Home > Resources > MedInfoSys® Briefing Notes > Systematic Support for Medical Information (MI): “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?
Systematic Support for Medical Information (MI): “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?
What leads companies to consider changing how they support MI?
After all, change usually involves both cost and disruption – not least the hassle of negotiating internal processes and issues.
You’re also probably busier than you’ve ever been before, there are always other priorities, and you’re expected to do more with less.
Shouldn’t the old maxim of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” apply when it comes to how you’re supporting MI?
Up to a point, “yes, right!” and, certainly, unless there’s a compelling reason to change, backed-up with a solid business case – as well as a strategy for how to handle the internal situation – any effort to change here almost certainly won’t get very far.
Whilst it’s certainly possible to rapidly course-correct in response to such step-changes – our current “record” for an end-to-end system implementation is 6 weeks – we’ve found that forward-looking companies are increasingly looking to prepare and plan in advance. This way, they’re not trying to figure-out what to do whilst then also in full-on “fire-fighting” mode.
Might some of the above “trigger” events apply to your company, either now or in the future? If so, do you know how you would deal with them? And, in particular, do you know how your existing approach would hold-up?
…but there aren’t any immediately gaping holes… and even though wanting to pursue best practice means that a change to the status quo would be a “nice to have” – and maybe even a “should have” – it probably won’t happen.
And so you carry on as you have been doing. And everything seems fine (just about). But that’s where the “trigger” events we mentioned earlier come in.
It may be that you already know that no such “trigger” events are ever going to affect your company – in which case, that’s great, truly! Enjoy the stability!
Might now be a good time to start actively considering how you’re going to handle that change, rather than waiting until it’s upon you?
Most likely, though, significant change is somewhere in the future. Maybe it’s directly anticipated; maybe it’s only a possibility at this stage. But, in either case, might now be a good time to start actively considering how you’re going to handle that change, rather than waiting until it’s upon you?
Chances are you’re already experiencing some of those now; do you know what additional challenges they’d pose if rapid change were thrown into the mix?
Timing is everything, of course – start looking at this too soon, and the need won’t be so obvious, and the organisation will (rightly) also have other priorities; start looking at this too late, though, and you’ll have missed a real opportunity to plan well for the future.
Are you in the “sweet” spot – aware of the potential need, and with the luxury of being able to plan ahead for it?
…but more on that another time…!
In the meantime, if you have a need to better understand your requirements, and/or to put together a sound business case, then do get in touch, as we have a growing set of resources aimed at helping with these challenges.