As hospitals and physicians work toward improving healthcare through quality improvement processes, senior level managers may experience some "push back" or hesitance from staff members who may be less willing to learn new processes and protocols. Here are three tips on how to facilitate the quality improvement process, provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
1. Place a priority on encouraging communication, engagement and participation for all of the stakeholders involved in or affected by changes in the quality improvement process. Look for ways to help them embrace the changes and begin to take ownership of them.
2. Start implementation of improvements with small-scale demonstrations, which are easier to manage than large-scale changes. Small-scale demonstrations also allow managers to refine the new processes; demonstrate their impact on practices and outcomes and build increased support by stakeholders.
3. Keep in mind and remind others that quality improvement is an iterative process. Managers will be making frequent corrections along the way as they learn from experience with each step and identify other actions to add to the quality improvement strategy.
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1. Place a priority on encouraging communication, engagement and participation for all of the stakeholders involved in or affected by changes in the quality improvement process. Look for ways to help them embrace the changes and begin to take ownership of them.
2. Start implementation of improvements with small-scale demonstrations, which are easier to manage than large-scale changes. Small-scale demonstrations also allow managers to refine the new processes; demonstrate their impact on practices and outcomes and build increased support by stakeholders.
3. Keep in mind and remind others that quality improvement is an iterative process. Managers will be making frequent corrections along the way as they learn from experience with each step and identify other actions to add to the quality improvement strategy.
Related Articles on Quality Improvement:
7 Quality Improvement Strategies for ASCs Based on CMS Survey Results
HANYS Patient Safety Profiles Offer Lessons Learned in Quality Improvement
Lessons Learned After 5,000 Accreditations: Q&A With Dr. Jack Egnatinsky of AAAHC
