How to use an integrated change management and project management approach to implement new pharmacy technology

Scenario: Your pharmacy has decided to roll out a new patient care platform. You are the pharmacist on duty on the day of go-live, but you have only received some information sheets about the new system a few days ago. No training was provided, nor was any information given about what to expect on launch day. On the day of go-live, you don’t see any difference in the pharmacy system and the information sheets do not help answer any of your questions. Everyone on the team is also unsure what to do as they received the same information. Patients start arriving for prescriptions and appointments based on the new platform. To compound the situation, patients tell you they received alerts that their medications are ready, but they are not, and you don’t know why the system does that. Now you and your team need to spend more time figuring out the system yourselves as well as for your patients. This new technology was supposed to help optimize workflow and improve patient care, but instead it appears to create more work for the team. As the pharmacy owner or manager, how do you prevent this and better prepare your team? Pharmacy must constantly change to adapt to current conditions. Adopting a new technology (e.g. mobile health, e-prescribing, electronic health records, telepharmacy) is an example of such a change with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of patient care and safety. It is also a major project impacting people, processes, and technology. Dividing the process into the five standard project management phases (initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closing) can help guide the project. However, this does not address the people factors associated with change. Employees may feel unprepared or resistant to change for several reasons, such as lack of leadership support, lack of employee engagement, competing priorities, high workloads, lack of knowledge/interest and poor perception of a system’s usefulness.1,2 Adequate support and training, user experience, and user satisfaction are required for the successful implementation of technology in the pharmacy. Incorporating a new technology without considering the end users’ experiences and needs decreases its potential for success. Successful implementation relies on the effective management of the people involved. Managing change is difficult as seen in the literature which shows that 60-70% of change projects fail due to insufficient knowledge of change management and the lack of its application.1-3 Change management uses approaches to help engage and support individuals who are affected by the change initiative and manage any resistance.4 An integrated change management and project management approach is a structured process connecting the three phases of change management (preparing, managing and reinforcing change) with project management phases, summarized below:1,2,4Preparing for the change occurs in the project initiation phase where leaders/managers assess employees’ readiness, and build awareness and knowledge so that individuals understand what the upcoming changes are.Managing changes takes place in the project planning, execution, and monitoring phases where leaders support individuals in understanding the implications of the change on the workflow and support change readiness by providing training, resources, and readiness events.Reinforcing the change continues after the project closes to ensure outcomes are sustained, such as collecting staff and patient feedback to further optimize the workflow.Integrating change management and project management is evidence-based and strongly supported by the literature.1,2,4 It also has many benefits, such as the ability to effectively identify and reduce risks, and the ability to align change and project activities.1,4 By aligning change management with project management phases, the organization can make the changes more manageable and realize the change benefits. Read: Manage like you’re riding a bikeIn the scenario above, what could the manager have done to ensure the successful launch of the new system? Several action steps that the manager could take include:Identify a team member as a project champion to support and build awareness of the change.Develop a communication plan to ensure staff are informed of what is happening and why, to provide ongoing updates, and to ensure they are engaged throughout the project. This can be achieved using various methods, such as meetings, townhalls, and emails.Provide training and readiness events so that staff can gain hands-on experience, such as workflow walkthroughs and training videos; and provide resources, such as new workflow protocols/guidelines.Collect staff and patient feedback using survey and/or suggestion boxes. Technology and innovation continue to change the pharmacy environment, and support is needed for pharmacy owners/managers to integrate these projects successfully into their pharmacy or organization. This article highlights the importance of an integrated change management and project management approach to help staff adopt new technology by making them feel informed, connected, and supported throughout the process.Acknowledgement: The author would like to express her thanks and appreciation to Jim Lambley from University of Ottawa Telfer School of Management for his support. References:Kho J, Gillespie N, Martin-Khan M. A systematic scoping review of change management practices used for telemedicine service implementations. BMC Health Serv Res. 2020;20(1):815. Published 2020 Sep 1. doi:10.1186/s12913-020-05657-wErrida, A., & Lotfi, B. The determinants of organizational change management success: Literature review and case study. International Journal of Engineering Business Management. 2021;13. doi:10.1177/18479790211016273Project Management Institute. A transformational change at IBM. https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/transformational-change-ibm-9297 (2014, accessed 8 November 2024) Project Management Institute. Integrated change management. https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/integrated-change-management-5954 (2013, accessed 8 November 2024)Read: What’s your pharmacy leader strategy? Are you ‘in charge’ yet ‘out of control’?

How to use an integrated change management and project management approach to implement new pharmacy technology

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