April 2016

Thoughts from our President

Successfully managing an implementation process has become more critical than ever. With industry needs growing more complex, software has become more complex. MEDITECH is rolling out new products and significant updates to its software at a faster pace than ever before and while MEDITECH’s EHR integration is a definite strength, it adds a layer of complexity and challenge.
 
Software implementations are no longer IT projects but organization-wide projects. While quality and highly functional software is important, governance, physician engagement, workflow engineering and a benefits realization focus are the difference between success and failure. As this shift has evolved, one of the keys to supporting this new approach has been MEDITECH’s READY program. In addition to a variety of features, this month’s newsletter includes a look at the MEDITECH READY program in two parts: a review of how we got here, and how it looks today.   

John Haffty, President

Navin, Haffty & Associates 2015/2016 Best in KLAS HIT Enterprise Implementation Leadership

READY: A Framework for Discussion

If you successfully implemented MEDITECH in the 1990s or 2000s without outside assistance, you may be wondering why you may need consulting assistance now. There are several reasons why it has become a necessity:

• In most cases, approximately 20+ applications are being replaced at the same time. Previously, applications were implemented incrementally and for those implementations where an HCIS vendor was replaced there were no physician applications involved. This factor drives the complexity and level of focus and effort required to be successful.
• The software and workflow are far more interdependent than before.
• For some hospitals, governance and decision-making processes surrounding information systems are not effective.
• For some hospitals, project management experience for such a large effort is lacking.
• For most hospitals, there is an inability to adequately staff and resource such a large project.

• Physician engagement and leadership
• Strong governance and an organization-wide focus
• Strong project management
• A focus on workflow process
• Benefits identification and realization
• Adequate project resourcing and staffing
• “At the elbow” physician training and support

NHA worked collaboratively with MEDITECH to develop the READY program and since its inception, we have seen significant improvements. Some include: 

• Physician adoption of CPOE and PDoc typically at 90% within four weeks of Go-LIVE with high satisfaction.
• MEDITECH has achieved “Best in KLAS” for the past two years in the Community HIS category.
• The vast majority of 6.1 projects are coming in on schedule.
• Our clients are seeing significant benefits through use of best practice workflows that take advantage of the software’s capabilities. These benefits are showing up in both direct financial benefits as well as qualitative improvements.

Understanding this history is valuable as some organizations continue to question the need or value of fully adopting the READY methodology. Highly functional software is critical to success, but being able to correctly implement the software and drive benefits is just as important. We encourage you to embrace READY and see how you might use this program to drive user satisfaction and benefits realization.

READY: Key Tenets & Critical Considerations

Having provided a little history on READY, it is time to make sure the key tenets are understood. Some of you might consider embracing and expanding on some of them.

• Project Management – A dedicated and experienced project manager (PM) is critical in the effort of impacting an entire organization. As part of READY, the hospital has an internal PM as well as a PM from a consulting firm who brings large, complex project experience to the table. Both of these roles are dedicated full time to the project. MEDITECH also assigns a part-time PM to manage their end of the effort. Well managed projects focus on opportunities to redesign how a hospital delivers care and these processes can drive significant benefits.
• Physician Engagement – MEDITECH’s Clinical Leadership Preparedness Program (CLPP) is for larger hospitals using READY. This program has been successful in establishing the project as a way to serve the clinical community and in identifying that a physician’s needs are of paramount importance. For smaller hospitals, the consulting partner’s PM and/or clinical coordinator brings much of the governance and engagement strategy to these efforts.
• Executive Engagement – As these projects involve the entire organization, executive leadership is critical. As part of the READY program, decisions are pushed to the top so leadership is aware of their impact across the hospital. Further, setting priorities, driving benefits and supporting change management needs to come from executives. The consulting firm and its PM can assist with these efforts.
• Workflow Redesign – While MEDITECH provides much of the standard content, the consulting firm provides best practices based on software design with special attention to processes that cross departmental lines. Much of the work effort and benefits realization from these projects involve managing changing processes. In some cases, we have been able to drive significant productivity gains, while in others we have eliminated unnecessary work altogether. Part of the change management process requires involving executive leadership as departmental or individual goals and interests do not always align with those of the organization.
• Project Resourcing – Most hospitals do not have the appropriate amount of IT staff to take on a project of this magnitude. Not only would they need to implement the new 6.1 project, they would also be required to maintain the current systems while attempting to minimize any new requests. Some organizations, even knowing the extent of project expectations, have such strong faith in their IT staff they often understaff projects. The size and effort of these projects demand adequate staffing so not to overwhelm those responsible for successfully completing them. Using consultants or adding temporary or permanent IT staff to free up internal resources is a good solution for facing this challenge.
•  “At-the-Elbow” Training – A key component of success has been “at-the-elbow” training for physicians. One of the largest changes with READY is bringing everyone LIVE at the same time. This has proven successful but requires a level of hospital-wide support that few have had to provide before. “At-the-elbow” training is a large, support focused effort that yields quick adoption, comfort and satisfaction for physicians.

