The lines between modern convenience and invasion of privacy are increasingly blurry. Individuals and organizations alike must question the sharing and use of personal data in order to act wisely and ethically in the marketplace.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) is the topic on every healthcare leader’s mind. In many ways, though, AI is old news to those of us in healthcare finance. I can say from experience that once an AI technology comes onto the scene, there is no stopping it. AI is here to stay. The question leaders must grapple with is how to embrace it wisely and with purpose.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
The modern healthcare industry is dependent on data. The steady improvement of how data is collected and analyzed has allowed us to make great strides in providing quality care and improving the health of our patients. At the same time, the pandemic has highlighted how this dependence on data can lead to “analysis paralysis” that can harm communities' health and well-being.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
After the tumultuous events of the past several years, I’ve noticed in my conversations with others that there no longer seems to be much middle ground on the issues of our day. Every issue and event seems to be polarizing and comes with a set of assumptions about the character and values of the people on the “other side.” By now, we have seen that this is an exhausting way to live.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
Once, I was headed to a meeting where my team was in charge of providing dessert. On the way, I passed a bakery with a large chocolate cake in the window that was on sale. When I arrived at the office, I asked one of my colleagues to go get a cake from this bakery and gave him the money he’d need to buy the discounted cake in the window. When he arrived back from the bakery, he set down the carrot cake he had bought and told me I owed him $10. I questioned him about the chocolate cake I had seen on sale in the window display. It was only then I realized that I hadn’t told him which specific cake I wanted, only that I wanted him to get a cake from this particular bakery.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
During a recent conversation with a colleague who used to serve in the military, we discussed the instability of the past several years and how best to find a way forward. I shared that I saw the need for more collaboration as we try to effectively cope with all the changes we’ve experienced. He looked completely shocked by my suggestion! “Why on earth would you want to collaborate?” he asked.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
When you are hired into a position after someone has left the organization, my advice is this: Don’t speak ill of the departed! You may not find things in good order, or the way you would like to have left them. However, don’t take the low-hanging fruit of blaming your predecessor for every issue that arises, and don’t accept finger-pointing from your new team either. In my decades of experience, there is always more to a situation than meets the eye.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
In my decades of leadership in healthcare, I have learned the hard way that not every person with a “C” in their title or who has been appointed to a board of directors understands what it means to lead. These deficient “leaders” are always looking for a magical solution to their organization’s issues, without considering that their insufficient leadership might be their common source.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
For organizations and their leaders, the past year has been one of upheaval, intense challenges, and new opportunities. The word resilience has been on the tip of every leader’s tongue and the subject of many articles. The leadership of organizations that have been able to rapidly and repeatedly adapt or pivot as the world changed demonstrated that resiliency is the key to success.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
The need for strong leadership in the healthcare industry has come into stark relief during the pandemic. Good leaders shined, while organizations whose executives were only equipped to deal with the status quo struggled. COVID-19 has tested the abilities and skills of healthcare leaders. The ones who embraced uncertainty, had built strong teams, and lived by their personal and organizational values before the pandemic have led most effectively during this past year.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
Hiring an interim executive has long been thought of as a band-aid solution on the heels of an unexpected resignation or a way to give a potential new leader a trial run before committing. But with more businesses taking on flexible staffing approaches combined with the ups and downs of the economy over the past 15 years, companies have realized the financial and strategic benefits of engaging an interim executive rather than seeking to make an immediate permanent hire.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
With an unprecedented number of healthcare provider mergers and acquisitions in recent years and new requirements being ushered in with the Affordable Care Act, healthcare professionals are in a constant state of technology systems transition. Though replacing a legacy system can be necessary and even beneficial to patient care or a hospital’s bottom line, times of transition deeply impact the people these organizations are relying on to provide quality care and keep the healthcare organization running efficiently.
To consider the implementation of a new system a success, you need to do more than make it to launch day on time and under budget. Your employees—the intended users of the new technology—need to understand the “why” behind the switch and actually use the system as intended with their sanity intact. In my experience, this can only be accomplished by engaging your people and giving them a voice at every step in the process.
Preparation
Before selecting a new system for your hospital or healthcare organization, it is essential to get the right people at the table to create a roadmap for the transition process. Be sure to involve and gather feedback from:
Employees who can think critically about workflow efficiencies so you can ensure that you aren’t carrying bad practices forward with the new system.
People who are highly knowledgeable about the current technology in place and its limitations. They will have invaluable insights into problems that any future systems need to solve.
Anyone who has a vested interest in the new system. If the new technology is clinical in nature, you need to make sure physicians and nurses have a voice. If it’s a change in back-office technology, human resources professionals or accountants who will use this technology regularly will need to be invited into the conversation.
Any department who will deal with a heavier-than-normal workload during the parallel running process or launch.
These groups have the expertise and high levels of investment to help your executive team document your current process, find the right technology to replace your legacy system, determine real costs, and set a reasonable timeline.
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