At the heart of every RoundTable consulting project is the drive to make existing and incoming technologies better support the people and processes of the healthcare organizations that we serve. Whether assessing an EHR upgrade or a Revenue Cycle system conversion, our consultants expect to complete each project leaving end-users and executives greater satisfied with the tools that they use each day.
To consistently achieve these outcomes, RoundTable has consciously built consulting teams with healthcare IT professionals that have previous operations experience within the departments they support.
During a recent Epic inpatient financial conversion, we engaged a Hospital Billing Analyst Consultant who had been a Business Office Supervisor prior to her Epic consulting career. This ensured healthcare cash operations workflow expertise and allowed her to understand and optimally communicate end-user processes while working on the client’s conversion. We also engaged a Project Manager Consultant who had previously been an OR Business Manager for a Cerner Operating-Room module (SurgiNet) conversion. This allowed him to better interface with clinicians and operational leadership when working through their complex conversion needs as they shifted from paper to Cerner SurgiNet. While these are just a few recent examples, similar engagements yielding similar value echo consistently through our rich previous body of work.
Particularly within the patient care setting, a Systems Analyst or Principal Trainer possessing previous clinical experience will leverage that knowledge to optimally work with providers and execute project deliverables. We asked one of our Senior Epic Cardiology / Radiology Analysts to explain her personal perspective on the Operations-to-IT advantage.
Senior Epic Cupid / Radiant Analyst – Over 15 years of Healthcare and Healthcare IT Experience
Question: How many years did you serve as a Cardiology RN?
Answer: I worked on the Progressive Care Unit and ICU/CCU/MICU for about 10 years. I moved to the Cath lab/IR lab and Holding area for 2 years. Then I was asked to work in the Cardiovascular testing area. During this time I also worked with our Medical Center and went live with them on Epic at four campuses.
Question: What made you transition to Healthcare IT?
Answer: When the hospital decided to move to Epic, they approached me since I had worked with Epic and the majority of the cardiovascular areas. I decided to try it and loved it.
Question: What was the biggest challenge during the transition?
Answer: There were two. One was sitting so much. The other was learning the IT and Epic languages. My first IT meeting I left feeling like I was in way over my head. I barely understood anything they had discussed.
Question: What are the benefits of having the relevant field work and operational experience prior to your career in Healthcare IT?
Answer: My clinical and IT experience allows me to bridge the gap between IT and Operations. I am able to relate and translate, in order to create a better understanding all around.
While RoundTable has many differentiators, bringing immediately relevant experience and understanding to each engagement, is of the upmost importance to us. For the past eight years our firm has demonstrated success in system conversion, upgrade, and system enhancement projects nationwide. During that time, we have consistently validated the value in building consulting teams who truly understand the operational areas they support.
