Review (Patient Focused Care Association)最新文献

In summary, the slow, participative change process worked well. The power of the staff's involvement overcame the hospital's mistakes. The Steering Team "finessed" the problem of resistance to multi-skilling by creating a system that encouraged the desired behaviors without demanding them. By setting more realistic boundaries and acting more decisively, the Steering Team could have made the process even smoother.

To pilot, or not to pilot, that is the question! Don't allow yourself in your eagerness to restructure to fall victim to taking this decision too lightly. Sometimes establishing a pilot of a restructured environment is indeed the best way to go--particularly when the advantages of a pilot are the key hurdles to overcome toward broad acceptance and support for hospital-wide restructuring at your institution. However, implementing a pilot can also be a big step off of a short pier if the value of these advantages pale in comparison to the disadvantages. Sure, you may need to restructure one unit/area at a time for strategic or other reasons. And you always have the prerogative to pull the plug if things go south. But be aware of the important difference between the "first unit" of many and a "pilot" approach to restructuring. Like everything else associated with successful restructuring, understanding the crucial trade-offs behind the "to pilot, or not to pilot" decision can determine whether your restructuring initiative is off to a flying start, or a long way from starting to fly.

"I can't afford to restructure my hospital!" The truth is that you may not be able to afford not to restructure! Yes, there are up-front financial investments required to lift your institution to a new level of performance. But these investments can be dwarfed by the returns achieved when more and more of your personnel dollars go to caring for patients, and less and less go to perpetuating the red-tape and bureaucracy which plagues the modern American hospital.

Six "general truths" form our economic foundation for Patient Focused restructuring. They address the level and timing of the costs and savings associated with implementing Patient Focused Care. They have not always been anticipated nor welcomed by hospitals pursuing Patient Focused Care, but they have always appeared on those doorsteps just the same. This first edition of DOLLARS AND SENSE shares this foundation with you as the stepping stone to further exploration of the economic aspects of Patient Focused restructuring. This foundation establishes the general "rules of the game" by which your own Patient Focused Care program will be played. Know these rules and you will have within your control the ability to bend and stretch them to suit your particular needs and to maximize the financial gains your hospital achieves through Patient Focused restructuring.

Hospitals are spending 33 cents on every dollar for the Patient Focused education of their organizations. By following a few simple guidelines, you can shop smart and get more for your educational dollar. Someone once said, "The greatest learning is through the learning of others." This handful of guidelines represent the collective experiences of hospitals around the country as each strives for an ever more successful yet cost-effective Patient Focused education for their organization. Let their experiences be your best teacher. What about the other 67 cents. In future columns of Dollars and Sense, we will explore ways to help you be a smart shopper of facility renovations, equipment purchases, consulting services, project management and several other categories of typical Patient Focused restructuring expenditures.

In summary, any communications plan must meet two critical requirements if it is to successfully rally professional support for your patient focused care program. First, it must explicitly present a "vision" of the future role of professionals within your patient focused hospital. Neither your program nor these professionals benefit from them having to deduce their own future roles. Second, it must reorient the way in which these professionals view their roles. Today's almost demeaning, task-oriented view needs to be replaced with one attuned to the unique contributions professionals make now and in the future. By helping professionals "see" their future contributions, effective communications can keep your patient focused care program out of the grave and in perfect health for years to come.