Implementation of a Policy Management Software

IMPLEMENTATION AND TRAINING

(Jump to Part 1, Part 3, or Part 4)

Challenge No. 1: Implementation length of time

The average length of a typical software implementation process varies widely and depends on number of documents, internal staff resources, and vendor assistance. One of the most time consuming tasks is document entry into the new system. Commonly, healthcare facilities use the transition to a new software policy and procedure management system to standardize the formats of their documents and move to a standardized template. This provides easier reading of the documents and also allows staff to access the critical information quickly. Relying on very busy internal staff members to reformat all of the documents can lead to a lengthening of the implementation and sometimes stall it completely.

Challenge No. 2: Conducting business as usual while learning

One issue always accompanies any implementation process: the company still has to conduct business as usual on a daily basis. A project lead should be designated for your implementation effort, ideally someone with a broad knowledge of all of your hospital areas rather than a pure IT specialist. The project lead should have the authority and ability to make business decisions along the way in order to keep the process moving. A failure to make progress on the project is guaranteed to lengthen your implementation time – and increase costs.

Software implementations fail for variety of reasons, including lack of top management commitment, unrealistic expectations, poor requirements definition, improper package selection, gaps between software and business requirements, inadequate resources, unrealistic budgets and schedules, poor project management, lack of project management methodology, underestimating the impact of change, lack of training and education, and – last but not least – poor communication. The process can be overwhelming, confusing and lengthy; all these reasons can cause healthcare facilities to avoid even making the switch. However, if healthcare facilities continue maintaining essential policies and procedures in a broken way, then efficiency and profitability issues arise.

You can also review Part 1 or continue to Part 3, or Part 4

To learn more and see why PolicyStat is so often chosen as the best option for policy and procedure management, you can request to see a demo. Or, we’d be happy to answer your questions by contacting us.