| | | Assessing Business- IT Alignment| Rosa Kemper Cohort 27 Dr. K. Cousins February 17, 2013 Table of Contents I – Executive Summary/Overview Baptist Hospital a) Mission Statement b) Vision statement II. Information Technology: a) Mission Statement b) Vision Statement III. The Business As-Is: Business Scope and Value Discipline IV. Information Technology AS-IS: IT Infrastructure and Scope of Business V. Assessing Business Strategic Alignment and Maturity: IT To-Be Business To-be VI. Assessment of Strategic Alignment Maturity Assessment: Luftman’s SAM Survey Part I: Effectiveness of IT and Business communications (Score 2. 8) Part II: Measurement of the competency and value of IT Score (Score 2. 93) Part III: The governance Partnerships between IT and Business Functions (Score 2. 41) Part IV: Partnerships between IT and Business functions (Score 2. 31) Part V: Scope and Architecture of the IT Infrastructure (Score 2. 67) Part VI. Human resource skills (2. 56) VII. Recommendation to address gaps in the alignment VIII. Strategic Alignment Enablers IX. Strategic Alignment Inhibitors I – Executive Summary/Overview: Baptist Health South Florida, Inc. a not-for-profit health care organization, operates medical plazas, surgical facilities, and hospitals. It offers addiction treatment, behavioral medicine, blood conservation program, cancer, cardiovascular, care and counseling, children’s health, community wellness, critical care center, diabetes, emergency, endoscopy, executive health, gamma knife center, heart surgery, home care, hyperbaric, imaging, intensive care unit, international, interventional/surgical, laboratory, neonatal, neuroscience, and nutrition counseling services.
The company also provides occupational health, orthopedics, outpatient/diagnostic, pain center, pastoral care, pediatric, pel… Baptist Health South Florida (BHSF) is the largest faith-based, not-for-profit health care organization in the area. It has an exceptional reputation for medical and service excellence. Baptist Health South Florida, Inc. was formerly known as Baptist Health Systems of South Florida, Inc. and changed its name to Baptist Health South Florida, Inc. in March 2002. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida.
It has a network of seven hospitals, Baptist, Baptist Children’s, South Miami, Homestead, Mariners and Doctors Hospitals, and Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute, with services extending throughout Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. There are a total of 28 Baptist Outpatient Services Facilities and Medical Plazas which provide outpatient diagnostic, surgical, home health and urgent care services. Specialty areas are: Cancer, Cardiovascular, Children’s Health, Diabetes, Gamma Knife, Diagnostic, Childbirth, Rehabilitation, Senior Services, Women’s Health, and Urgent Care. Baptist Health serves more than 100,000 people each year.
Approximately 2,000 physicians and nearly 12,000 employees adhere to the organization’s mission to provide high-quality, cost-effective, compassionate healthcare services to all, including, as permitted by its resources, charity care to those in need. In 2007, Baptist Health provided an estimated $124 million in charity care. The Baptist Healthcare International Center of Miami is one of the largest hospital-based international programs in America. Thousands of people each year travel to Miami from around the world to visit their medical facilities and respected physicians. The pineapple logo is an age-old symbol of hospitality and warmth.
It is reflected in their customer and patient-oriented focus. Baptist Health was created in 1990, but its tradition of medical excellence goes back decades. Baptist Hospital Baptist Hospital is a 680-bed facility located in the Kendall area of south Miami-Dade County. It was founded in 1960. Today, the hospital is a major medical center, attracting patients from all over the U. S. , the Caribbean, Latin America and beyond. More than 32,000 people are hospitalized at Baptist each year; about 78,000 receive emergency care in our 24-hour Emergency Center and Children’s Emergency Center. Mission Statement The mission of Baptist Health is to improve the health and well-being of individuals, and to promote the sanctity and preservation of life, in the communities we serve. Baptist Health is a faith-based organization guided by the spirit of Jesus Christ and the Judeo-Christian ethic. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of clinical and service excellence, rooted in the utmost integrity and moral practice. Consistent with its spiritual foundation, Baptist Health is dedicated to providing high-quality, cost-effective, compassionate healthcare services to all, regardless of eligion, creed, race or national origin, including, as permitted by its resources, charity care to those in need”. Vision statement “Baptist Health will be the preeminent healthcare provider in the communities we serve, the organization that people instinctively turn to for their healthcare needs. Baptist Health will offer a broad range of clinical services that are evidence-based and compassionately provided to ensure patient safety, superior clinical outcomes and the highest levels of satisfaction with a patient- and family-centered focus. Baptist Health will be a national and international leader in healthcare innovation”. II.
