Providing ICD-10 Executive Program Management to a Major National Healthcare Organization
Freed Associates provided ICD-10 strategy, program management office infrastructure, and overall risk management consulting services to a major national healthcare organization.
Situation
By October, 2014, the healthcare industry must make the transition to ICD-10 coding, which requires significant resources and expertise from healthcare organizations. The executive management of a major national healthcare organization determined that its existing ICD-10 program management office needed to define more clearly its overall ICD-10 Strategy. Concerns about risk exposure for the organization led to management’s recognition of the need for an effective central management for the ICD-10 initiative.
Solution
The client engaged Freed Associates to assess and recommend an appropriate program management infrastructure for the client’s ICD-10 program. After a one month gap analysis, Freed recommended that the client consolidate disparate PMOs into a single entity, implement MS Project Server as a method of standardizing schedules and work plans, align to an appropriate governance model, and clarify responsibilities, scope, and dependencies.
As an add-on to the original engagement, Freed prepared a customized ICD-10 whitepaper that included a client-specific impact analysis and risk register.
In addition to providing recommendations to the client, Freed stayed on board for the remainder of the ICD-10 initiative to support the program governance. In April 2012, the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced its intent to delay ICD-10 to an unknown date. Freed advised and supported the client through a thorough scenario planning exercise intended to map out impacts and plans to the various delay contingencies.
Once HHS announced a proposed 1-year delay, Freed supported the client with re-planning efforts. Among the activities were developing a strategic roadmap and facilitating decision making on how the client would address industry readiness. This included accommodating the dual processing of ICD-9 and ICD-10 transactions and re-forecasting budgets.
Results
Freed continues to advise the client regarding ICD-10 executive program management and program management infrastructure. All ICD-10 sub-programs and projects have adopted MS Project Server. Simplified and standardized processes now exist for project chartering, issue and risk management, schedule and dependency management, financials, status and communication, escalation, governance, and meeting scheduling and facilitation.
