Intermountain Healthcare CDIO shares advice for evaluating and selecting providers
Information technology in healthcare is quite complex. The process for evaluating vendors is nuanced and hinges on simplicity, alignment and risk sharing, says Craig Richardville, chief digital and information officer at Intermountain Healthcare.
More than just contracting for a product, healthcare CIOs should focus on choosing “partners” that help organizations find tools that simplify work and improve the patient experience, companies that work together to achieve common goals, Richardville advised .
Healthcare IT news spoke with Richardville from the famed healthcare system that has always been at the forefront of healthcare IT to gain his expertise in vendor selection.
Q. You say the process for evaluating suppliers depends on simplicity, alignment and risk sharing. Please provide some more information.
A. Healthcare technology is complex and often needs to accommodate many different departments and specialties. At the same time, we have all experienced technology developing rapidly and becoming outdated faster than we expected.
When we look at technology or service providers, we often judge in two different categories: short-term and long-term service providers, with the latter more like a partnership relationship.
These principles of simplicity, alignment and risk sharing become important in determining whether a supplier will meet a short-term need or stay with us for a longer term. When we talk about simplification, we’re often looking for organizations that can help us tackle the complexity of our processes and use health technology to make it simple – for our patients, members and healthcare providers.
This could be about significantly improving a workflow, but also about providing a seamless experience based on things like interoperability as we grow. In an organization as large and sophisticated as Intermountain Health, the ability to grow or shrink a solution is essential to long-term success.
When it comes to alignment, we often take the time to ensure that the supplier’s goals and values align with ours. This not only helps improve workflow, but also fosters a collaborative environment where we know the partner-like supplier is working toward the same paradigm as we are.
Shared goals and values also help with evaluation through risk sharing. Technology always comes with risks, whether it concerns system reliability, interoperability or compliance and data security. Evaluating risk sharing involves a mutual understanding of these potential risks and balancing responsibilities for each, with both parties sharing the burden and working together to effectively mitigate the risks.
Q. You say that suppliers who form successful relationships with supplier organizations form collaborative relationships aimed at long-term synergy and shared success. Describe what this looks like.
A. The most successful relationships involve positive collaboration for long-term improvement and shared success. This implies open communication, mutual respect and a commitment to achieving common goals.
Vendor partners actively work with us to understand our unique challenges and needs, offering customized solutions within their framework that meet these needs and providing ongoing support for the challenges that may arise. They view our success as their own and are committed to fostering a lasting and mutually beneficial relationship over time.
Q. You suggest that healthcare organizations should find suppliers who simplify work, improve the patient experience and work together to achieve common goals. Give an example of how you achieved this with one of your suppliers.
A. While this is always the goal, sometimes it doesn’t always work out that way. Every situation is unique and sometimes we just need an immediate solution or to solve a specific problem. When all these things come together, the result is an everyone-wins solution.
In one case, we worked with a software vendor to improve our patient scheduling system. Rather than just providing a solution, the vendor took the time to understand our unique workflows and diverse patient populations.
Together we identified pain points in the existing system and worked together to design a custom solution that streamlined scheduling, improved patient access, and improved the overall patient experience. Proof of this was a 20% increase in conversions through our website navigation.
Through regular communication and feedback loops, we iteratively refined the solution to ensure it met our evolving needs. This joint approach has not only simplified our work processes, but has also directly contributed to better patient outcomes and satisfaction.
Q. What advice can you offer your colleagues at other hospitals and healthcare systems when it comes to evaluating and selecting suppliers?
A. When conducting risk assessments for potential longer-term supplier relationships, it is essential to take a comprehensive and collaborative approach. I advise my colleagues to include the following in their evaluation process:
- Engage stakeholders from different departments, including IT, legal and compliance, to assess risks from different perspectives. It is critical to thoroughly evaluate the vendor’s security protocols, regulatory compliance, financial stability, and past performance.
- By promoting open communication with the supplier and setting clear expectations from the start, potential risks can be effectively identified and mitigated.
- Emphasize the importance of continuous monitoring and reassessment of risks throughout the relationship to ensure continued compliance and alignment with organizational goals.
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