Providing exceptional care has long been the goal for healthcare providers; however, we have only seriously begun to measure and benchmark quality. For patients, there is great promise: As we have begun to measure, more focus and time is being devoted to clinical quality and patient safety.
Part 1 of Title 3 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act emphasizes quality and has helped providers to understand the direction our healthcare system will be taking—"Linking Payment to Quality Outcomes Under the Medicare Program." High quality is what's best for our patients, and now failure to provide it will have a financial impact. This survey by HealthLeaders Media helps us to understand the challenges in delivering high-quality care.
Fifty-six percent of respondents cite leadership support as one of the three biggest contributors to the success of their organizations. This is good news for patients, because quality and safety require strong leadership and commitment from hospital boards and executives. While a high percentage cite leadership support, only 41% indicate physician support has been critical to clinical quality successes at their organization. To deliver the best care, we need our physicians as close partners. This will remain a challenge and an opportunity for many of us in the coming years.
The survey also touches another key issue: The challenge of doing more with less. "Limited resources" is cited as the top challenge for 56% of respondents, and the other issues listed are also directly related to resources as well.
There are many challenges in healthcare, and improving clinical quality is essential if we hope to address readmissions, complications, and medical errors. The effort is not daunting if we have the right people, which makes the hiring process more important than ever before. With the right people and leadership support, safe and efficient healthcare is a natural outcome. We cannot afford to have it otherwise.
There is opportunity to find these people. At Virginia Hospital Center, we have found that investment in the hiring process has produced a significant and sustained positive impact on our clinical quality, safety, and patient satisfaction. It has put the hospital at the forefront of the healthcare value discussion both regionally and nationally. And the simple formula for the hospital's success and improvement has been hiring so that 100% of our employees are motivated to improve clinical quality for the right reason—improving the care of our patients. Finding those people across the country will produce and shape the high-value, efficient healthcare that we aspire to and our patients deserve.
Jeffrey DiLisi, MD
Vice President and Chief Medical Officer
Virginia Hospital Center
Arlington, Virginia
Lead Advisor for the July 2014 Intelligence Report