PERFORMANCE INPROVEMENT ASSESSMENT AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Given today’s health care environment, hospitals and health care systems are consistently looking for ways to improve overall operations and financial performance.  CCG’s   seasoned Performance Improvement (PI) consultants have worked with many health care provider organizations facing complex and often difficult financial and operating challenges.   Our approach with  Performance Improvement projects  is to   partner   with the senior leadership of a hospital or health system in  assessing  opportunities for operational  and financial improvement, designing the right solutions that will have maximum return within the culture of the organization  and  supporting  the implementation of the varied  PI initiatives  including  cost reduction, revenue improvement,  process redesign,  organizational  restructuring and financial turnaround.    Our consultants work directly with our clients and their internal PI teams in identifying achievable solutions for improvement, establishing realistic goals to be achieved, developing metrics and tools for measuring success and maintaining the established timeframe for achieving results.   By focusing on those aspects of an organization that will be of most value and benefit to the organization, we help to streamline the PI process and achieve improvements in a reasonable timeframe.  Additionally, by engaging client staff as part of the change process, buy-in to future changes is made easier and a foundation and culture for on-going performance improvement is established.

PROCESS IMPROVEMENT– SUPPORTING NEW INFORMATION SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATIONS

Implementations of new health care systems today require hospitals and their affiliated entities to change practices and procedures to accommodate new system requirements.  Additionally, new functionality associated with new IT systems often requires new or redesigned processes to support and maximize the availability of additional IT features.  Without a thorough understanding of the impact of a new system on current processes and practices, a hospital may not realize the full benefit that comes with a new IT investment.

CCG is well suited to support hospitals looking to maximize the functionality of new IT systems.  The combination of our  experienced IT and Performance Improvement  consultants  allows us to effectively support hospitals and health care systems achieve maximum functionality of new systems with changes to operating practices and  administrative/clinical workflows.  We work with our client’s staff to review and understand the operational impact of a new IT system and then support the staff in developing and implementing new procedures, practices and workflows to accommodate new system functionality.  Our consultants expertise in health care IT implementations combined with our Performance Improvement experts allows our health care clients realize the full benefit of their investment in new technology and system.

MAXIMIZING THE BENEFITS FROM PERFORMANCE IMPROVMENT INITIATIVES

CCG’s health care Performance Improvement experts possess many years of managing both small and large scale PI projects within hospitals and health care systems.   We have witnesses that many hospitals and health care organizations engage in on-going performance improvement activities as a routine course of their business.   These efforts often follow a structured PI methodology and are led by internal PI teams who work to develop and implement changes that will have varying degrees of impact on the organization.   However, while more health care organizations have embraced PI as way of life, the results achieved from these efforts may not be fully realized nor cost beneficial.

CCG’s PI consultants can help support organization Performance Improvement initiatives to ensure maximum benefits are achieved.   Given our experience with all types of health care PI projects, we are able to provide project support and direction to the PI process and support the internal PI teams activities engaged in the process.  Regardless of the PI methodology or approach a client has adopted, there are common activities to all methodologies that need to be achieved to realize maximum benefit.

As part of our support to strengthen your PI initiatives, we offer the following:

• Identify and develop realistic and value-added performance improvement opportunities for the organization that will provide the most benefit to the organization.  Ensure the cost/benefit of an initiative is fully developed and vetted prior to moving forward.
• Structure  staff time around initiatives to optimize their time away from daily work
• Identify   obstacles early including cultural or political barriers and actively address solutions. Consistently monitor these challenges and intervene as needed.
• Implement  on-going communication and change management plans that keeps  staff  informed and encourages  staff participation and buy-in throughout the process
• Maximize the use of available or new technology and systems.   Ensure that all operating and process changes utilize the full functionality of IT systems
• Ensures all PI efforts are coordinated and sequenced with the other changes occurring within the organization.
• Create  detailed implementation plans that include detailed work steps and sequencing of  implementation activities
• Develop focused training programs that reach  all appropriate staff  and track   training needs  throughout  the implementation process
• Establishing realistic timeframes for change along with performance metrics for tracking success both during and after implementation.

Our CCG PI experts have had success in helping our clients’ structure and support their Performance Improvement initiatives.    Our work has helped clients achieve the full financial and operational benefit of their Performance Improvement initiatives and establishes the platform for conducting PI initiatives in a more structured and cost beneficial way.