There is a tendency in hospital value analysis circles to consider a value analysis project completed when its project manager says it is completed. This rationale is lacking in specificity, accountability, and comprehensiveness.
From our point of view, a successful hospital value analysis project isn’t complete until all elements of the project’s control plan are locked down and operating effectively. This means that a value analysis project manager must:
- Document that all operating procedures have been updated.
- Develop and implement a clear plan for communicating changes to all stakeholders and customers.
- Coordinate and validate that all training for stakeholders and customers related to the change(s) in protocols have occurred.
- Follow up in 90 days to ensure that the changes are in place and are working as planned and designed.
We are recommending this value analysis control plan process since we frequently see hospital value analysis projects go awry after only a few short weeks of being implemented because all the necessary control elements weren’t in place. I’m talking about price changes that never happen, customers and stakeholders that are not aware of the changes, or customers that are misusing or misapplying the product or technology that was supposed to make their jobs easier. That is just a short list of what can go wrong with a value analysis project.
Like anything in life, if you want positive change to happen, then you need to plan, document, and inspect to ensure that it really happens. If you leave change to chance, it will almost certainly not turnout as you planned and envisioned. It just doesn’t work that way!
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