| |
| |
|
Medicine Information |
|
|
|
Healthcare Providers -- Its Time for Your Physical
I think this is a good time for a checkup, or physical as it is termed in the healthcare industry. I mean this is a good time to check the health of your site or setting. As healthcare providers, we are dedicated to curing our patients of their ills and keeping them healthy. My question is, "Do you have the same attitude about the place you work?" Is your site meeting its highest goals? If not, then it is time for a change. I think that as a group healthcare sites are a lot like our patients. Some patients don't work hard at keeping healthy. In fact, many engage in behavior that is very detrimental to their well-being. You probably can easily image such a person. Maybe they are very overweight. Well, there are many healthcare facilities that are like that. They have many processes in which there are steps which add no value, that are a complete waste of time and effort. Then, there are patients who do a lot of the right things. They eat correctly, get a good amount of exercise, and generally have a positive outlook. There are a few healthcare facilities that are fit too. What does a healthcare site in not so good shape look like? These sites, I believe, have as their goals just to meet their compliance standards, those set by the state, JHACO, or the FDA or some other body. As long as they are being accredited, they are satisfied. Their attitude may be, "If it isn't broken, don't change it." They are like patients who are content to just sit on the couch, watch TV, and eat whatever they like as long as they don't feel poorly. What does a healthcare site in good shape look like? I believe that such sites are continually looking for ways to better themselves. They engage in "continuous quality improvement" activities. They are really concerned about the health and attitudes of their patients and clients. They use surveys and they question and listen. Some even use a tool called quality function deployment when designing new facilities or programs. Besides listening to patients, they pay close attention to their employees. They actively seek ideas from the employees on how things could be done better. They want to have their employees enjoy working at their site and support its mission. The leaders of such sites actively reflect this attitude. Further, such sites seek ways to improve the processes at their site. They cut waste and save time and improve the bottom line. Many tools for doing this can be found in quality disciplines such as Lean Healthcare and Six Sigma. You can find a very good white paper on Lean Healthcare at the www.IHI.org website. What are the results of these positive and active approaches? Our patients are happier, fitter, and find time to do the things they want. They generally live longer with fewer health problems. Healthcare sites which are actively engaged in continuous quality improvement programs generally find that they have the time to accomplish their objectives and don't feel rushed, they have an improved bottom line, and they rarely experience adverse events. The doctors don't have to work impossible hours to accomplish all they want. They work as a team. Let me encourage you at this time to sit down with your colleagues and leaders and assess the health of your site. If you find that you fall short of what you should be, I hope that you put in the effort to reach the best goals. After all, we expect the same from our patients, don't we? Donald Bryant helps healthcare providers meet their challenges and writes "Making Good Healthcare Better" a free monthly ezine for healthcare providers who want to dramatically improve patient health, improve the bottom line, and make work more rewarding, guaranteed. More free articles are at his web site. Be sure to visit.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Phentermine Diet Pills: When Diet and Exercise Arent Enough To Help You Lose Weight Have you been struggling to lose weight, but diet and exercise aren't giving you the results you need to be healthy? Are you sick of people telling you that you could lose weight if only you had the will-power? It may be time to ask a physician about a phentermine prescription.What is Phentermine?Remember those 50s movies in which women lost weight by taking amphetamines? We know now that amphetamines can be very dangerous, so they don't make safe weight-loss drugs. How to Make Changes in Your Healthcare Organization For many of us change is a difficult process. In organizations like healthcare it seems to advance at a snail's pace sometimes. How To Locate An Alcohol Rehabilitation Center In California Alcohol rehab in California refers to the centers that help people in California to get rid of the menace of alcoholism.Prevalence of alcoholism is increasing in California therefore more people are looking for Alcohol rehabilitation facilities in California. Family Notification in Seven Quick and Easy Steps The Seven Steps to Successful Notification is an easy-to-use system based on time-tested tools successfully used by hospitals nationwide. It provides your hospital staff with all of the steps necessary to:? Identify and locate your unconscious patient's next of kin or surrogate decision maker. Antibiotics 101- What You Absolutely Need to Know IntroductionAntibiotics are said to be the greatest contribution of modern day science helping the doctors to think beyond microorganinsms.their importance is felt much more in developing countries where the infections are prevalent. "Winning the War Against Rheumatoid Arthritis" RA is a condition that forces half of patients to become disabled from the work force within five to ten years? and reduces life expectancy by as much as 18 years. RA affects about one per cent of the world's adult population, most commonly women between the ages of 30 and 50. Stop Taking Blood Pressure Medications with Your Doctors Approval I have been swallowing three varieties of blood pressure pills for 10 years. In another month, I expect to be off of them entirely. Lunesta Personality Changes Lunesta is a newly released sleeping pill. Marketed as a revolutionary sleep aid, Lunesta is the only medication approved by the FDA for long term treatment of insomnia symptoms. 10 Home Remedies For Arthritis Pain Relief Your Remedy No. 1 ==============Stretch Gently for Strength and Mobility. Three Questions People Are Asking About Health Care in America Q. Why is there so may uninsured people in America?A. To Buy Pain Meds Online, a Dangerous Move Many people want to buy pain meds online simply because it is cheaper for them. Recently, thousands of online pharmacies have popped up offering for people to buy pain meds online without a prescription. Alzheimers Toxin May Be Key To Slowing Disease Australian scientists say they have identified a toxin which plays a key role in the onset of Alzheimer's, raising hope that a drug targeting the toxin could be developed to slow the degenerative brain disease.The toxin, called quinolinic acid, kills nerve cells in the brain, leading to dysfunction and death, the scientists said. New Company Helps Another Medical Condition Become: "Acceptable" Dinner Conversation Recently once taboo subjects like plastic surgery have become acceptable dinner conversation. Medical conditions are no longer whispered to friends, but have instead become part of the dinner table conversation with full blown discussions on Botox, erectile dysfunction and the feared colonoscopy. The Truth about C Reactive Protein and Cholesterol Lowering Drugs You might disagree, but hear me out on this.. Seroquel Side Effects: Effects of Seroquel Worth the Risk? Seroquel is an atypical antipsychotic drug that is used to treat hallucinations, delusions and confusion caused by psychotic conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Atypical antipsychotics are not SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) or benzodiazepines. Five Secrets of High Blood Pressure Treatment Thirty percent of human population has a high blood pressure and everyone has a 90% risk to acquire it during the rest of the life. As a result, half of all human deaths are due to the major complications of high blood pressure, mainly stroke and heart attack. Accutane Side Effects Lawyer: Hair Loss, Depression, Suicide You probably know the drug isotretinoin by its trade name, accutane. Accutane is a powerful drug often used to treat acne. A Look at the Different Acid Reflux Symptoms Acid reflux symptoms vary in degrees of discomfort, from person to person, and within different age groups. The most common and persistent symptom is a burning sensation centered in the middle of the chest and/or throat, brought on by stomach acid that churns up onto the lining of the esophagus. Kids and Medication Part II In continuation of mood enhancement drugs for kids and adolescents, we next discuss the issues of Prozac. Of course there is the other favorite drug Prozac which was approved back in 1987 and was the first anti-depressant aimed at regulating serotomine which is the major chemical contributing in the brain for mood. Another Cold Sore! Why Me? An estimated 85 million Americans have acquired the herpes simplex (cold sore) virus. And the majority had received the virus before the age of 3.
|
| home | site map | Dr. Thad Thomas |
| © 2006 |
