How to Change Management Models in Health Care

Health Care Professional

So your health care organization wants to change management models. This is a common theme in many industries as they work toward improvements in quality, processes, efficiency and policy. Some management models involve an entire organization (macro), while others may only affect a small group within the organization (micro). Either way, the same change management principles apply. The challenge is understanding how to change management models without disrupting organizational behavior. The following will show you how to identify and find solutions to these challenges in the health care industry.

Instructions

1. Identify the cast of characters. Employees come in three change types: change agents, change implementers and change recipients. In health care, change agents are usually the board of directors, senior management or project managers. Implementers are project coordinators or audit staff, and recipients are hospital staff.

2. Appeal to resistors. There are several reasons change recipients might resist change. This includes a loss of power, income or authority; additional workload (loss of personal time); or job insecurity. Turn resistors into agents by determining the cause of resistance and responding to it. Most resistors can be appeased with more information. Include resistors in meetings. Ask for their help, and openly acknowledge their support. The goal is to turn resistors into implementers.

3. Link planning and implementation. Looking at these as separate tasks is not only obtuse, but also results in a loss of opportunity to use information gained from mistakes in implementation for the next phase of planning. This is especially critical in health care, where industry regulation, costs and human interaction drive decisions to change management models.

4. Give change implementers (project managers) the same visibility and reward as change agents. Health care professionals, like most other professionals, tend to dislike bureaucracy and the hierarchy of management. Most consider management models to be redundant and ineffective. This can create roadblocks. As a solution, give implementers the same decision-making authority as management.

5. Increase opportunities to learn. This is often a useful tool in change management, regardless of the industry. For health care, this means focusing on the patient. Using lean management methods for health care is a common management model being adopted by hospitals. Teach change recipients how this will help patients by affecting the bottom line. Show them the link between waste reduction and patient load. Offer certifications, and ask certified professionals to teach certification classes in their specialty areas.

References

• SixSigma: Change Management
• PMP Coach: Change Management for Health Care

Resources

• Improving Healthcare Using Toyota Lean Production Methods