Edward
Hospital Kick-Starts PCM Implementation with Creative Marketing
Strategies
Most of us in
health care can agree that even the best I.T. tools will do
hospitals little good, if clinicians are unwilling to use them.
That's why when Edward Hospital (Naperville, IL) decided to
implement MEDITECH's Physician Care Manager (PCM) product and
Electronic Signature functionality, they also made the decision to
invest time in finding creative ways to market these technologies to
their physicians. The result was an extensive campaign that reached
out to all of Edward's Advance Practice Nurses (APNs), physicians,
and physician managers—effectively securing hospital-wide
clinician support of the organization's strategic goals.
"Getting
the staff involved and vested in I.T. projects is especially
important when you are making a conscious effort to improve patient
care," says Diana Stump, CIO at Edward Hospital. "Having
that shared goal—along with strong leadership, teamwork, and
creativity—is what got us to where we are today."
Physicians and Implementation Team Join Forces for a Common Goal
Edward's buy-in campaign all started with collaboration
between Edward's I.T. Physician Advisory Council and the
Implementation Team. "We agreed that our goal was to let
physicians know we were adopting PCM and e-Sig for a
reason—because it was going to have a significant and positive
effect on their practices," says Stump. "Our next step was
to determine how we could most plainly demonstrate how these
technologies would improve outcomes, enhance patient satisfaction
and safety, as well as eliminate record discrepancies."
The I.T. Physician
Advisory Council met monthly to discuss features, functionality, and
workflow changes. "Our Advanced Practice Nurse was an
invaluable asset on the council, because she was able to bridge the
gap that divided I.T. from physicians," explains Stump.
"Since she knew what physicians needed and wanted to assist
their day-to-day delivery of care, she was able to figure out the
best methods to incorporate I.T. into their workflow practices—and
she educated physicians in a way that suited their individual
styles."
The inpatient
informatics medical director's role was to QC, give feedback, attend
meetings, and answer physician questions, according to Stump.
"The director set the example for our committee members, all of
whom communicated regularly with the various disciplines throughout
the hospital. We were able to keep the lines of communication open,
and explain how PCM could assist specific departments—thus putting
to rest any fears or misconceptions physicians may have had leading
into the implementation process."
The project manager
and implementation team at Edward took the lead in blanketing all of
the physician areas with pro-PCM materials. "We created all of
our own materials, which included product flyers in our medical
staff office, a banner in our parking deck, and looping e-Signature
and PCM tutorials in the physician lounges," says Patti Conlon,
ISS project manager. "Our aim was not just to tell everyone
about our great new I.T. system, but to have them actually see the
care benefits as much as possible."
Aside from their
"grassroots" efforts on the floors, the folks at Edward
devised some other creative communication tools and resources to
keep physicians engaged. "We set up splash pages to advertise
our PCM campaign on our Intranet," adds Conlon. "We also
utilized our 'MD Update'—a quarterly newsletter designed to keep
our physicians up-to-date on our PCM initiative. We made sure
everyone was aware of what our new software could do, and why it
should matter to them."
Classroom
Training and On-going Support Keeps the Project on Track
Working with the I.T. Physician Advisory Council, the
implementation team chose to focus their messages on PCM and
e-Signature simultaneously. "Bundling the products in this way
ultimately made the training process much easier for our
physicians," says Stump. "Since physicians are typically
very busy, it was also easier for us to schedule training for two
products at the same time, rather than during two separate
occasions."
As part of
training, the hospital provided literature and training booklets,
held e-learning classes, and offered CME class credits. "When
all was said and done, about 300 physicians had successfully gone
through training - which is pretty remarkable," says Stump.
During go-LIVE, and
for an entire month afterwards, Edward also provided physicians with
a hotline phone number and additional PCM support staff. "If
physicians had questions, they could call the number for additional
assistance," says Stump. "Our support folks were also on
hand, wearing blue polo shirts so they were easily recognizable and
accessible when they were out rounding on all floors."
Looking
Back on the Benefits of Creativity
Both Stump and Conlon believe Edward's marketing strategies
were a huge factor in the hospital's successful PCM adoption.
"We used every resource we had available to market to our
physicians, and we were able to find unique and not so obvious ways
to get everyone on the same page," says Conlon. "And
because we were able to keep the lines of communication open, we
were able to keep staff members engaged and enthusiastic throughout
the duration of the project."
Edward's leaders
also found that 'creative' buy-in strategies didn't necessarily
translate to mean 'expensive.' "We used our own printing
resources for flyers, so we saved a lot of money that way,"
says Conlon.
Stump agrees that
taking the time and effort to reach out to physicians definitely
pays off in the long-run. "Never underestimate the power of
communication," she says. "Reaching out to all of our
physicians definitely made our road to I.T. success a smoother
one."
About
Edward Hospital & Health Services
Edward Hospital & Health Services (Naperville, IL), is
a full-service, regional health care provider, and a long-term user
of MEDITECH's MAGIC system. The facility has 311 private patient
rooms and 4,800 employees--including 1,450 nurses and a medical
staff of more than 900 physicians representing more than 60 medical
and surgical specialties and subspecialties. Ninety-eight percent of
Edward's physicians are board certified.
Edward was
ranked as the 10th largest hospital in the Chicago area by Crain's
Chicago Business in 2007, and is the largest employer in Naperville.
It is also the busiest hospital in DuPage County for inpatient
discharges, births, and emergency visits, according to the
Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council.