Quality Challenges from Within: Findings from the HealthLeaders Media Industry Survey 2010

In terms of implementing best practices, more than half (53%) say that represents a moderate challenge, while 18% viewed it as a major challenge, and 24% as a minor challenge.

"Obtaining the information actually is hard," says Stacey. Organizations often spend a lot of time trying to find out how they can get the best outcomes. This means tapping into resources nationally—and even internationally. "It's just tough to find forums where the best organizations are explaining what it is that they do."

In the area of patient safety, getting hospital staff and physicians to comply with an organization's quality and safety goals was seen as a moderate challenge by nearly half (47%) of those responding; nearly a quarter (25%) viewed it as a major challenge.[Question 29.]

Stacey notes that when it comes to patient safety, it's important to have a process in place "where we can identify . . . and address those problems, because if we can't identify the areas where we have the greatest opportunity for improvement, then those areas continually become problems," he says.

"The process we have is where we measure everything: We know when an indicator falls out of an acceptable range and then we're able to respond quickly enough to address that so it doesn't become an issue down the road."