Information Technology: Mission Statement “To support the BHSF vision by providing the highest quality technology solutions to our customers in an efficient and cost effective manner”. Vision Statement “Fully leverage our technology capabilities to provide meaningful information anywhere, anytime to our physicians, clinicians, patients, and employees in a secured and user friendly manner. In order to meet this goal, we will continue to implement advanced technologies such as wireless networking, multi-media telecommunications, digitized imaging, and web-based clinical and business applications throughout BHSF”. III. The Business As-Is:
Business Scope and Value Discipline The organization has created a new delivery of care model built on a value-based strategy. The employment of advanced technology strategies with state of the art web based applications, complex data security platforms and data monitoring offers a wide variety of technology resources made available to the participants in the delivery of care. The highly efficient and widely accessible web and smartphone application for consumer speaks of the Value Discipline and Product Innovation aimed at benchmarking and incentivizing customer satisfaction, care coordination, and total care management.
Moreover, the emphasis on technology leadership positions the business as a frontrunner in the marketplace thus cultivating a distinguishable loyal culture among its customers as a niche. Customer satisfaction is primarily what gives the company its competitive edge. The overall goals are to improve individual patient care, improve overall performance, minimize risks and decrease medical costs. The matrix style management ensures that interdisciplinary membership actively reflects on decisions affecting the overall organization.
Innovation is a constant on all aspects of the organization’s dynamic strategy creating an agile and successful business. Whether in technology being applied, products and services, etc… strong partnerships are created with other organizations in order to distinguish itself in the hyper competitive market. As an example recently BHSF has announced a newly formed Accountable Care Organization (ACO) alliance with BCBS to meet the needs of cancer patients in response to the changing environment and the “age” of the Affordable Care initiative. (1) IV. Information Technology AS-IS:
IT Infrastructure and Scope of Business Scope of Business – “The Information Technology Department provides computer support and implementation services for all BHSF entities including the BHSF Medical Staff. Computer support and implementation services include the appropriate levels of hardware, application, network, telecommunications, operating system, media and telemedicine support required to maintain operations”. The goals and duties of the department are to contribute towards creating an efficient information exchange that can help in improving health outcomes and lowering delivery costs.
To identify educational needs with regard to training existing workforce and future workforce in the information technology healthcare environment. Compliance efforts pushed the department towards the a) centralization of management, b) auditing and c) reporting tools. V. Assessing Business Strategic Alignment and Maturity: IT To-Be Baptist Health prides itself on its health care competences and outstanding reputation. The IT department effectively participates in functional level in the decision process and overall structure of the business and project requirements.
The IT infrastructure is well integrated throughout the organization and effort and cooperation between the business and IT exists in moderate alignment. This partnership helps maximize the goals of the organization. Emphasis on bringing their own internal IT operations up to speed and using their internal personnel resources is part of the organization’s priorities. To validate this observation some examples may shed some light into concerns of processes management, efficiency and standardization that presented potential catastrophe for the business but were appropriately and positively addressed.
The IT system had become outdated and cumbersome. The business and IT collaboratively reached out to an outside consultant to streamline its IT process and improve the perceived value to the business. There were many options on how and where to enter time, so time was often omitted. There was no centralized data warehouse. Project database inaccuracies were updated irregularly. There was no reporting tool for IT resource expenditures, which made establishing the value-add of technology difficult. Finding details on current projects- because there was no consistent reporting process in place- was challenging for managers.
