Whether it’s time to upgrade your electronic health record (EHR) system or improve the patient experience, change is inevitable. However, even though it’s a natural part of the industry, that doesn’t mean everyone will be on board with it right away.
In fact, many people may be against the changes or resist them altogether, which can put you and your team in a bind. That’s where change management strategies, or how your organization plans to transition from its current state to a desired outcome, come into play.
Below, explore common barriers, popular strategies and tips for combating resistance to change in healthcare.
Common Barriers to Change in Healthcare
Many people are resistant to change; medical professionals are no exception. As a result, many internal and external barriers can make it challenging to implement (and maintain) change.
Here are some of the most common barriers to change and types of resistance encountered among medical professionals:
Group Culture
Within a workplace or department, it’s natural for teams to form a common culture. However, this could lead to collective opposition, especially if group leaders are against the change.
Technology Skills
Many changes involve using new technologies, whether that’s a specific type of software, equipment or AI. People with limited technical skills or those set in their ways may oppose switching to something new.
Understated Value
Healthcare workers often want to know why they should make the change. Without telling them how it will benefit them, their patients or the organization as a whole, they may be unwilling to engage.
Lack of Strategy
Sometimes the barrier is a lack of a well-defined change management plan. Without a proper strategy, it can be easy to get off course, fall behind and be unable to inspire others to work with you.
Feelings of Exclusion
In some cases, medical professionals may resist change if they didn’t initiate it or weren’t actively involved in the process. Feeling unheard or excluded may create unpleasant feelings among the staff.
Organizational Factors
Some issues stem from beyond the control of healthcare workers or change-makers. For instance, higher-ups may set unrealistic timelines or provide an inadequate budget, making implementation challenging.
While some of these barriers are not deliberate resistance, they can all cause delays or challenges to your efforts. With that said, practitioners may engage in active or passive resistance if they aren’t on board. Examples of what that may look like include:
- Performance decreases
- Vocal disagreement
- Slower work
- Communication concerns
Although it’s natural to fear the unknown, change is a critical part of healthcare. Luckily, implementing a change management strategy can help you overcome resistance.
Change Management Strategies in Healthcare
Many existing change management strategies could work in the medical setting. Two of the most widely used are the Kotter and Lewin models.
Kotter’s 8-Step Process
One of the most popular and effective methods for change management is the Dr. John Kotter model. It’s an eight-step process, as outlined below:
- Establish urgency: Prove why people should care by using case studies and data to demonstrate that the problem is real.
- Find people who care: Gather a group of like-minded individuals who also want to make the change and plan to meet regularly.
- Develop a strategy: Create a vision statement, set realistic goals and identify concrete steps or tasks you must take to get there.
- Communicate the vision: Share the goal with others as often as possible.
- Identify resistance: Determine who is resistant to the change and work to educate, negotiate and persuade them to your side.
- Find short-term successes: Set achievable goals so you can find success quickly, gain support and boost morale.
- Produce more change: Analyze and learn from smaller wins to preserve momentum as you work toward bigger ones.
- Anchor the change: Incorporate the new process into your organization at every level. Conduct surveys and collect data about the project to uncover its impact.
Lewin’s 3-Step Model
Another theory commonly applied in healthcare change management is Lewin’s three-step process. Here’s a breakdown of how it works:
- Unfreeze: To “unfreeze” is to create awareness of the problem through education or demonstration. In doing so, you can encourage people to let go of current patterns and challenge the status quo.
- Change: Next, you seek alternative solutions to the existing ones and demonstrate their benefits. In this phase, you should be able to decrease barriers to change.
- Refreeze: Here, you would fully integrate the updates, making it a habit and preventing continued resistance. You can do so by celebrating successes and providing continued training as necessary.
Additional Suggestions for Implementing Change in Healthcare
Aside from choosing a change management strategy, there are other ways to enhance the process. Other ideas to keep in mind include:
- Encouraging early adopters: Creating a “team” of those willing to try the update first can help get people on board early. Those same individuals could then become advocates for the change.
- Providing regular communication: Continuously provide updates and share information about the change implementation with those affected.
- Improving education opportunities: People may have questions or need clarification about certain parts of the changes. Make it easy for them to get answers or seek support.
Overcoming resistance to change and successfully implementing your strategy is no easy task. Use these tips and suggestions to get your team off to the right start.
And if you need help with leadership skills or want to stay updated on the latest industry changes, continuing medical education (CME) can help. Browse our upcoming events to find topics that fit your needs!