CULTURAL CHANGE AND SUSTAINABILITY IN HEALTH CARE

Cultural Change And Sustainability In Health Care



Cultural Change And Sustainability In Health Care

Introduction

For years, regulatory guidelines have dictated critical areas of performance and regulatory bodies and accreditors continue to require increasing amounts of data to demonstrate performance improvements in clinical outcomes and organisational processes. Healthcare organisations are finding that they must improve their methodology of gathering the right data (in an efficient way) to hone in on the information that allows them to measure their performance in a wide range of key areas such as patient/customer, healthcare service and outcomes, operational and financial. (Akhtar, 2005, 20)

Management Challenges Facing Healthcare Today

Healthcare trends and increased costs of care are greatly impacting the viability of healthcare organisations worldwide. Healthcare executives are now faced with more complicated challenges than ever before. Not only are they managing day-to-day operations, but they are dealing with increased quality and regulatory standards, government changes, increased patient expectations, and insurance agencies.

The provision of healthcare is increasingly complex, with GPs and Primary Care Trusts facing significant changes in structure and operations while still maintaining service levels and a focus on the patient. To manage all of these factors effectively, healthcare executives need to find a way to define their strategy and objectives and develop the necessary knowledge to determine whether or not they are moving in the right direction. Hospitals and other healthcare related facilities, like most organisations, have been gathering enormous amounts of data for years. Unfortunately, it has become commonplace to collect the data, (Akhtar, 2005, 20) ensure the regulatory and accreditation bodies get what they need, document processes that require improvement and then continue with business as usual.

Healthcare organisations now recognise the need to merge the accepted practice of outcomes management and process management into a more comprehensive approach - Performance Management. This takes into consideration the wide range of key performance indicators that impact the success of an organisation. Problems such as errors in the delivery of healthcare and variation in services among regions are areas of concern that cannot be ignored. Such unresolved issues will ultimately affect healthcare consumers. With rising costs and an aging population, it is crucial that the public remains confident in the services provided by the NHS. (Akhtar, 2005, 20)

A number of recent initiatives are underway to identify those areas of the NHS in need of quality improvement. As a result, quality standards are being raised on multiple levels and it is necessary for healthcare facilities to adopt this new view of performance and revise their approach to management.

In the UK, The Healthcare Commission is an independent body, set up to “promote and drive improvement in the quality of healthcare and public health”. Key areas of focus for the Healthcare Commission are:

* to assess the management, provision and quality of NHS healthcare and public health services

* review the performance of each NHS Trust and award an annual performance rating

* publish information about the state of healthcare

As part of its strategy ...