ServiceNow helps UNC Health bring order to a complex health system

UNC Health realized that digital workflows were necessary to manage an increasingly integrated health system. ServiceNow enabled the seamless integration of multiple systems across IT and HR with out-of-the-box toolsets, bringing consistency and simplicity to UNC Health.

Delivering state-wide healthcare

UNC Health is one of North Carolina’s largest health systems. It is a not-for-profit organization, owned by the state and based in Chapel Hill. It links primary, academic, and community facilities across the state, along with thousands of local healthcare providers. In 2019, UNC Health performed 120,000 surgeries and dealt with 470,000 emergency department visits.

Managing a complex system of care

Healthcare is complex. For patients, it can be a long journey, and it involves many stakeholders. UNC Health had grown from a single-site hospital to a state-wide operation, with thousands of medical staff and millions of patient touchpoints. The organization wanted to establish a consistent approach to IT and HR processes, standardizing on a single, digital platform that would accommodate continued innovation and generate the data needed to make informed business decisions.

A platform for innovation 

Initially, UNC Health wanted to bring order to IT Service Management. But even at this stage it recognized the longer journey; the adoption of ServiceNow was always seen as a long-term play. “We knew we needed support with more than just the standard ITSM processes,” explains Chris Smith, UNC Health IT Manager. 

UNC Health quickly expanded its ServiceNow deployment to include IT Business Management. Project Portfolio Management streamlined the onboarding of new hospitals, while Application Portfolio Management helped UNC Health rationalize its application landscape across its multiple facilities. 

Today, the organization also uses IT Operations Management, HR Service Delivery, and IntegrationHub. Most recently, it has purchased Performance Analytics and a virtual agent is also under development.

Favoring out-of-the-box 

UNC Health has been able to drive this change quickly and without drama. The organization makes extensive use of ServiceNow’s out-of-the-box functionality, favoring the benefits of embedded capabilities for faster time-to-value, instead of complicated customization. This approach has enabled UNC Health to develop digital workflows in new corners of the organization. Ultimately, this is helping knit together a growing, and increasingly complex, system of healthcare. It enables UNC Health to bring new providers into the fold and establishes a holistic view of operations.

Bringing immediacy and relevancy 

The benefit to the organization is standardization, consistency, and clarity; to employees, the impact of ServiceNow is immediacy and relevancy. It is working hard to create meaningful dashboards for a range of users to help inform better decisions, from IT financial management to change management to HR responsibilities.

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