CEO at Excel Healthcare Group, Inc
I think the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (IBC) has done an amazing job in not only marketing their cause, but in raising funds. Working in healthcare and specifically in the EMR sector, I can see similarities – here are the top five.
1) Everyone is participating! The IBC has gotten a lot of folks involved in dumping ice water on themselves or getting others to do it for them. Hospitals all over the country have to implement an EMR system and some are doing it themselves, while many organizations are enlisting the help of consultants.
2) Not everyone is excited about the challenge. Some people would just rather pay the money or ignore the challenge – the same thing happens in Healthcare. Some employees just ignore the upcoming changes or implementations and skip training altogether.
3) It’s not about the money – it is what you do with the money. While ALS is using the money for research to help those with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, healthcare organizations can use the EMR system to help their patients. Some of the ways this helps patients is their allergies and medication lists are available to all providers (which is very helpful in emergency situations). It also helps cut abuse for some drug seekers who used to see multiple providers to get prescriptions for the same medications.
4) Dump it quickly to get it over with. Some people dump the bucket of ice water on themselves, so they know when to expect it, while others people just have someone dump it on them so they don’t know when to expect it. In an EMR implementation you can do it slowly or go all in!
5) Garnering support and promoting it is important! In the ALS challenge you have to videotape yourself getting dumped on and then challenge someone else to participate. In an EMR implementation, you need to garner support from all the employees and patients that will be affected by the changes.
If you are looking to have someone nominate you to participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, I nominate you! If you need consultants to help with your EMR implementation, I can help with that as well! www.excelhcg.com
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