"POPin was the perfect tool to source and score creative ideas from anyone in the organization, and the crowdsourcing function expedited the process of refining and prioritizing the concepts worthy of pursuing."
SCL Health is a faith-based, non-profit healthcare organization with more than 100 physician clinics and 10 hospitals serving Colorado and Montana communities. SCL Health is relentlessly focused on improving the health of communities it serves, and delivering high quality, effective care to every patient. Terri Casterton, Director of Innovation and Virtual Health, is continuously seeking new ways to serve patients. Terri also oversees SCL Health’s annual Innovation Challenge— a company- wide search for new and creative ideas for driving high quality patient care. Terri needed a solution for efficiently engaging SCL Health associates at all levels to participate in the Innovation Challenge.
POPin was the ideal platform for Terri and her team to accelerate collaboration and connect associates across various functions: ambulatory, clinical, surgical, etc. Terri understood that associates working the closest to patients every day had the best ideas about how to improve care. Moreover, engaging the team to help author the best solutions meant associates would be more committed to executing the final plan. Terri presented the following POPin to front-line providers across SCL Health: “How might we create the ideal patient journey both within and outside our hospitals and clinics?”
Through POPin, SCL Health associates submitted over 250 well-crafted ideas on how to improve patient care and better serve the community. Concepts ranged from patient RFID to new charting technology, each requiring various levels of investment to further explore. Teams of associates partnered to develop concepts, provide research, and draft business cases to support the investment.
Based on a combination of POPin voting and a leadership feasibility review, Terri and team selected the top concepts to move to the next round of the challenge. They then used POPin to gather feedback on the viability of the top concepts. Re-engaging associates in the review pro- cess produced additional details that further expanded the ideas and surfaced risks associated with some concepts. This enabled Terri and team to narrow the list to the final candidates. These final concepts were evaluated by leadership to assess which best aligned with SCL Health business objectives and ultimately warranted funding. Terri commented: “We were looking at strength of concept and knew the best solution could be very simple.”
As a result of this iterative and engaging process, SCL Health piloted a new program at one care site to enhance the patient process. The Meds to Bed program streamlines the prescription process for patients about to be discharged, connecting the systems and personnel necessary to provide a seamless experience. The new process also better utilizes the on-site pharmacy, optimizing revenue previously lost to competing outside pharmacies. SCL Health projects a $2 million ROI on the Meds to Bed program once it is launched at all care sites this year.
Implementing associates’ ideas as a result of the Innovation Challenge has increased associate engagement in the program overall. SCL is currently in its second year of using POPin for the Innovation Challenge, and the measurable increase in participation has led to even more creative and exciting ideas.
