The Healthcare Industry and an Agile Approach May Be a Perfect Match

By Simone Fuselier

For decades, the concept of an Agile approach wasn’t mission critical to many players in the healthcare industry. There was no pressing need to modernize or adapt to the market. Rather, the market would adapt to it.

That situation began to change dramatically a decade ago. The federal government demanded more accountability and so competition intensified. Being agile went from being a luxury item then, to a necessity and many healthcare players simply weren’t well-positioned to respond that quickly.

Good news: agility, first with IT and now across the entire enterprise, is becoming the way that companies are responding to significant market changes.

Forbes Insights noted in the September 18 report entitled “The Elusive Agile Enterprise” that 81 percent of the 1,000 executives it surveyed believe that an Agile approach is critically important when it comes to leading a successful organization. Among the companies surveyed, according to a press release issued about the report, was GE Healthcare.

“We have definitely seen a shift among companies in the healthcare industry,” said Erik Cottrell, Senior Vice President of Client Success at Agile Velocity (AV), a company that helps transform organizations using its Path to Agility ™ framework. “They are increasingly focused on both cost savings while improving customer satisfaction levels simultaneously.”

AV has gained significant traction with such companies for a couple of reasons.

First, it is committed to a tailored, holistic, but still simple framework, according to Cottrell. The company’s Path to Agility ™ framework is different because it is personalized to an individual company’s needs, rather than trying to apply a blanket solution across all clients. The company takes the time to understand a client’s problems and needs before suggesting a solution. “We bring a holistic approach to the engagement, which means not only listening to what the client has to say but asking probing questions to help identify the problem,” said Cottrell.

Second, Cottrell noted that AV’s trainers and coaches have significant experience and expertise in implementing transformations at scale. AV’s experience with a number of scaling frameworks, including SAFe®, the Scaled Agile Framework. “These companies are typically looking to establish momentum, or get their teams and entire programs working effectively together across the organization. We provide the experience and expertise to help them stay keenly focused on their teams’ outcomes or business results.”

Agile Velocity has the ability to become a major partner in the healthcare industry as innovation becomes a requirement for success.

About the author: Simone Fuselier is an expert at project management, organizational management, and business writing. Simone has worked with several healthcare clients in her project management career including working for MI7 – a SaaS startup that specializes in Healthcare Integration and Interoperability – connecting healthcare organizations and EHRs. Simone holds a Master of Science degree in Project Management from St. Edward’s University, (Austin, TX) and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from the University of Louisiana (Lafayette, LA).