MD Anderson’s ‘big bang cutover’ propelled by internal communications plan

If you’ve ever been part of a new internal system going offline and a new one taking its place in one fell swoop, you have an inkling of the challenge MD Anderson Cancer Center faced. In meeting that challenge, MD Anderson has won first place in the “Employee Communications” category of Ragan’s 2017 Health Care PR & Marketing Awards.

MD Anderson experienced this “big bang cutover” with one of the most sophisticated and complex systems ever to hit the health care market: Epic, a suite of software that integrates patient registration and scheduling, clinical systems for staff, systems for lab techs and pharmacists and billing for insurers. MD Anderson’s cutover was the biggest in Epic’s history.

The transition went smoothly as a result of the extensive communication effort launched to support it. The MD Anderson team created, produced and delivered 182 assets, including articles, emails, fact sheets, wall graphics, posters, t-shirts, blog posts, training, intranet content, digital and traditional signage, table tents, web content, pop-up banners, a newsletter, navigation guides, videos, postcards and live events bolstered by visible management and support materials like scripts, presentation decks and talking points. 

The Center met its goals of reducing anxiety and reinforcing patient-centered care and team-oriented behaviors by delivering content aligned with a timeline (notably the launch, which coincided with an introduction of the “Go Time” blog). All the metrics, including external evaluations, reinforced the strategy and complex execution of the efforts.

Congratulations to the team of communicators involved: Mindy Loya, Laura Harvey, Lori Baker, Katie Brooks, Carol Bryce, Lindsey Garner, Mary Ann Hellinghausen, Danette Hufstetler, Courtney Kessenich, Gillian Kruse, Jacqueline Mason, Trevor Mitchell, Jenny Montgomery, Kelley Moore, Michele Rainford, Emily Watkins, Michelle Yelton and Angela Young, along with support from others in Institutional Advancement.