Managing work demand and outcomes was nearly impossible. “The project database gave the level of detail needed for improved project management but the centralized time tracking database has improved efficiencies for resource management as well. Using Planview Enterprise, we have better management, prioritization, and review of project requests. This improved business efficiency assures accurate and timely service delivery to our customers. ”(2) Baptist Health also evaluated many resources and criteria to implement the Oracle Identity Analytics (OIA) as the solution to maintain its roles and place the foundation for automated role governance.
BHSF employed Simeo Solutions as a “trusted” advisor to build the strategy to seamlessly transition the roles into an electronic repository and also build the roadmap for role attestations and role lifecycle management”. (3) The IT department has a high degree of participation in aligning itself with the business structure and on the hands-on implementation of projects that support the organization’s strategy and strategic plans. The have value and the respect they need to maintain the organizational support. However, decision making process on the organizational level rests on the board of directors and upper level business management.
Business To-be Business processes and workflows are generally communicated based on expectations about technology, people and organizational goals that can become obsolete over time. Companies finally must reengineer their processes. Key to the company’s success is analyzing and implementing sustainable processes. Baptist Health has a well-thought-out approach to solution strategy by utilizing top leaders in the industry as consultants in the areas of: a) operational efficiency, b) regulatory compliance, c) user productivity and e) business agility.
The internal IT infrastructure serves fundamentally in an educational and supportive role as well as the launching platform to implementation of the developing framework. The maturity of the alignment appears to be an established and focused process. VI. Assessment of Strategic Alignment Maturity Assessment: Luftman’s SAM Survey The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate the level of alignment that exists between IT and the business within this organization and to point out what, why and how strategic deficiencies pertaining to the alignment or lack thereof were resolved.
As a tool, the Luftman’s Strategic Alignment Model (SAM) Survey (4) was administered to two IT and two business Mid-Management level executives at Baptist Hospital, one of the largest facilities in the BHSF system. The results validate the intra-organizational limitations that may exist in the relationship between the business and the IT department but portray a dynamic institution striving to align itself while creating a competitive advantage and differentiating itself as a leader in the healthcare market. The organization’s strategic alignment is measured by focusing on six aspects of the organization.
These six aspects are what provide the different criteria for determining the maturity of an organization’s alignment. The six categories are: 1. Effectiveness of Communications 2. Measurement of Competency and Value of IT 3. IT Governance 4. Partnerships Between Business and IT Functions 5. IT Infrastructure Scope and Architecture 6. IT Infrastructure Scope and Architecture Part I: Effectiveness of IT and Business Communications (Score 2. 88) Senior and Mid-level It mangers work together to seek and promote innovation and cutting edge products in the changing healthcare environment.
Communication exists in the form of weekly formal meetings that address emerging processes and projects. Unit business and IT managers are encouraged to promote IT integration in the business process and senior level business managers have a good understanding of the value that IT brings to BHSF. They work in tandem to continue improvement of the internal IT infrastructure by bringing in external sources as advisors, continuous training for management level as well as workforce level members.
The phone-mail and the intranet are integrated into the daily operations and used as the main form for communication and Intranet is also applied for educational purposes. There is structured sharing of information at the unit level that is in turn shared with upper level management at formal board meetings. Part II: Measurement of the Competency and Value of IT Score (Score 2. 93) Both business and IT use formal traditional technical and cost efficiency measures to determine the return on investment (ROI) and activity-based costing (ABC) per survey data.
As described earlier the continuous innovation in technology that is implemented across the organization, be it in the delivery of care, documentation applications, medical procedures, management tools and entire IT infrastructure that makes up the fabric of the organization in itself, serve as a guide of how BHSF distinguishes itself in the regional industry. Competencies are measured by metrics. Feedback is obtained in the form of surveys administered to clients and used point out areas for potential improvement and overall customer satisfaction.
Part III: The Governance Partnerships between IT and Business Functions (Score 2. 41) Strategic planning is done at the functional unit level with some business involvement. Because of the support and collaboration that IT provides for the organization, there is an understood interdependency. The governance of the IT department is mostly centralized and it controls its own infrastructure. Planning occurs in the functional unit level and in some degree intra-organizationally – as demonstrated in the examples mentioned above where the IT department played a key role in restructuring the then-deficient and outdated process.