READY has led to consistently successful implementations. We strongly recommend those going to 6.1 to adopt this program fully as this implementation process is the key to success.

Population Health Tools

NHA recently completed a review of the major software vendors and the tools they use to support population health. We believe MEDITECH’s approach to embed functionality into departmental workflows, as opposed to providing a stand-alone application, presents the best long-term approach to effective population health management. Therefore, it is our determination that the tools MEDITECH is delivering as part of 6.1 in 2016 are comparable to every vendor in the market.

 Our comprehensive review focused on:

• 18 critical ACO building blocks
• Key functionality needs based on use cases for independent and employed physicians, clinics and urgent care centers
• Key functionality needs based on use cases for acute care hospitals, tertiary care hospitals, acute and sub-acute rehabilitation hospitals, behavioral health and home care

The following slide provides a graphical representation of our model for organizing information systems to support population health.

KLAS Rankings

Once again we wanted to share our KLAS rankings and some comments from clients. We believe KLAS provides the best representation on how vendors are performing in the eyes of their clients in our industry. We hope this serves as a reminder to check KLAS rankings and commentary when considering a consulting company.

In every category, we score above the industry average. As of April 1, here are our rankings:

2nd – HIT Enterprise Implementation Leadership (We were awarded “Best in KLAS” for this category for 2015/2016 and our score equals our year-end score.)

1st – Technical Services (Our score has improved since year-end and we are now top ranked. This category covers report writing, data repository & pro-ration rules services.)

6th – IT Advisory Services (This was previously known as Planning & Assessment where we were “Best in KLAS” for 2014. NHA remains the highest ranked company providing services to the MEDITECH community.)

11th – HIT Implementation Support and Staffing (for small READY implementations and backfill resources.)

Selected Comments:

“The report writing that Navin, Haffty & Associates does for us is second to none. They are definitely the firm that providers using MEDITECH systems should go to. When we have a need, NHA is the first group we call.” Executive, March 2016

“Navin, Haffty & Associates consultants are MEDITECH experts. Because of their knowledge and expertise, they were able to maximize our system and help us use it better. They are stellar at what they do for the MEDITECH clientele.” Executive, January 2016

“We have used Navin, Haffty & Associates for many projects since we implemented MEDITECH. We have never had a problem with them. They continue to be fair with their pricing, and they are very knowledgeable. They are, by far, the best communicators out of all of the vendors I have used.”  Executive, January 2016

“The consultants we work with are very competent. They are able to blend in with our staff very well, and they come up to speed very quickly. Those are probably the top three positive things I can say about them.”  Director/Physician, January 2016

Please note selected commentaries may not represent the whole of provider sentiment related to this product or service. Visit KLASresearch.com for a complete view.

Quick Notes

• MEDITECH’s new Critical Care software (available for 6.1 only) has been very successful in enhancing clinical documentation while significantly improving nursing productivity. For more information on the details, visit the Critical Care section on MEDITECH’s website.

• NHA is pleased to announce recent contracts with Northwestern Medical Center, St. Albans, VT; and West Park Hospital, Cody, WY to serve as their 6.1 project consulting partner. To date, 30 healthcare organizations have selected NHA as their 6.1 READY partner.

2016 International MUSE Conference

The 2016 International MUSE Conference will be held in Orlando, FL from May 31 through June 3. Navin, Haffty & Associates will exhibit again this year and we will be found at booth #516.

Janet Barrett of NHA will presenting at MUSE along with Chris Neumann of The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood, NJ. Below is a brief summary of their presentation.

1008 – Surveillance – Keeping an Eye on Sepsis

Thursday, June 2 at 3:30 pm

“Valley Health migrated from MAGIC to the 6.14 platform in June 2015. As part of that migration, Valley Health became the early adopter of MEDITECH’s new surveillance functionality. Surveillance is a real-time pattern recognition tool that can be used as an “early identification and warning system” across all acute care populations. This session will explore using the surveillance functionality for early detection of sepsis.  It will demonstrate the surveillance functionality; build considerations, workflow impact, and other uses for event or disease surveillance.”

Christine Johnson of NHA will present twice during MUSE with Halifax Health Medical Center, Daytona Beach, FL. On Wednesday, Christine presents with Nancy Heywood of Halifax on the topic of Designing SUR 6.1 Assessments. On Thursday, Christine and Jean Lessig of Halifax present on the Navigation of NPR MM to M-AT SUR. 

1087 – Designing SUR 6.1 Assessments, One Time Document Trackers, and Care Plans

Wednesday, June 1 at 11:00 am

1088 – Successfully Navigating NPR MM to M-AT SUR:  Step by Step Guide for Inventory and Item Migration

Thursday, June 2 at 10:15 am

MEDITECH will also be there to demonstrate their strategies for optimizing your system and to share how 6.1 Web EHR will transform the way your organization delivers care. Visit MEDITECH’s website for more details on MEDITECH session information.

