HTM Department Reinvents Itself with Image Makeover

What are some of the stereotypes associated with healthcare technology management (HTM) professionals and departments? Hoarders, reclusive, “strictly a break-and-fix shop,” and “tactical but not strategic” were a few such nasty monikers listed by Genevieve Redman, site manager in the Biomedical Engineering Department at New York Presbyterian (NYP) Hospital.

“We’re seen as firefighters, who are just there to put out a fire and leave,” said Redman. “Often, clinicians do not see the big picture of what HTM is capable of.”

To conquer these stereotypes, Redman and Chif Umejei, director of biomedical engineering and information systems at NYP Hospital, shared the strategies they used to overhaul their department’s image during the session Perception is Everything: Reinventing Our HTM Department, held on Sunday during AAMI 2015.

Quoting Vince Lombardi—“The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual”—Umejei said that “if my team does not support our overall mission, we have failed.” Image, therefore, became a strategic objective for the HTM department.

“There was a strong perception that we were not doing our jobs, that we couldn’t do our jobs,” said Umejei. “This image existed despite the fact that medical equipment was being fixed and we were complying with all regulatory procedures.”

Culture change in the HTM department required, in essence, developing a brand. This process involved creating a shared vision, holding individual teams accountable for sharing goals, fostering and rewarding team interactions, and ensuring that independent HTM teams were exposed to one another.

“This was basically a two-phase process,” said Umejei. “The first phase was creating a cohesive unit, and the second phase was unleashing that unit on the hospital.”

Umejei said that the performance evaluations for all his direct reports in HTM were revamped to include the same team goals for everyone. “That caused a culture shock of epic proportions,” he said. Despite this, Umejei was confident that if the department maintained their goals and kept pushing the team rather than the individual, the culture would eventually change. To this end, customer service, image, and efficiency were constantly reinforced at department meetings.

“We consistently reiterated the concept of ‘always doing the right thing,’ even if it caused frustration in certain instances and resulted in certain problems not being fixed,” said Umejei.

To successfully market the department, a bottoms-up engagement campaign was undertaken to rebuild broken relationships, increase transparency, and shift the focus from excuses to solutions.

“We’re a service organization whether we like it or not,” said Umejei. By aggressively sending out technicians to perform rounds, he said that over time, clinicians began to see HTM staff as humans rather than “basement dwellers.”

He noted that another positive effect of this increased customer service focus and enhanced transparency has been a steady improvement in preventive maintenance compliance.

“If our customers—the clinicians—hear, ‘I can’t do this because,’ it leaves a bad impression,” said Umejei. HTM staff were coached to take a more diplomatic approach. Now, they address sensitive issues with responses such as, “Although that’s not our responsibility, I will gladly help find a solution,” he said.

Use of social media has been key to cultivating this culture change. “When something positive happens, we send out tweets that celebrate our victories,” said Umejei. He added that this positive social media campaign was pivotal in winning the support of nurses at NYP, who now sing the praises of HTM staff.

Another aspect of the image makeover, said Umejei, was sitting in on meetings with the C-suite and other departments. While the team members might not actively participate, HTM became privy to the conversations being had by hospital management, which in turn helped them strategize more effectively.

By working as a cohesive team, a happy side effect was major cost savings: The HTM department budget dropped from $42.3 million in 2012 to $38.6 million in 2014. Umejei also noted that during this time frame, the department has not lost a team member.

Other key gains have included the department becoming a core part of hospital operations management, taking the lead on IT integration projects, successfully leading the business case to justify selling diagnostic imaging services to other institutions, becoming a strategic contributor in mergers and acquisitions, and improving employee engagement and productivity.

“Ironically, we are taking on more work, but our staff is happier,” said Umejei. “That is a positive effect of engagement.”

One such engagement-cultivating initiative was to have HTM staff “shadow” other staff, such as imaging techs and IT staff, for a couple hours per week. Although Umejei admitted this “mentor-mentee” relationship involved some growing pains, over time, it resulted in synergies among staff.

“Why are we hiding in the basement? Take a risk, get out of there, and you will find opportunities for growth. We are not perfect, but we will chase perfection, and that will make us excellent. Some of the brightest people are buried in the basement—unleash them,” said Umejei.