The shift to value-based payments and value-based care is the most complex and far-reaching transformation being undertaken by U.S. health care in our lifetimes. One proven way to increase the chance of success in any project, let alone one the size and scope of the wholesale move to population health management and risk contracting, is to deploy a project management office.

During our September 21 webinar, “Why You Need a Project Management Office to Realize Your VBP Strategy,” we explored the benefits of a PMO on your value-based journey. Our client, John Juzaitis, executive director of Partners Care IPA, offered a case study in how the independent physician association used a PMO to sort and sequence value-based initiatives, improve risk-contracting compliance and governance, and secure insightful data analytics to drive better performance

Without adding more complexity or overhead, a strong PMO brings organizational structure and focus that improves communication and workflow and maximizes value from your teams. Some key advantages detailed during the webinar:

1. Identifying the gaps (and how to fix them). A PMO will help to recognize where you have gaps in your processes, timelines, compliance, and risk exposure and will lead the effort to close them. Through requirements management, contract administration, resource allocation, and risk planning, the PMO keeps your organization alert to potential obstacles and navigates safely around them.

2. Enabling clinicians and staff to focus on their jobs. Project management offices bring expertise in effectively handling timelines, deliverables, and risk so the rest of your team can focus on their primary responsibilities. Keeping teams aligned and motivated and navigating a multitude of expectations and demands is time-consuming work when you are developing and implementing a value-based strategy. Through communication management, stakeholder engagement, issue resolution, and team coordination, the PMO keeps your team focused and working at top of license to reach your value-based goals.

3. Keeping work moving forward. PMOs will keep your value-based strategy projects on track and on budget so you can realize the most return from your project investments. Under the pressures of delivering clinical care, engaging physicians, and improving population health, tracking project timelines and budgets can fall behind. Through continual management of schedules, budgets, and resource assignments, the PMO maximizes your project margins and, more importantly, ensures the projects deliver meaningful value to you and your stakeholders.

4. Adapting to your environment. A PMO is not a one-size-fits-all solution. An effective PMO must be the right fit for your organization, adapted to your organizational culture and structure and hyper-focused on adding value to your processes and engagements. Like a carpenter who applies the right tool for the job, the PMO has to mindfully apply the right methods to help your project succeeds.

5. Managing across your portfolio. A PMO focuses across your whole portfolio of projects, keeping up with the dependencies and connections, aligning timelines and resource assignments, and leading teams to deliver on your objectives.

Today’s PMO is an organization for managing complexity and delivering value. A decade ago, the national average across industries for project success was about 50%. In 2021, the average for delivering on planned objectives climbed to almost 75%. The reason for the major improvement? In most cases, it was a PMO.

Projects with a project manager are 3 times more likely to succeed¹. Long thought to apply only for construction or IT, project management is proving its value across industries including healthcare. If your organization is considering developing a value-based payment strategy or you are already on that journey, you can improve your potential for success through a strong PMO.

For more information, contact info@copehealthsolutions.com.

Footnotes

¹Alvarenga, J., Branco, R., Do Valle, A., Soares, C., & Silva, W. (2018). A revaluation of the criticality of the project manager to the project’s success. Business Management Dynamics, 8(2), 1-18.