Better Communication System To Benefit Us All
During his presidential year, Dan Borenstein, M.D., appointed the Ad Hoc Work Group on Information Systems composed of information system–savvy members such as Drs. Ronnie Stangler, Norman Alessi, Joshua Freedman, Thomas Kramer, and Area 2 Trustee Herbert Peyser. Working closely with our information systems staff, the work group members surveyed the current status of our system and reported that it had a number of deficiencies that made it difficult for staff members and district branches to communicate effectively.
In March the Board of Trustees asked the work group to develop a long-term information-system strategic plan for APA. The work group noted that there is a large spectrum of users of this system, including the central office, district branches, and state associations, and that there was a lack of uniformity in what these users expected from the system in the areas of membership status, dues billing, dues processing, and other vital areas of Association business.
It became clear that to ensure a unified accurate and accountable information system, we needed to review and redesign our current system with the help of representation from the central office, district branches, and state associations. District branch executives from large and small district branches were asked to participate in this planning process along with the Work Group on Information Systems and APA staff.
In June the work group, after extensive study of our needs and capabilities, reviewed three options and presented a recommendation as to how APA’s information system should be further developed and improved.
Option 1 was to upgrade the existing 12-year-old system by patching together old and new software programs that might quickly improve dues billing and processing but would not provide a fully integrated member-service environment for the future.
Option 2 was to replace the current system with an “off-the-shelf” data-management system with limited capacity for customization. We learned that all “off-the-shelf” systems would require some customization to make them compatible with the many specialized business rules and regulations APA and its district branches have developed through the years. This option was considered attractive by the Board and by the work group because it addresses more than the membership system and provides the potential for a fully integrated business environment, for example, meetings registration, governance, meeting logistics, and CME. The Board was informed by the work group that this option would require significant internal and external organizational change, staff development, and considerable simplification of APA and district branch business practices for this to be a viable option.
Option 3 was an “off-the-shelf” data management system similar to Option 2, but we learned that this option, while not requiring major changes in how APA and the district branches “do business,” would take longer to implement with significantly more associated costs.
After extensive discussion the Board of Trustees voted to approve the work group’s recommendation that we proceed with a hybrid of Options 1 and 2. Specifically the work group recommended that in the short term, that is, immediately, staff work to resolve membership dues-billing and payment-processing issues by putting more fiscal and human resources into assuring that the 2002 dues-billing cycle goes smoothly. Two skilled accounting employees have been brought on board to assist in dues processing and to resolve the inevitable problems that will arise as a result of the interplay of our current system and complex business practices. At the same time, the work group, aided by additional representation from the district branches, will work with staff to review APA/DB business rules and practices with the goal of simplifying and streamlining them to prepare for a move to an integrated “off-the-shelf” data-management system for the Association.
The expanded work group will be reviewing membership policies and procedures and will ask district branches for ideas and feedback concerning potential changes. In addition, the work group will evaluate available “off-the-shelf” association data-management systems in terms of their applicability to APA, their relative cost, and the experience of other medical associations in implementing an integrated information system plan using this type of software.
At the fall component meetings next month, the work group will work on both these short-term and long-term goals with input from the District Branch Advisory Committee focusing on how we might simplify our membership business rules and practices. Updates and progress reports will be given to the Board of Trustees at its October and December meetings and to the Assembly at its November meeting. The Board will hear final recommendations on simplification and streamlining of business rules at its March 2002 meeting.
To summarize, APA has been handicapped by trying to keep a 12-year-old information system patched together and functional. It is long past the time for a fully integrated membership and business system that will allow district branches and individual members to access their membership files and individual accounts, apply for CME credits, register for meetings, and interact with other parts of APA in real time and with a minimum of hassle. To make this system work, we must strive to unify the business and membership rules under which we function Association-wide. I am pleased with the problem-solving ability of our volunteer members and leaders and our valued staff as we build the infrastructure for an efficient 21st-century APA. ▪
