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If you think the rapid rate of change in healthcare makes strategic planning an exercise in futility, you might have learned the wrong lesson.
In 1996, ahead of his long-awaited World Boxing Association heavyweight fight against Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson famously said, "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." He later elaborated and emphasized the importance of pushing forward and fighting, even when the odds seem stacked against you. Basically, he was saying to not make the mistake of underestimating someone's style or abilities because everyone has a plan until they get hit.
No one knows this more than the healthcare industry. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit and took hold in our communities, healthcare organizations changed their approach to care from proactive to reactive literally overnight. Needed supplies, including those designed to keep healthcare practitioners safe, were quickly exhausted. Beds were filled to capacity, and among those needing care, panic turned to fear, which turned to hostility. Frontline workers, already physically exhausted, were pushed to the brink mentally and emotionally.
The Importance Of Long-Term Strategies
As Covid-19 evolves from pandemic to endemic, it's easy to rail against pre-pandemic plans and disparage the time, energy and funds put into planning that could ultimately not meet the moment. I'd argue that's short-sighted.
Crafting long-term strategic plans can help organizations grow and meet the needs of the people they serve. But Covid-19 created — and revealed — significant structural flaws within healthcare, and organizations looking to make meaningful progress to address them will need to do so strategically, not haphazardly. Consider the following real-life examples:
We have long known that a rapidly aging population combined with a limited ability to train new healthcare workers has led to a staffing crisis in this country. But the pandemic added an entirely new dimension to the challenge of maintaining and supporting healthcare practitioners. CommonSpirit Health in Chicago recognized a problem that many healthcare organizations are experiencing: a desperate need to attract and retain talent. Working with a large network of stakeholders, CommonSpirit Health developed a multiyear strategy, including a nursing residency program, a national staffing agency and a virtually integrated care unit.
Clinician burnout, while hardly a new issue, has emerged as one the most pressing concerns facing the industry since the onset of the pandemic. Envision Healthcare in Nashville sought to create a long-term solution by partnering with the Heroes' Foundation to develop new protocols and legislation designed to reduce burnout and suicides among healthcare professionals.
The pandemic had already stretched the resources of Indianapolis' Community Health Network beyond capacity, and the healthcare organization needed solutions that gave their clinicians more time to work with patients. By partnering with CipherHealth, a healthcare technology company, Community Health Network was able to incorporate digital self-servicing solutions that empowered patients and replaced repetitive tasks with automated services.
What all of these examples share are vision and intentionality. There are shorter-term quick fixes that might have put a band-aid over the problem, but how would those solutions fit in with the organization's long-term plans? Would they meet the organization's needs both three months from now and three years from now?
How To Approach Strategic Planning
Developing a well-thought-out plan allows healthcare providers the opportunity to create goals, understand the timeline and resources needed to accomplish those goals, and allocate funds accordingly. Here are my top five best practices that healthcare leaders should consider when developing long-term strategic plans:
1. Establish clear goals and objectives.
The first step in any successful strategic planning process is to identify the goals and objectives of your organization. Your goals should be clear, measurable and achievable within a reasonable timeframe. Establishing clear goals can help you determine how best to allocate resources and plan for the future.
2. Utilize data and research.
Analyzing data can help you identify trends and opportunities that can be used to inform strategic planning decisions. Researching best practices in other organizations can provide valuable insights into what works and what doesn't work when it comes to strategic planning in a healthcare setting.
3. Communicate and involve stakeholders.
Ensure that your team members, patients and other key stakeholders are aware of your organization's goals and actively involved in making decisions related to achieving those goals. Communicate regularly so that everyone is on the same page and each stakeholder's needs are taken into account.
4. Create an action plan.
Your action plan should be focused specifically on how you plan to achieve your established goals. Your plan should include specific steps, a timeline and measurable objectives for evaluating progress along the way.
5. Monitor and adjust as needed.
Finally, regularly monitor progress toward your goals and make necessary adjustments along the way. Be open to feedback from all stakeholders to ensure that the plan remains relevant. Additionally, take into account any changes in the external environment that may have a potential impact on your strategic plans.
With the right resources and support, healthcare providers are able to deliver quality care while remaining competitive in an ever-changing industry.
Lasting Solutions Require Vision And Intentionality
To quote Iron Mike once more, "If you're good and your plan is working, somewhere during the duration of that, the outcome of that event you're involved in, you're going to get the wrath, the bad end of the stick. Let's see how you deal with it."
While healthcare organizations can't prepare for every contingency, adapting to an ever-changing industry and the needs of the communities they serve takes foresight and flexibility. Covid taught us that at a time of increasingly rapid change in the industry, strategic planning is more important than ever.