About Face

Linda Ratner RN, BSN, MBA, CMPE

Change for the sake of change is just as ludacris as continuing to do the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. Yet, change is inevitable and necessary in todays fast paced global economy. Our businesses are living entities that should be consistantly responding to the ever evolving commercial and employee marketplaces. Influenced by new technology, faster information cycles, competitors, and ever-evolving priorities, clients’ expectations are constantly changing and in order to be successful, we too must comply and change. An old Thai saying sums it up best; “at high tide, fish eat ants; at low tide, ants eat fish.” If you’re a fish, it is in your best interest to implement change before the low tide arrives. The question is, have you made the connection between low tide and the waiting ants?!

Back in the 1980’s, when waiting was the norm, we waited for everything. We waited for phone calls. We waited for sales at brick and mortar retailers. We waited at the doctor’s office after waiting weeks to get an appointment. We waited for the U.S. Postal service to deliver contracts to our clients and then we waited some more. We could certainly continue to handle business that way, but at what cost? Today, technological advancements allow us to handle this tedious process better, saving time and therefore money. In healthcare for instance, a doctor is required to be credentialed with each insurance carrier before he/she can begin to see patients. This is done not only for billing purposes, but to provide confirmation to the insurance carriers that the doctor is compliant with licensing, business relationships, and malpractice liability requirements. If this process takes too long, the doctor is prevented from seeing patients. A medical practice whose doctors can't treat patients is on the road to failure. A practice with a flawed credentialing process will lose much more than just revenue, patients and doctors. This practice can also lose its valuable reputation and it’s workforce.

Consider your employees’ expectations. Have they been with you from the beginning and are now deeply entrenched in the dangerous "this is the way we've always done it” mentality? Do you have new employees? Your new team members may hail from a more progressive environment and become stifled and unhappy at yours if your processes are not current. For example, a new manager in your practice who is responsible for revenue goals and comes from a forward-looking practice may become disheartened and defeated with the cumbersome credentialing process encountered at your practice and leave for greener pastures prematurely. This can lead to employee turn over and job dissatisfaction, which will inevitably affect your corporate culture and bottom line in a negative way.

As you consider the need for change in your organization, think about what you are trying to accomplish and how it will affect the organization as a whole. Is changing going to lead to measurable improvement? At Ratner consulting we love change – but only if it makes sense and only if it creates improvement that will produce positive results like keeping the ants away and the fish happily swimming!