As the National Learning Consortium (NLC), in cooperation with the Health Information Technology Research Center (HITRC), points out, healthcare technology change management, more than most other industries, involves a heightened focus on dealing with the human aspects of the project through behavioral change since “individual behavioral changes will eventually result in a change in the organization’s culture that aligns with the Future State.”
The goal, then, is to move people through the process of change as quickly as possible to achieve the greatest benefit from the project as quickly as possible. The first step is to recognize where people are in the range of responses to change. We’ve found that people are typically in one of three categories:
1. Resistance
It’s human nature to resist change. That can be particularly true in professional environments where change may threaten to disturb familiar routines, and where technology change in particular can undermine people’s confidence in their own skills and knowledge. Considering the less than impressive track record of healthcare technology success, there is a considerable negative bias that exists. Let’s face it the fax machine has been an “old reliable” since the 1970s.
2. In-Between
“Even if people are relatively comfortable with the shift to an RMS system, they may still have fears about how well they will do with the new technology.”
Even if people are relatively comfortable with the shift to an RMS system, they may still have fears about how well they will do with the new technology. They may worry that they’ll be less productive than they were before the change, that they’ll make mistakes that result in important patient data being lost, and that problems like these will reflect poorly on them.
3. Acceptance
The goal is to get people to the point where they feel confident about their abilities with the new system and begin to see the benefits of being more effective and productive. At this stage, they can also be an excellent resource for helping others who are not so far along.
If you'd like to learn about Blockit’s approach for moving teams from resistance to change, you can download our latest ebook for free here.
Dave Gregorio is the Chief Customer Officer at Blockit and the author of the Purpose Quotient®, a nationally recognized framework for Organizational Development. A 30 year healthcare industry professional with a passion for people, Dave is the founder of the Heroes to Healthcare mission and CEO of ImPowerQ Associates LLC.