Practice tip of the week: Embracing change

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With all the useful information available on Physicians Practice, it is easy to become overwhelmed.

With this in mind, the tip of the week is a chance to reflect on some of the wisdom found all across the site. In this June 2019 story on getting your staff onboard with the many changes coming to healthcare, Steve Gordon, MD; and Keely Killpack, PhD; give these tips:

Forming the strategy

• Identify the specific problem you are trying to solve. Frame it in a way in which people will understand and agree on the problem and convey what will happen if the problem goes unaddressed.
• Engage physician and provider leaders. Create open dialogue and show empathy. Affirm that you understand the myriad challenges they face and ask for their advice and partnership in trying to solve this issue. Solicit their engagement in finding the solution, becoming experts in it, helping the rest of their colleagues adopt the change as it happens, and understanding resourcing needs afterwards.
• Choose solutions wisely. Use proven data-informed techniques, such as Lean or 6-Sigma, to guide improvement and thoroughly review technology products with a large group of physicians, providers and other relevant end user staff. All time spent choosing the right solution to the problem is invaluable and saves your organization exponentially down the road.

Click here to read the rest of the article and be sure to check back next week for another Tip of the Week!