The term project management refers to the application of knowledge, tools, skills, and techniques to project activities in order to meet the requirements of a specific project. A common misconception is that project management is reserved for the corporate world primarily. The reality is that project management applies to different industries and healthcare is one of them. In this post, we’re going to cover the importance of project management for the healthcare industry and other useful things you need to know.
-
Project management is crucial to the healthcare industry
Project management in healthcare revolves around projects whose main objective is to improve the functioning of a healthcare organization. You see, the healthcare industry continues to evolve and expand. That’s a good thing of course. But, at the same time, the healthcare industry is under increasing pressure to save money and improve the efficiency of all processes. Saving money and improving efficiency should be accompanied by a greater quality of care. In many cases that’s easier said than done.
In order to keep up with the ever-growing demands, hospitals and other healthcare organizations constantly work on different projects so their everyday tasks and processes can improve.
Nowadays, project management in healthcare is more important than ever and it’s all due to safety concerns. Ineffective execution of a project in healthcare can put a patient’s health in jeopardy. After all, everything you do in this industry has either a direct or indirect impact on patients.
Modern times come with modern challenges and project management is here to address them in order to improve patient outcomes. Patients want more than an internet access that allows them to read how to detox from weed, they want proper guidance and care from their healthcare providers regardless of the medical problem they have. In other words, while it became popular to distribute information to patients online, they still want and need more – they need proper care from their doctors. But demands can be too difficult to meet.
With proper execution of a healthcare project, a patient receives timely care, effective treatment, and also reduces costs of the treatment in some cases.
-
Certain healthcare industry aspects depend on project management
Like any other industry, healthcare faces a number of issues. These issues seem to multiply as the industry keeps evolving. For that reason, project management is particularly crucial for certain aspects of the healthcare industry, the more vulnerable areas.
The first aspect is the financial status of an organization. The truth is that reduced payments from government health programs and private insurance companies have forced healthcare organizations to look for different ways to save money.
The second aspect is of more technical nature. You see, new and complicated systems for electronic health records on patients call for continuous improvement and regular monitoring. New technologies that the healthcare industry implements also require improvement and constant work.
The third aspect refers to new regulations that continue to emerge. And the last, fourth, aspect is the increased scrutiny from outside groups ranging from government to patients.
All these aspects require project management. Without proper project management, it would be difficult to keep up with new regulations or employ them. It’s also difficult to maintain new technologies, improve the financial situation of an organization, and accomplish other tasks necessary for quality of care.
-
Project management increases productivity
The biggest advantage of project management, in general, is its potential to help an organization get the job done. And it’s not just a single job, but a whole process carried out in a certain company or organization.
Well, project management can have the same impact on the healthcare industry too. With proper implementation, project management can help everyone in the healthcare setting do their jobs more effectively. This applies to nurses, doctors, and even administration staff and other employees in a specific setting.
Basically, project management can help each person get the job done as effectively and efficiently as they can.
How?
It all comes down to thorough planning, the cornerstone of project management. When you initiate a project, you are also creating milestones that you can track and determine whether the project was implemented successfully or not.
Planning allows members of the healthcare industry to understand what they need to do, how to do it, and how to track their progress. Every person knows exactly what they need to do at any given moment. All this leads to increased productivity in healthcare.
-
Project management improves communication
Communication is an integral component of a well-functioning environment or an efficient workplace. The power of communication extends to the healthcare industry. In fact, communication is even more crucial in this industry because the lives of patients are at stake.
A hectic environment can make communication tricky, but project management simplifies the whole process. In order to implement a project in healthcare, the project manager needs to communicate with everyone involved ranging from doctors and nurses to other members of the healthcare organization. This helps everyone voice their opinion and thereby contribute to creating new, more effective practices.
Without communication involved in project management, all these things would be impossible. After all, project management isn’t just about imposing a project and blindly following the steps it contains. Instead, it’s about ensuring every member of the healthcare industry can contribute and use their expertise the best way possible.
-
Expect the unexpected
Thorough planning is the foundation of project management in healthcare. But even with the well-structured plan and perfect timeline of execution, some unexpected things are bound to happen.
You see, the healthcare industry is an unpredictable field as it is. One moment a patient is okay and a second later they may experience some serious symptom of their illness. Doctors and nurses are trained to expect the unexpected and that’s exactly what project management should do as well.
Successful project management in the healthcare industry survives the unexpected scenarios, turns them to their advantage, moves on, and becomes even stronger. Some of these surprising scenarios could be newly adopted regulation that changes the course of a project. Or maybe it can be technical difficulty in implementing the project.
These scenarios are numerous, but project management strives to bring their impact to the minimum. Each scenario is like an obstacle a project manager needs to overcome in order to reach the finish line. And finish line in the healthcare industry is the improved level of care alongside a functioning, sustainable organization.