Part IV: Partnerships Between IT and Business Functions (Score 2. 31) Because the partnership that exists between the IT and the business, better management, prioritization, and review of project requests is achieved across the company. This improved business efficiency assures accurate and timely service delivery to customers. Project Performance that IT delivers is a key resource in providing services and sound business outcomes and Helps in measuring the performance of the company. Part V: Scope and Architecture of the IT Infrastructure (Score 2. 7) The IT department function is mostly Federated in that the corporate IT Unit administers the responsibility of the architecture, the administrative systems and standardized decisions but authority for resources applications lies with each functional unit. IT is budgeted as a cost center and financial decisions regarding IT are done at a functional organizational level. The productivity and effectiveness that the IT department brings to the organization is viewed as a strategy enabler and is subject to traditional financial reviews.
The IT steering committee meets as needed but also formally to recap the effectives of project implementation and metrics. Part VI. Human resource skills (2. 56) By using one centralized project data base the BHSF IT organization is able to manage its employee payroll systems and administrative functions in a seamless manner. Career cross-over, education and entrepreneurial innovation is strongly encouraged in the organization. The in-depth knowledge of these individuals Helps with the alignment of the functional units and the overall business and helps decipher the needs of the enterprise.
Trust and confidence among business and IT is an enabler for the corporation. It fosters a positive social and political, productive and efficient work environment that promotes employee participation and loyalty. It is perhaps the vital element that makes BHSF a successful corporation. VII. Recommendation to address gaps in the alignment The web-based platform is compatible with all other current IT systems and will improve the efficiency and accuracy of reporting throughout the company. Some of the ways that this technology will achieve its desired results are:
Plan | Goals/Objectives| Outcomes| Management Planfor Information Management| Improve record keeping and information | IT Project will allow for real-time information and data entry, increased information accuracy, and a consolidated source for all payroll and administrative data| Consulting for Information Management| Utilize new technology to support company and department missions more effectively| New technology will allow many payroll and administrative functions to be automated reducing the levels of staff required to manage these systems|
Continuous collaborative efforts from the IT department and the employment of consulting firms to advise and formulate a more centralized administrative platform will enabled BHSF to manage its employee payroll systems and administrative functions in a consolidated efficient manner. Another enabler is the technology implemented that has already proven to reduce overhead costs associated with the large workforce currently required to manage tasks, training, reporting, and various other administrative tasks.
In the long run the company will also benefit from more timely and accurate financial reporting as a result of managers’ ability to enter and continuously update their financial metrics. The cost is justified by the benefit. Sharing of risks and rewards in projects will improve the business and help move the company forward to the next level of maturity. VIII. Strategic Alignment Enablers: * Senior executives support IT and use outside resources to augment performance. * IT involved in strategy development to moderate extent. There is Business- It partnership with a common goal to benefit the corporation IX. Strategic Alignment Inhibitors * There is a close relationship between IT and Business. * IT understands the business better than the business understands IT. * Projects are prioritized however change is moderately slow. Management is working on Changing this culture. Bibliography: 1) http://hcafnews. com/tag/Baptist-health-south-florida/ Florida Blue, Baptist Health and Physicians Group to Set Up Accountable Care Organization in Miami. 2) http://search. aol. com/aol/search? s_it=topsearchbox. earch&v_t=comsearch51-txtlnkusaolp00000051&q=case+study+baptist+healthcare+south+florida+planview – Project management Gets a Shot in the Arm at Baptist Health – Business Technology Consultant and Planview Enterprise Administrator Baptist Health South Florida Diane Novas. 3) http:// www. simeiosolutions. com/Baptist-health-south-florida/ – Baptist Health South Florida Implements Oracle Identity Analysis for Role Lifecycle Management 4) Assessing Business-IT Alignment Maturity. Volume 4, Article 14, Dec 2000. Jerry Luftman, School of Management, Stevens Institure of Technology.
