The current US health system is overburdened, inadequately coordinated, and despite the best intentions, it tends to be more provider-oriented rather than patient-oriented. As we finally move forward from a period of tremendous pressure on all personnel serving on the front lines, there is a great opportunity to change the script of how to provide healthcare.
The past 16 months have emphasized the urgent task of placing patients more fully in the care center. We must refocus on a common goal, which is to provide the right patients with the best care at the right time and get the right results. But where can we find the perspective and skill set needed to integrate our health system into all professions, treatment settings, and patient communities?
One answer represents an important factor in the future of the American healthcare system: highly qualified professionals. Healthcare quality professionals are committed to providing quality in all disciplines, environments, and processes, which is closely related to the commitment to place patients in the care center.
Failure analysis
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted pressure points on the structure and bandwidth of the US health system. It reminds us that, in too many cases, our system is still oriented toward “illness care” rather than “medical care.”
Areas that might operate smoothly under ideal conditions, such as care transition, communications, patient safety, and risk reporting, are often disrupted by pandemics. Even before the pandemic, many hospital staff had invested a lot of overtime to provide care and save lives. Add a deadly virus to the equation, and an already fragile system will eventually be severely overburdened.
Another example is certain groups of people, such as the urban younger generation who may prefer the transactional nature of urgent care clinics. When the emergency care center becomes the center of the response to Covid-19, the population becomes more likely to miss inspections or ignore symptoms, which can cause bigger problems.
A system based on timely care, without focusing on the basic direction of population health, instead of emphasizing individual patients, is ultimately unsustainable.
Quality in action
As part of the important disciplines in the healthcare field, healthcare quality professionals are the link. The nature of their work requires these professionals to transcend boundaries and connect dots at the macro and technical levels.To understand the full range of care, healthcare quality professionals must build a diverse skill set, which is the standard of professional excellence defined by the American Healthcare Quality Association Medical Quality Capability Framework.
For example, during a pandemic, quality professionals ensure that procedures are in place to meet the changing needs of hospitals, emergency care centers, and PCP offices. In those moments when the crisis is intensifying, quality professionals are “in the trenches” to ensure that the system runs smoothly and different participants communicate effectively with each other. Similar to firefighters, quality professionals are trained to deal with any issues that arise in emergencies, from patient safety to project management to critical communications between islands in the health system.
Medical quality professional training is also well transformed into a virtual environment in which quality professionals use professional knowledge in areas such as electronic communication and reporting, change management, and the correct handling of confidential information. These unique skills enable them to help each care environment be patient-centric, even if these patients are not present.
It is worth noting that the competence of quality professionals can be transferred in the healthcare system and the environment. Healthcare quality professionals can bring value in a variety of environments and show different advantages in different organizations. It could be the population health of a community-based emergency care center, a high-quality professional, the performance and process improvement of another hospital, or the regulation and certification of another large national system. But regardless of the environment, a well-trained healthcare quality professional can utilize a range of capabilities when facing the specific environment and challenges of a given organization. These people also show strong leadership skills, tending to manage crisis and promote communication with different stakeholders.
The future is quality
Obviously, a key to improving the future of the U.S. healthcare system lies in placing patients in care centers and adjusting around quality. In order to successfully adopt a patient-centered approach, focusing on the needs of each patient to transform disease care into medical care, the system must further strengthen the bond that connects us. Quality professionals have relevant training, positioning and commitment to do this.
The good news is that the skills that quality professionals bring to health care are increasingly being recognized by the entire industry. According to the pulse survey conducted by NAHQ in the second quarter of 2021, more than half (51%) of the professionals surveyed stated that they believe that their organization believes that their role as healthcare quality professionals is now greater than the previous year. valuable. Quality professionals are required to lead in unprecedented ways, and these leadership skills are critical to our future healthcare goals. Not only that, these quality leaders also understand that workforce development will be a key success factor. In fact, 69% of respondents said that in the next 6 to 12 months, demonstrating quality and safety capabilities and skills will be more valuable to their organization.
But perhaps the most exciting statistics have to do with the enthusiasm of these professionals for this important work. 84% of quality professionals surveyed stated that they are very or somewhat happy, dedicated and energetic at work. This indicates that this important group has the ability to apply their skills and patient-centered perspectives anywhere to make meaningful and lasting changes.
