Be proactive. It’s the very first habit discussed in Stephen R. Covey’s best-selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. And for good reason. Covey’s theory is that proactive people take responsibility for behavior that leads to results and growth. They know they have a choice in how they respond to their environment.
For example, instead of worrying about the weather, an event that people have little or no control over, proactive people choose to focus their time and energy on something they can control, such as a project at work or a family activity.
This same theory can be applied to Managed Services. When a Managed Services team focuses on fixing the root cause of high ticket volumes, they can help organizations streamline efficiencies and save money. They can be a huge value-add to their partner organizations.
However, many Managed Services teams aren’t structured this way. They’re often structured to be reactive. A ticket comes in, and an analyst works to resolve the issue. They’ll apply a quick-fix solution, move on to the next ticket in the queue, and have a certain barrier to ticket volumes they can resolve.
At Nordic, our process is different. Our team works on a fixed-fee, capitated pricing model instead of a per-ticket basis. This unique approach to Managed Services enables our team to focus on solving problems at the core of the issue. As Covey would say, our approach enables us to focus on the problems we can control and ultimately deliver more value to our partners.
How exactly does proactive support from Managed Services result in improved outcomes for organizations? Here are a few ways we offer proactive support and how it’s resulted in time and cost savings for our client partners.
1. Digging deeper to evaluate the root cause of tickets
Our Managed Services team has a unique vantage point. We monitor the issues that organizations are experiencing with their systems and workflows. When our analysts notice a pattern of tickets that seem to be interrelated or a high volume of a certain type of ticket, they dig deeper to get to the root cause of the issue.
For example, our analysts were working with a large regional healthcare system and noticed they were receiving an influx of maintenance tickets from the radiology department and correlating tickets for missed charges from the pharmacy department. After doing a little digging, they determined these two issues were related.
After taking a step back to uncover the source of the issue, our analysts determined that the organization’s three-step process for contrast administration was resulting in missed/incorrect charges. They quickly notified our client partner and developed medication-based workflows for contrasts, which enabled end users to automatically file charges in the system. With the accurate documentation in place, management at the organization now spends considerably less time reviewing charge errors in the system, and the organization has already received more than $750,000 in 340B savings.
This is a great example of how proactive support from Managed Services can pay dividends. Our analysts noticed a pattern of issues, identified the root cause, and designed a solution that is saving time and money for our client partner.
2. Applying best practices across the client family
Collaboration is a key component of proactive Managed Services support. Our team structure enables analysts to work cross-collaboratively, sharing ideas and best practices for supporting our entire client family. They discuss issues to look for and how to get to the root cause.
They’re also trained to apply these findings to help insulate their client partners from the same types of issues other clients may be experiencing. Therefore, what may have started as a reactive ticket with one client, could turn into a proactive approach with another.
In the example shared above, the analysts knew the tell-tale signs of contrast charging issues and how to resolve the case because they learned from other client partners who had submitted tickets for similar issues. They knew exactly what to look for and potential solutions to recommend to the client partner.
As we continue to partner with more clients and grow our Managed Services team, our knowledge base also continues to expand. And through knowledge transfer, we are better equipped to keep an eye out and proactively monitor these issues.
3. Anticipating the end user’s needs
We realize that clinical end users are extremely busy. For every case we get, there are probably multiple tickets that didn’t get submitted because clinicians don’t have enough hours in the day to worry about system maintenance issues. That’s why we believe it is part of our job to monitor the system and alleviate those issues before clinical end users even submit a ticket.
We strive to anticipate the end user’s needs. While we do this by evaluating the root cause and applying best practices, we also conduct proactive audits to review systems and databases. These audits often help uncover inaccuracies or other issues with the system. For example, we’ve uncovered technical fixes that have helped improve end-user workflows, as well as data maintenance issues that impact compliance. These fixes helped improve efficiency and support patient safety for organizations.
Overall, our goal isn’t just to crush what’s in the ticket queue. We aim to provide the best environment for end users, regardless of if we get a ticket. When we can anticipate the problems an end user may be experiencing, we can help increase organizational efficiencies for our client partners.
If you’re interested in discussing how a proactive Managed Services approach could help improve your organizational outcomes, please schedule a meeting. We’d love to listen to your goals to determine how best we can support you.