If you are interested in more information, visit the 2016 International MUSE Conference website for event details and registration.

MEDITECH’s Nurse & Home Care Forum

The Nurse & Home Care Forum will be held on June 15-17 at MEDITECH’s Foxborough, MA location. As MEDITECH’s largest event for nurse and home care administrators it is an exciting conference for sharing significant information. Below is a list of some of the topics which prove to be promising updates to the MEDITECH EHR:

• Anesthesia

• Business and Clinical Analytics

• Care Plans

• Condition Lists

• Critical Care

• Discharge Process

• EHR Excellence Toolkits

• IV Spreadsheet

• Mobile Vital Sign Integration

• Oncology

• Perinatal Workflow (including Fetal Monitor Interface)

• Population Health

• Sepsis

• Surveillance

• Telehealth/Remote Monitoring

• Web Mobile Nursing, including Phlebotomy and BMV (POC)

For more information, or to register visit MEDITECH’s event page.

MEDITECH Events

MEDITECH will be holding “On the Road” events starting in April 2016. These are one day sessions focused on optimizing strategies for your current MEDITECH system and to see how their new 6.1 Web EHR is revolutionizing care.

Some of the highlights will be:

• Learning strategies for getting MORE from your current MEDITECH system.

• Networking with others sharing similar goals.

• Exploring how the 6.1 Web EHR transforms the way an organization delivers care.  

  May 17 – Atlanta, GA | Registration Open

  May 19 – Houston, TX | Registration Open

Navin, Haffty & Associates is Hiring!

To keep up with the demand from our clients, NHA continues to need excellent MEDITECH specialists. We have been named among the top 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare for the second consecutive year.
 
We believe there are significant advantages to being part of NHA. As part of the largest consulting company focused exclusively on serving the MEDITECH community, we enjoy an exceptional working relationship with MEDITECH, offer a collaborative work environment and treat each of our staff with respect. Our competitive compensation package includes exceptional medical insurance coverage as part of our extensive benefits as well as on-going education to maintain and develop skills and talent. Our employment approach and focus on long-term business relationships has led to an unparalleled record for consultant and client retention.
 
If you have interest in consulting and have solid MEDITECH experience with implementing one of their applications, please contact us. We have an outstanding mentoring program for new consultants and the best reputation in the MEDITECH community for training and development of our staff. We are the first company certified in the new MEDITECH READY implementation methodology, earning certification nearly two years prior to any other firm.
 
We are also interested in experienced consultants from other companies. As the largest company that works exclusively with MEDITECH, you would be supported as you continue to build your skills. In addition, our management approach has demonstrated a respect for our consultants and created a collegial atmosphere that encourages information sharing and support.
 
While we have a number of openings, at this time, we are particularly interested in candidates with strong project management experience (6.x preferred), 6.1 Revenue Cycle and 6.1 Ambulatory.
 
If you are interested please contact us at recruiting@navinhaffty.com or call us at 855-309-9334. See what positions are currently available by visiting the NHA Current Openings page.
 
Please note that at this time, we are only able to consider those able to travel up to 80% of the time. (Current employees of MEDITECH or of our clients cannot be considered.)

Client Job Board

If you are interested in exploring new positions at other organizations visit the client job board section of our website. This is a free service of NHA to the MEDITECH community. Currently, there are many postings from MEDITECH organizations. If you or a colleague are interested, take a look and see what’s open.

If you would like to include your organization’s listing on the NHA website, please email Katie Kelly at kkelly@navinhaffty.com (Please note that as this is a courtesy to the MEDITECH community, we will not accept postings from recruiting companies.)

NAVIN, HAFFTY & ASSOCIATES

Since our inception, NHA’s sole focus has been providing solutions that maximize the value of your MEDITECH EHR. The experience we have gained along the way has made us the largest and most respected MEDITECH consulting firm in North America. This exclusive focus has allowed us to provide clients with greater insight and understanding of MEDITECH’s capabilities and the expertise to better deliver innovative tools, solutions, and strategies that improve your operational performance and enhance patient care quality. Our proven track record has positioned us to become MEDITECH’s first and most experienced READY-certified consulting firm.

Our staff not only makes up the largest MEDITECH consulting team available, it is also comprised of the most experienced professionals in the industry. Our pool of 220+ consultants are some of the most seasoned professionals in the industry with an average 27 years in healthcare, 18 years of overall IT, 17 years of MEDITECH, and 10 years of consulting experience. By leveraging the combined expertise of our consulting team, NHA stands second to none and is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of any organization utilizing the MEDITECH EHR. Our proven track record of success has led to Best in KLAS awards for HIT Enterprise Implementation Leadership, Planning and Assessment, and Clinical Implementation Supportive.