Patient Safety

Effective teamwork in healthcare can have an immediate and positive impact on patient care. Developing a culture that values teamwork has not only proven to boost existing staff relationships, but it can also help increase efficiency, job satisfaction, responsiveness and much more.

In 2015, the PreCheck Blog had another fantastic year covering the latest healthcare best practices and compliance issues. Once more, we were recognized for the quality of our content with multiple awards; and our readership continues to grow year after year. As we begin the new year with our best foot forward, it’s also an opportune time to reflect on the greatest lessons and best practices from 2015.

Here’s a look at the top ten most-read PreCheck blog posts from 2015.

When healthcare organizations decide to improve their quality of care, they can run into a surprising amount of resistance. “It’s challenging because it’s what they think their focus is about anyway,” says Anne Prendergast, the Senior Vice President of Performance Solutions for SurePeople. When a new quality of care initiative starts up, people across the organization may see it as a duplication of efforts.

Wellness is crucial to healthcare workers for two primary reasons. First, patients’ health depends on employees showing up to work and feeling good enough to perform their tasks competently. Second, healthcare providers lead by example and guide their patients by modeling behaviors that contribute to wellness and self-care. The wellness level of employees also contributes to retention.

The concept of patient-centered care arose in the 1990s after healthcare providers and academics began surveying patients, family members, care providers and hospital staff members about ways to improve care. Consumer preferences, reimbursement incentives linked to patient satisfaction scores and the expectation of personalized service are driving demand for a patient-centered approach, says Jennifer Perry, Vice President of Healthcare for FMG Leading.

Customer service arguably is one of the most critical factors in an organization’s long-term success and even survival. Excellent customer service found in other industries has raised the bar for hospitals and the healthcare industry, so it’s imperative that they strive to meet the demands.

Last week, a colleague and I attended a local American Marketing Association (AMA) symposium titled Healthcare on the Go: Meet the Game Changers, which was held in the heart of the Texas Medical Center. The event centered on the theme that new technology and customer innovation is changing healthcare faster than ever before.

It’s simple: In healthcare, culture matters. With a renewed focus on patient care, organizational culture has come under renewed scrutiny. For example, according to a recent longitudinal study from the Yale Global Health Leadership Institute, top performing hospitals with organizational cultures that supported clinical engagement and support for quality improvement efforts had improved outcomes with heart attack patients.

I recently attended webinar hosted by the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA) titled, “Ensuring Access and High-Quality Care for LGBT Patients,” which discussed the existing health disparities for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Unfortunately, studies show the impact of stigma and discrimination on this group and the quality of care available to them. According to Dr.

Nurses are expected to wash their hands frequently to prevent the spread of illness and infection, but they may not always follow protocol, so some employers have established reporting systems for recording each hand washing. Jeff Dolan, Vice President of Sales at gamification platform LevelEleven, says his company worked with a hospital that wanted to boost hand-washing reporting compliance among nurses.