Overview of healthcare project challenges

- As a project and program manager, I've had the privilege of working in and learning about a number of different business environments. When anyone asks me about the toughest environment, I don't hesitate in answering. It's healthcare hands down. Why is healthcare so tough? Well, let's consider some of the more significant challenges. First, it's a 24-by-seven environment. When I worked for IBM, I managed the information technology environment for a group of hospitals for a couple of years. Making changes to IT infrastructure, software upgrades or physical hospital facilities had to be planned well in advance. Regardless, hospitals can change things at the last minute, deferring to patient care needs. For example, I was involved in planning a set of cable upgrades at one of the hospitals we supported. It was scheduled months in advance so alternate patient care locations could be set up and managed. A few hours before the change was set to start, there was an unusually large multi-car accident on a local highway with numerous injuries. The change was canceled and we have to wait a considerable time before we could reschedule. Second, you constantly deal with passionate healthcare professionals. The doctors and nurses you work with are totally dedicated to their craft. This is good news if you need to get feedback on any facility layout or process changes since it's easy to get healthcare professionals to respond. On the other hand, you have to be meticulous about describing your changes to ensure they're perceived as beneficial for your healthcare stakeholders and the patients they serve. More than any other environment I've worked in, you must invest the extra effort to ensure you have the buy-in from your caregivers so they're ready to provide care, using the changes you've made. Third, you need foolproof backups for everything. While the premise behind this challenge is simple, it can be difficult to execute. The retrieval, updating, and filing of patient care records needs to have backup processes to ensure information is not lost. Further complicating this is that data encryption needs are necessary with technology solutions to make sure private patient data is not compromised. Fourth, you work in a highly regulated environment. In different countries and from state to state in the US, healthcare regulations differ. You may need to hire expert advisers or do your own research to make sure your project changes are in accordance with federal and local legislature. And the last challenge, you need to provide very detailed scheduling. Earlier, I made reference to scheduling issues in my point about healthcare being a 24-by-seven environment. As many of your project changes can affect the delivery of patient care, you need to organize, communicate, and confirm these impacts in detail. You'll also want to do this in advance to ensure the delivery of patient care's not compromised. So these are just some of the major challenges you can encounter when managing healthcare projects. A bit intimidating I must admit, however, with careful planning and the foresight I hope to give you throughout this course, you're more likely to tackle these projects smoothly.