More focus needed on project management in healthcare

Healthcare institutions need to pay more attention and give more resources to their project management. This is according to research by the Foundation for Project Management in Care in cooperation with Improven.

The researchers interviewed some 100 professionals, all working in the project management profession within the healthcare sector. Asked how mature they rated their own project management practices, four in 10 respondents said it was (very) immature. "Project management in healthcare is anything but everywhere in order, so not as good as it really should be," says researcher John van Rouwendaal.

"Of course, there are exceptions of organisations that do have their projects in order," adds Maarten van Weeghel, partner at Improven admitted, "but across the board, there is still a lot to be done in healthcare."

Causes low project management maturity

According to him, there are several reasons for low maturity. One is that there is too little awareness that changing project-based ways of working increases the chances of success. Another lies in the fact that project managers are often invisible to line (top) management: they move mountains of work, but it is not noticed because most of it happens somewhere in the background.

It also emerges that little attention to project management remains when the primary process demands attention in the first place and then normal management swallows up all attention. Rouwendaal: "Project management then becomes, very exaggeratedly and somewhat malignedly, like the third wheel on a wagon and in the damn corner."

Change initiatives fail

Low project management maturity affects project success. Indeed, many change initiatives founder because of this. When asked 'To what extent are you satisfied with the delivered results of the projects', a quarter of respondents said they were dissatisfied. 40% takes a neutral stance, but is not satisfied either. This means that, below the line, many of the investments do not realise the predefined benefits.

But why do so many projects in healthcare fail? They are mostly factors that apply to any sector. The single most important reason is that there are too few people/resources available to do all the projects. "Anyone who has been active in healthcare in recent years will recognise this: too much has to change in too short a time with too few people and resources," says Van Rouwendaal.

Project managers indicate as the second main reason that their projects fail due to changes in objectives and strategy, insufficient communication and attention to implementation and insufficient involvement of end-users. Managers, on the other hand, indicate that the purpose of the project was unclear from the outset and that changes in scope are poorly managed, the survey found.

Improvement is necessary

On the need for improvement, there is a broad consensus among respondents. 80% indicates that its organisation has had to change more in recent years than before - 22% indicates the same change while 1% experiences less change. The main drivers for change are innovation, compliance and patient/client needs. This trend is expected to continue in the coming years, says Van Weeghel.

"Healthcare is struggling with numerous technological, demographic and economic developments. Moreover, there is pressure from both politicians and patients to deliver better healthcare services, through a more patient-centred and efficient way. "That healthcare organisations need to change more is actually asking for the obvious," he concludes.