The VHA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) that aims to improve individual and community health by promoting and diffusing new, effective models of health care. It has a program called the Health Care Safety Network for hospital CEOs to help them accelerate their patient safety leadership skills in an environment where they can learn from their peers and national safety experts.I had a pleasant visit last week from Dr. Peggy Naas, vice president and leader of Physician Strategies for VHA. She was in my office to tape a session about BIDMC's efforts to improve the safety and quality of patient care, with a particular emphasis on our view of the importance of transparency as a management tool in this journey. This video will be shared with the CEOs in the Health Care Safety Network.
I hope our experience proves useful to my colleagues and that it will make them feel more comfortable in sharing their clinical outcomes and process improvement successes and failures with others.
Hmmmm.....maybe completion of this program should be required of CEO's by their hospital Boards.....or a condition of being paid by Medicare.
ReplyDeleteMaybe chiefs of medical staff, too!
This comes under the heading of, those who need it most are the ones least likely to realize they need it.
Just tossing these ideas out there.
nonlocal
Transparency is essential to service quality and safety for both patients and providers. Confidentiality has a critical role, but it can also serve as a smokescreen for shoddy practice when pushed too hard. Health care is a joint enterprise requiring a clear, honest, and open exchange of ideas.
ReplyDeleteWithout transparency, critical information remains out of the loop of collegial exchange that permits teamwork to happen.
At times, teams need to make a concerted effort to improve their capacity to share critical information.
Michael
www.workengagement.com/crew