Healthcare IT & Transformation

Calm before the Storm - change management post implementation

Project managers and their teams often put their hearts and souls into successful implementations. The project peaks from their perspective on go live day or a few critical days prior. Everyone works crazy hours… stress is high…. tolerance for human error is low. Its just the way it is. The larger the project the higher the peak. Good project managers and directors do their best to keep the peak optimal and aid to release tension. Food is always the great equalizer and a good sense of humor during the most stressful moments is key. Remember everyone is just human and the world won’t really end if the project is delayed.
 
Once go live is achieved a celebration must be had with a critical look at the project lessons learned planned for the future. Often unanticipated in the world of healthcare project management is the two week post implementation spike. We all prepare for the implementation support 24×7 for several weeks but we don’t always prepare for what comes later. Issues are not always evident at go live. Sadly, just as the project team is coming down from their high only to be overcome with physical and mental exhaustion, the number of issues starts increasing exponentially.

Why does this happen particularly so in healthcare?

   
• Clinicians are busy and costly resources so they simply weren’t engaged enough.

 

• Healthcare has many complicated workflows and budgets are usually tight so testing depth and breadth usually suffers.

 

• Healthcare organizations often have siloed departments that can lead to missed requirements if engagement wasn’t comprehensive enough.

 

• Operational departments often resist taking on their roles with a new system they barely understand.

   

If we get the two week post implementation spike does that mean the project was unsuccessful?

I don’t think so but I do think project leaders can prepare for the likihood of a spike. What you need is a fresh team. Fresh eyes that haven’t been through the project peak. Perhaps this team of change management resources could have been involved in the project earlier so they understand how things should be working but they definitely should be distinct from the core project team at implementation. As things wind down on the project this team of people can help evaluate issues, manage their resolution and facilitate the transition to operations. New systems like new anything evoke fear in people. Users need hands on time with new systems to gain comfort and achieve ownership. It takes time and we always ask users to do this activity faster than they want to. IT is not immune to this resistance either. If the IT support staff haven’t been involved with the implementation the transition will be harder to achieve quickly.

Don’t assume you will be immune from this syndrome. Prepare, prepare, prepare. You’ll thank me for it!

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