Step 1: Claiming Centrality
Recently there has been a spate of interest in the spread of coronavirus infection was the factor, which defined the research orientation of the global medical community in 2020. More specifically, knowledge of the methods for clinical management optimization during the pandemic has proved to be of great importance for scholars. They attempted to evaluate technological support and its instruments, which can be helpful for this purpose in the context of healthcare facilities. The commonly proposed measures included the use of electronic health record tools to address the need to increase the efficiency of the hospital workers’ activity. In this way, the researchers demonstrated their concern with the insufficiency of the currently implemented technology in the field. Thereby they emphasized the necessity to readjust its use in accordance with the newly emerging circumstances.
Step 2: Making Topic Generalizations
Project management in the time of COVID-19 is a common finding in patients with the suggested methods for finding a solution to the problem of addressing clinical tasks being based on the further development of electronic health record instruments. Nevertheless, it is still unclear which tools would be more efficient in terms of maintaining a high quality of provided medical services to patients with COVID-19. Their use for screening procedures, laboratory testing, making critical decisions, reports, and patient-facing technology are among the most popular suggestions. These interventions’ effectiveness, when applied to the case of coronavirus infection management, is still not completely understood. Analyzing a set of studies can be instrumental in realizing the best strategies for mitigating the crisis and maintaining the proper functioning of project management.
Summaries of the articles
Radujković, M., & Sjekavica, M. (2017). Project management success factors. Procedia Engineering, 196(6), 607-615. Web.
The study centers around the major success factors of project management and provide a comprehensive understanding of it in any industry. Radujković and Sjekavica (2017) underline that there are three main dimensions of project success – conformity with the criteria of cost, time, and quality. Moreover, the study contains graphs that illustrate the structure of any project management success. The proper outcome relies mainly on the managers’ competence, organization, methodologies, methods, and tools. The article gives an insight into the theory of project management, which is essential to study before applying the knowledge in real-life cases.
Reeves, J. J., Hollandsworth, H. M., Torriani, F. J., Taplitz, R., Abeles, S., Tai-Seale, M., Millen, M., Clay, B. J., & Longhurst, C. A. (2020). Rapid response to COVID-19: health informatics support for outbreak management in an academic health system. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 27(6), 853-859. Web.
The study explains the preferred options for optimizing the clinical management of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also highlights the importance of technological support for numerous processes aimed at mitigating the current crisis. Moreover, the authors of the study provide examples of a successful implementation of certain techniques, which require the use of EHR-based tools (Reeves et al., 2020). Such an instrument facilitates multiple processes, which should be automated to free medical personnel from an excessive workload. The study emphasizes the importance of the development of various electronic health records, which can be successfully implemented in a time of the pandemic.
Åsgård, T., & Jørgensen, L. (2019). Health and safety in early phases of project management in construction. Procedia Computer Science, 164, 343-349. Web.
The article provides an in-depth analysis of numerous health and safety issues that occur on construction sites. Åsgård and Jørgensen (2019) claim that most of the accidents happen due to improper planning and other early stages of project management. There are three main challenges that undermine safety in this risky business: lack of competence, lack of prioritization, and lack of consequence. Specifying requirements for various aspects of project management, including safety measures and working conditions in general, is also crucial for preventing accidents. The article highlights the vulnerabilities in the project management process, which may become potential obstacles in combating the pandemic.
Åsgård, T. (2018). Health, safety and environment in the teaching of project management. The case of bachelor education in construction engineering in Norway. Procedia Computer Science, 138, 688-696. Web.
The study investigates the teaching of project management in the bachelor education of construction engineers in Norway. The collected data allows for a proper understanding of the key sphere that should be emphasized in the course. One of them is a combination of health, safety, and environment (HSE). Åsgård (2018) suggests that stressing the importance of these factors can ensure the implementation of proper safety strategies, given the importance of project management’s role in construction. The article provides numerous examples of how learning the project management basis helps avoid critical mistakes in various industries.
Glegg, S. M., Ryce, A., & Brownlee, K. (2019). A visual management tool for program planning, project management and evaluation in pediatric health care. Evaluation and Program Planning, 72(2), 16-23. Web.
The article describes the customized Excel-based management tool, which has become instrumental in prioritizing program directions and activities, tracking progress, and evaluating performance. According to the authors, using the ADKAR management model and LEADS leadership framework proved to be especially beneficial and allowed for creating a collaborative approach (Glegg et al., 2019). The tool described in the article can enhance various medical processes if the team members correctly enter data and seek to improve their skills in implementing changes. The article gives a real example of the successful adoption of management tools in the medical field, which can be especially useful during a pandemic.
Sa Couto, J. (2008). Project management can help to reduce costs and improve the quality of health care services. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 14(1), 48-52. Web.
The study shows the importance of integrating project management in health care. Sa Couto (2008) pinpoints that doctors are already great managers as their everyday routine includes setting goals and allocating resources in the most efficient way. Moreover, medical staff’s activities actually correspond to project management principles as they have to excel at the casuistic method (one-time, non-recurring production). Therefore, the proper introduction of structured approaches used in project management will be beneficial for health care. The article shows that the use of the project management methods in the medical sphere has proved to be effective, and confirms the necessity of their further use in the current situation to fight COVID-19.
Conclusion
All the studies mentioned above emphasize the importance of project management in any sphere of life. It may not be easy to introduce some of its basic methods to health care due to the traditions which are the cornerstone of any institution. Nevertheless, a growing body of evidence encourages some enthusiasts to implement specific changes in order to facilitate goal-setting, results tracking, and other important stages of any activity. Such cases should be considered a leap forward, as they point at the necessity of the implementation of a more academic and business-like approach in various spheres of health care. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated some of the underlying processes, resulting in rapid acceptance of certain crucial changes.