two items in a little more detail. Borrowing some slides from a recent presentation I did for a group of clinical leaders, I present some high-level overview below.
1. PROJECT INTAKE / SCOPING -
Making change is work. It takes people, time, and resources, to move your CURRENT state (Point A) to your desired FUTURE state (Point B).
Ideally, to make sure you have the 'gas' needed to drive your 'car' to where you want it to go, you'll first need to understand the scope ('size') of your project. Conceptually, think of this as collectively driving your car (with your team inside it!) from :- Your CURRENT state (Point A)
- Your desired FUTURE state (Point B)
- If you have the time, people, and resources necessary to get from Point A to Point B - Great!
- If you don't... Then you may feel frustrated.
- For small changes (e.g. making some small changes to a documentation template) --> Usually, less rigor is required
- For large changes (e.g. implementing electronic med reconciliation at all transitions of care) --> Much more rigor is required
2. CLINICAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Once you have secured the necessary people, time, and resources, and have the approvals of your leadership to move forward - It's helpful to identify a formal, trained, and experienced project manager to plan, orchestrate, and lead your project. For a high-level overview, you can see the Wikipedia piece : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management
For planning purposes, many experienced project managers might develop a Gantt Chart ( see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart ), a sort of ordered series of steps, with time estimates and dependencies, that will be needed to finish the project and achieve the desired outcome. Similar, but also helpful is a Responsibility Assignment Matrix, sometimes called a RACI Chart.
Experienced clinical leaders, especially those who have worked with good project managers, can often help a project by anticipating steps and helping to answer questions before they arise. While there are different types of project management (from the more traditional waterfall model, to newer agile methodologies), I've stripped down some bare essentials that are helpful to think about before starting any clinical update or improvement project :
As a clinical leader, you will want to help champion change and updated practices. While there is much more to be said about project intake, scoping, planning, and execution, I hope this little introduction will help my friends in clinical leadership see the value of good project managers, and good project planning, and the role they play in getting things done.
Remember, this blog is for educational purposes only - Your mileage may vary. Always ask your local Project Management and Clinical Informatics professionals for guidance, and work closely with your clinical leadership to review, prioritize, and approve your projects before initiating any changes.
Have any stories to share about clinical leadership in supporting clinical projects? Have any tips or tricks to share from your own clinical project management experiences? Feel free to leave them in the comments section below!
No comments:
Post a Comment