This organization has a long and effective history of success of continuous improvement. What has led to that success?
This organization has a successful history of continuous improvement because it adopted policies that helped them to avoid many errors. First of all, the management relies on the involvement of employees who can make valuable recommendations or identify possible pitfalls at an early stage. Moreover, one should speak about the “Evidence-Based Care Process Model” or EBCPM. For instance, administrators studied peer-reviewed journals that could throw light on the most effective methods used by hospitals (McLaughlin, Johnson, & Sollecito, 2011, p. 116). Finally, the administration relied on the most innovative ideas of people who introduced the principles of quality of improvement. Among them, one can distinguish Edward Deming who identified the principles of continuous improvement. These principles helped this organization to achieve its goals.
What do they do that is transferable to other systems? What is not transferable?
Some strategies adopted by Intermountain-Healthcare are transferable. For instance, one can speak about the involvement of employees and administrators. Secondly, it is important to mention the use of an information feedback system that enables people to generate reports about improvements in work processes. These principles can be adopted in other settings. In turn, some elements cannot be transferred. For instance, the use of EBCPM can be possible only if academic studies are showing how a specific problem can be addressed by administrators and employees. This is of the issues that can be identified.
What investment does Intermountain Health make to support clinical integration?
The policies of this organization are based on the premise that clinical integration is dependent on the efficiency of communication between different units of care (McLaughlin et al., 2011, p. 116). This is why this institution invests capital into the development of communication infrastructure. Moreover, they pay attention to the development of protocols that describe the rules which medical workers should comply with. This investment helps Intermountain Healthcare improve the quality of care and reduce costs.
Response Post 1 (to Querby Metayer)
Hello, Query, I have reviewed your analysis of the case study. I think that it is necessary to speak more about the specific steps taken by Intermountain Healthcare to support continuous improvement. For instance, one can mention the active involvement of employees. Secondly, according to this response, the culture for improvement is not transferable to other organizations. Yet, it seems that this element can be emulated by other organizations if they encourage workers to take part in the design of work processes. This is one of the objections that should be considered. Still, this response can throw light on the most important concepts that were discussed during the course. These are the main aspects that can be identified.
Response Post 2 (to Kathleen Blain-Hyppolite)
Hello, Kathleen, I think that you are quite right in highlighting the role of measurement tools that helped Intermountain Healthcare achieve successful improvement. Yet, in my opinion, it is also necessary to speak about how this organization makes use of evidence-based strategies. Moreover, it is possible to demonstrate the connections between clinical integration and effective communication. This issue is important for understanding the investments made by Intermountain Healthcare in several decades. Yet, I believe that your response shows how and why Intermountain Healthcare attained its success.
Reference List
McLaughlin, C., Johnson, J., & Sollecito, W. (2011). Implementing Continuous Quality Improvement in Health Care. New York, NY: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.