Preventable hospital death rates and medication error rates are too high. According to Press Ganey, an estimated 4.8 million hospital patients suffer serious preventable harm. Achieving Zero Harm should be the top priority for any healthcare facility. As a provider of surgical practice management services across multiple specialties in hospitals and health systems nationwide, we help our clients implement numerous process improvement initiatives that promote Zero Harm.
A Systems-Focused Approach to Improving Safety
Rather than simply charging healthcare workers to be more vigilant and attentive to safety risks, implement a robust, systems-focused approach to improving safety and achieving Zero Harm. Reaching Zero Harm in the OR is a journey that starts with your leaders but is the responsibility of every member of your surgical team. Pinpoint your OR’s highest points of risk and start your process improvement efforts there. Develop policies and guidelines to promote Zero Harm and ensure compliance with them. Obtain and monitor compliance data over time to further hone and improve safety-enhancing measures.
How Surgeons Create and Sustain a Culture of Safety
Surgeon leaders bring safety principles and Zero Harm to the OR. Their actions have an impact on every OR team member. When surgeons demonstrate their commitment to safety, a culture of safety is created and becomes sustainable. Additionally, when surgeons embrace change, other OR team members feel empowered to embrace it. Surgeon leadership is paramount to creating a safety culture and implementing policies and guidelines to support it. Leadership matters–this is why NexGen ensures that we provide surgeon leaders with proven track records that demonstrate commitment, teamwork and dedication to safety principles.
Determine Who is Accountable for Safety and Quality
Surgeons are not the only ones accountable for patient safety and quality of care. Everyone involved in patient care is responsible for safety and quality. Policies must be clear and guidelines appropriate for your hospital and OR. Enforcement of policies by strong leadership leads to improved accountability. Additionally, by collaborating with team members to achieve support, barriers to implementation can be removed and team members will ultimately hold each other accountable for safety principles.
A NexGen Surgeon’s Approach to Zero Harm
NexGen exclusively works with experienced, high-performing surgeons who know how to lead winning teams. A strong commitment to zero harm principles is an important element of being a NexGen surgeon. Since our surgeons can focus solely on patient care rather than wading through burdensome administrative duties, they are able to focus more attention on their clinical roles, including quality and safety initiatives. Keep in mind that even though NexGen takes away administrative burdens for surgeons, we never take away their autonomy. Our goal is to empower our surgeons to provide the best patient care possible and be a strategic partner to the facilities in which they work.
Other Benefits of Working with NexGen Surgical
Aside from ensuring effective management of the administrative aspects of running a busy surgical practice, we can also provide a full suite of perioperative services offered through our sister company, CCI Anesthesia. The resources CCI brings are best-in-class and provide clients with the tools they need to scale operations safely and efficiently. If you’d like to learn more about what NexGen and CCI can do for your hospital, call us today.
