Healthcare and Project Management
SERIES ARTICLE
By Dr. Deepa Bhide, MBBS, DCH, PMP
Hyderabad, India
Abstract
The global healthcare system is perpetually set up for new challenges that test its resilience. These challenges trigger innovative healthcare delivery developments for improved health outcomes. Changes in consumer preference, digital health, including the rapidly growing AI-enabled technologies, integration of life sciences and healthcare, globalization policies related to healthcare, public health, availability of healthcare workforce and their training, healthcare delivery models including public health, and clinical leadership are well poised to shape the future of healthcare. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated their momentum. With increased automation of projects, the human side of global health project management is poised to gain importance.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and its capabilities are set to transform how global healthcare is visualized, operated, and monitored. We will likely see more organizations lending themselves to the disruptive forces of AI-enabled healthcare.
In this article, the second and concluding part, we explore additional attributes of global project management in healthcare, such as migrant health, risk management, disaster healthcare management, and similar programs/projects aligned to the strategic objective of universal healthcare for all.
Key terms: Global healthcare project management; migrant health; healthcare emergencies; healthcare information technology; medical tourism; portfolio management; risk management
Mary*: Good morning, doctor. How are you today? I have a guest with me today, and she would like to join our conversation.
Author: Oh, that’s excellent. Would you mind introducing her?
Mary: Jane* is my colleague with over five years of experience managing projects for a multinational company in the information technology sector. She arrived from Turkey two days ago after completing her volunteering stint for the ongoing disaster relief due to the recent earthquake. We discussed her stories about relief operations, and I thought it would be good for her to join our conversation on global project management. Would you like to add to this, Jane?
Jane: Thank you. I am happy to participate in your discussions. Mary has informed me about the depth and variety of healthcare concepts you discussed.
I volunteered as a part of the ABC* team for the search and rescue operations in Turkey, and the situation there is nothing but horrific. The scale of destruction was unimaginable. Nearly two million people were displaced, and fifteen million were affected (as of April 2023) by the 7.8 Richter scale earthquake that jolted Syria and Turkey. After the first few days of the search and rescue activity, our team was deputed to the makeshift surge center to establish basic IT infrastructure for creating medical documentation for the victims. We worked with the local team managing the hospitals, the healthcare staff handling these centers, and our global center. I returned after completing the first phase.
Author: That’s incredible. I am humbled to know about your experience. Can you talk about how project management activities were performed? Also, what was the story from the healthcare point of view? We will be interested to hear.
Jane: Project management formed the backbone of rescue operations, and healthcare was its integral part. With the essential life-saving equipment, the Healthcare workers (HCWs), Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs), and the volunteer workforce evacuated the survivors to surge hospitals and what had been left of hospitals.
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Editor’s note: This series of articles about project management in healthcare is by Dr. Deepa Bhide, a pediatrician with additional experience in information technology and project management. Being a physician herself, she has recently experienced healthcare from a patient’s perspective while recovering from a broken ankle. In this series, Dr. Bhide discusses programs, projects, and project management in various aspects of healthcare from industry, provider, and human patient perspectives. Learn more about Dr. Bhide in her author profile at the end of this article.
How to cite this paper: Bhide, D. (2023). Healthcare Projects in a Global Perspective (Part II), Healthcare and Project Management, series article, PM World Journal, Vol. XII, Issue IX, September. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/pmwj133-Sep2023-Bhide-Healthcare-Projects-in-a-Global-Perspective-Part-II.pdf
About the Author
Dr. Deepa Bhide
Hyderabad, India
Dr. Deepa Bhide, MBBS, DCH, PMP, has over 20 years of professional experience where she has blended medical practice and research with IT and Project Management. She juggles consulting, training, and operations and is proficient in clinical medicine, project management, and healthcare information technology. Starting her career as a medical practitioner, she has worked with varied organizations before her current stint as director and clinical expert for Inventurus Knowledge Solutions.
Deepa’s growing interest and work in these areas, born from her day-to-day patient interactions, helped her view Project Management as a backbone of progressive healthcare. Her paper on “Patient Care – A Project Management Perspective” has received global recognition and acclaim. With a physician background as a solid foundation to leverage IT/PM skills and knowledge, Deepa has blended her broad-based experience and learnings to present a unified, holistic, and wholesome view of Project Management and Healthcare, a cross-domain confluence. Through various webinars, events, talks, and writings across platforms, Deepa has been an evangelist in championing global project management during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Gold medalist from Osmania University for standing First in the MBBS course, she pursued her DCH in Pediatrics and Child health. Deepa has served various roles in local and global Project Management Institute (PMI) regions. She remains actively engaged with PMI and has been a participant and speaker for various national and global meetings and online events.
Deepa lives in Hyderabad, India, and loves traveling, singing, and experimenting with global cuisine. She can be contacted at deepa.bhide@gmail.com.
To view other works by Dr. Bhide, visit her author showcase in the PM World Library at https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/dr-deepa-bhide/
