F.A.Q.
Q: Why is Penn Medicine conducting the Your Big Idea Challenge?
Q: What types of ideas are you looking for in the Your Big Idea Challenge?
Q: How do I submit my idea? How long does it take?
Q: Can a team of people submit one idea
Q: How does my idea advance from the submission phase to possible implementation?
Q: Are there any prizes?
Q: Will I have to work on my idea?
Q: Can I submit more than one idea?
Q: I have an idea that will bring in a lot of new revenue, but won’t cut costs necessarily.
Can I submit that?
Q: Why is Penn Medicine conducting the Your Big Idea Challenge?
A: Penn Medicine, and the health care industry overall, face mounting financial pressures. These pressures include declining reimbursements, declining inpatient admissions, projected decreases in medical education and research funding, and climbing costs of clinical information technology to meet meaningful use requirements. A strong cultural attribute of Penn Medicine has always been our ability to respond to a challenge by discovering new and better ways of delivering exceptional care, advancing medical education, and conducting innovative research. It is each of our responsibility during these challenging times to identify cost savings opportunities so that we continue to reinvest in the future of Penn Medicine.
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Q: What types of ideas are you looking for in the Your Big Idea Challenge?
A: We welcome all ideas that help Penn Medicine reduce costs while maintaining or even improving quality – ideas that consider ways of performing processes more efficiently, that optimize the usage of tools and technologies, and that advance new approaches for meeting our tripartite missions in patient care, education and research. Here are some examples of the types of ideas that we are looking for:
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- Supplies – If we order item A instead of Item B, we will save money without reducing quality
- Technology – Application B can do the job just as well, if not better, than Application C, and at a much lower cost
- Facilities and Infrastructure – If we change from vendor X to vendor Y, we can save money that can be reinvested in our organization
- Clinical Process Improvement – By making changes to the way we do procedure X, we can reduce cost without reducing quality
- Non-Clinical Process Improvement – If we change the way we do business process Y, we can reduce cost without reducing quality.
- Creative new approaches – By redefining who does what, where, when, how and why, we can free up time and capacity for more valuable activities.
Q: How do I submit my idea? How long does it take?
A: Submitting is quick and easy. The form is short and should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. You may submit your idea from May 14th to June 7th.
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Q: Can a team of people submit one idea?
A: The website and process is set-up for individual submissions. However, if your idea moves forward, you will work with a team of people on the implementation. In addition to team members of your choosing, you may receive additional support from subject matter experts at Penn Medicine who have specific expertise to add to the team.
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Q: How does my idea advance from the submission phase to possible implementation?
A: Submitted ideas will be rated on the tournament website. Those ratings, along with the evaluation of an official Review Team will determine which of 3 categories ideas fall under:
- Quick Fix: Ideas that can be easily implemented with immediate cost savings opportunities;
- Commissioned Work: Ideas that hold promise but need further validation for their cost savings potential;
- Prove Us Wrong: Ideas that don’t appear to have cost savings potential—but faculty/staff are provided an opportunity to present additional evidence of the financial viability of their idea to senior leaders.
Each person who submits an idea will get a message thanking them for submitting, indicating which of the 3 categories their idea falls under, and information on how to pursue next steps.
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Q: Are there any prizes?
A: As we did in last year’s Your Big Idea tournament, we will give out some fun awards like tickets to the theater or a Phillies game, at random, to people who submit ideas. These awards are not intended to persuade people to submit their ideas, but instead to reflect the “Your Big Idea” spirit, and add a fun element to the campaign. The 1200 people who submitted ideas to last year’s Your Big Idea did so because they care about Penn Medicine, and wanted to contribute. That dedication is part of what makes Penn Medicine so special.
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Q: Will I have to work on my idea?
A: Yes. Validating great ideas requires testing them to see if they work. Employees submitting an idea should expect to put in some effort to help show that their idea has potential. Submissions should calculate an estimate of dollars saved---with sufficient documentation to back up the claim.
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Q: Can I submit more than one idea?
A: Yes! There is no limit to the number of ideas a person can submit. Each idea requires its own unique submission to ensure that ideas are rated one-by-one.
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Q: I have an idea that will bring in a lot of new revenue, but won’t cut costs necessarily. Can I submit that?
A: Revenue producing ideas are not included in this cost-savings challenge. But if you have a great idea to bring in revenue, you can email it to yourbigidea@uphs.upenn.edu, and we’ll send it to the appropriate Penn Medicine leader.
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