• Timelines
o Is the organization’s leadership in agreement on the timeline for improvement? Have
milestones been identified?
o Does the organization recognize several levels of targets, i.e., short-term goals/targets,
medium-term, and long-term? This is particularly important for areas where elimination
of variation is needed.
• Micro-centers for Change
o Are there relatively self-contained locations or service areas that can serve as models or
demonstration sites?
o Does a selected micro-center for improvement have enough commonality that the
lessons learned can be translated to the rest of the organization?
• Utilization Improvement Officers
o Are there a sufficient number of utilization experts throughout the organization who
can act as resources?
o Have training programs been developed to maintain the focus and drive for
improvement?
• Overarching Guidelines
o Has the organization adopted the appropriate CMS, AHRQ, or other guidelines related
to utilization?
o Is the organization looking three to five years ahead to maintain a leading position in the
industry?
21
21 Numerof & Associates, Inc. “Managing Complex Projects.”
http://www.nai-consulting.com/MCP.aspx. “Meaningful Process Redesign Your
Customers Would Actually Care About.”
http://www.nai-consulting.com/download.aspx?a=32&f=6
