Digital Transformation and Climbing the CISOM Ladder
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent push for digital transformation. For many health systems, this strategy starts at the heart of the organization, the ERP.
Years of merger and acquisition activity has left many health systems with a patchwork of disconnected legacy on-premise systems, which have proved difficult in areas such as too many manual processes and a lack of automation; inaccurate or outdated data and analytics, and limited integration with clinical systems. These setbacks have fast-tracked healthcare leaders’ push for cloud technology, with cloud adoption being in the top areas for increased investment this year.
Digital Maturity and ERP Selection
The cloud ERP system selection process is more than selecting new technology. ERP projects are complex and transformative in nature, but the decision-making process differs from the selection process many remember from on premise ERP implementations. Cloud deployment also requires some pre-work, including building the business case, ensuring executive buy-in, reviewing current systems and processes, communication and change management, as well as selecting technology and system integration partners. As the process has changed from on-premise solutions, it is worthwhile to take the time to familiarize your team with current best practices for cloud selection and deployment success.
Increasing Integration
Along with selecting the right cloud ERP system, healthcare organizations need to focus on how the new system will connect with their EHR, especially in supply chain and finance. The HIMSS Analytics Clinically Integrated Supply Outcomes Model (CISOM) is an eight-stage model (0-7) that provides a strategic pathway to track processes and products used in care, by mobilizing data to create real-world evidence of impact and outcomes for patient populations. Healthcare organizations can take a survey that will track their current stage of supply chain integration and partner with certified CISOM experts to establish a clear integration roadmap and reduce costs by leveraging technology needed to achieve level seven certification.
Climbing the Ladder
El Camino Health, a not-for-profit health system with hospitals in Mountain Health and Los Gatos, California, began their CISOM journey last year in tandem with a Workday deployment. The project involved 107 points of integration between the new ERP and EHR.
Deb Muro, CIO at El Camino Health noted that the process was significant but worth it, understanding that the more that you can automate processes, the more you can free up staff and operations employees to focus on other things.
Increasing interoperability between the EHR and ERP and climbing the CISOM ladder will allow El Camino to increase supply chain maturity, better use modern functionality for lowered costs and limited revenue leakage, and improve its BI and reporting.
Health systems that lack involvement from operational owners of ERP and EHR systems in the organization’s digital transformation strategy will create a challenging path to success. Involving these stakeholders early and taking a holistic view of how integrated data from each system can improve operations is key to smooth transformation.
Avaap is HIMSS Analytics CISOM certified and effectively educates and guides hospital systems through the maturity model stages to achieve optimal supply chain infrastructure and improve point of care and patient safety. Get in touch to learn how we can help your organization climb the CISOM ladder.