MDRP 2010 Conference - Operational and System Answers

Speakers:
Amy VanDeCar – Compliance Implementation Services (CIS)
Tom Evegan – Acorda Therapeutics
Rob LaPorte – Paddock Laboratories Inc.

There are several ways to respond to change – and if anyone understands “change” it is those of us in the GP/Medicaid world!

First, you PREPARE for the upcoming changes. You get a general grasp upon how these changes will impact your business and affect your business practices.

Then you LEARN as much as you can. There are various ways to gather information including but not limited to: attending conferences; visiting compliance sites; talking to peers; obtaining the help of a consultant; and reading as much of the legislation that you can. The networking part of this section is very important when you consider that regulations can be inserted in any bill, not just those dealing with healthcare. Case in point was the AMP language in the recent H.R. 1586 which was an FAA bill. The more interaction you seek, the better the chance you have to hear about those obscure changes.

ANALYZE and integrate your preparations into the information that you learned. See how much you still need to understand or how far off you were with your preparations. Take the information that you learn and figure out how it works for or against your company. And if you can, take that knowledge and do some forecasting to get a better idea as to where these new changes are leading you and your company.

After you feel you have enough of an understanding of what needs to be done, start to COMMUNICATE those changes to all stakeholders within your organization. Remember to ask the question if these changes actually change the list of stakeholders. Do you now have to include a department or staff member that in the past you never had dealings? And ensure that your communication includes the proper amount of emphasis. If the CFO needs to know that there is a compliance risk to not making a change, communicate that to them and in the right amount of alertness. If they do not understand the importance and you do not tell them the importance, your company will more than likely not make that critical change a priority.

And finally, once you have understood the change and have systems in place it is time to move forward, which is how you REACT to the change. If you are prepared and educated, done the analysis and conveyed that to others, your reactions should be much easier than just taking that leap before you have looked.

Happy Implementation!