When we first work with new clients, we find that it takes about three months to move through the four stages of Clinical Supply Utilization Management (CSUM) success to optimize their outcomes. This is because there is a learning curve that needs to be considered, planned for, and worked through when entering into any new journey. Unless you move through these four stages, it will be unlikely that you will optimize your CSUM outcomes for your customers. Here are the four stages and how they affect your CSUM outcomes:
4 Stages Of Clinical Supply Utilization Management Success
Stage 1: Satisfaction – This is when you make your first call to your customer to schedule a meeting to discuss their unfavorable CSUM analytics. You will find that they are happy, content, and satisfied with the results of their supply expense management. No change needed in their opinion!
Stage 2: Denial – This is where your customer refuses to understand their data points you have presented to them, finds it incomprehensible that they might have a utilization misalignment, or outright rejects your assumptions and statistics. Your data can’t be right and must be wrong!
Stage 3: Anger – The customer becomes even more resistant to change as you discuss your findings. They can become argumentative, hostile, and outright reject your assumptions. They will always try to find excuses for their unfavorable variances, even if they aren’t consistent with the facts.
Stage 4: Acceptance – After much back and forth with the customer, giving explanations on how the data was formulated, tested, and displayed, the customer starts to accept that change is needed to optimize their outcomes. This is when you can finally engage the customer to move forward with eliminating the waste or inefficiency practice or behavior that is causing their utilization misalignment. This stage will take time, patience, and more discussion to win over your customer to your propositions.
We all understand that resistance to change is a natural reaction of most customers when you approach them with any change. This is especially true in any CSUM initiative. That’s why we need to understand and accept that most of your customers will need to move through the four stages of Clinical Supply Utilization Management success to optimize their outcomes. Note that some will move faster than others through these four stages of success, but most will experience some type of resistance or tension as you approach them with a change that they haven’t proposed themselves. Remember, acceptance of change is different for everyone!
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