Important First Steps in Implementing a Digital Strategy

digital transformation growth. Healthcare organizational cultures must be prepared to embrace analytics and the use of data in decision making and processes.

1. Senior Leadership Education: The leader’s role in the early stages of the journey is to become educated on the subject of digital transformation and its importance. There are several offerings of executive seminars, webinars, and educational sessions by reputable organizations regarding digital transformation. Senior management should be digitally fluent, which means it must be able to articulate the value of digital technologies to the organization’s future. 2. Develop a Strategic Vision: Armed with this new knowledge and the organization’s reality, the leader should develop a strategic vision for digital transformation. This vision should center on the impact of digital transformation on the patient experience, employee experience, other healthcare partners, and organizational efficiency. 3. Make the Case for Digital Transformation: The leader should “take the show on the road” to make his/her case and sell the concept to the staff and the governing board. It is imperative that senior management understands the significance of a digital future and should drive support for its implementation at all organizational levels. 4. Define the Current and Future Culture and Its Gaps: Using a series of focus group sessions, a staff survey/s, senior leadership insights, and industry best practices, the leader should identify the current and future state of digital transformation for the organization. The gaps should be mapped between the current and future states and a plan developed for mitigating these gaps. This process should be done cross-functionally across several layers of the organization. In addition, the leader should be sure to involve Millennials and newer employees in the process. 5. Develop a Priority Action List: Establish a list of priority areas, metrics, and an action plan, or road map, for implementation. The roadmap should include the required leadership competencies for digital transformation and the steps to achieve them. 6. Connect Interdependent Technologies for Improved Communication:

Digital implementation is complex and involves several moving parts. Connecting disparate applications, devices, locations, and