Introduction
Healthcare represents an intricate system that comprises exceptional economic practices, regulatory demands, and quality pointers that are not established in traditional organizational settings. Consequently, the development of unique sets of proficiency-associated leadership in an organization and the creation of interprofessional teams are vital for executives at any stage in the healthcare system (Ong, Koh, & Lim, 2019).
As intricacy in the medical care settings rises, there is a need to comprehend the extensive advance to the effective management of the care of patients across the continuum and the manner in which notions of organizational leadership and the establishment of interprofessional teams uphold leadership in the creation of patient-centered surroundings.
This study discusses a structure through which one can comprehend distinctive leadership perceptions in healthcare and realize insinuations of regulatory and business demands in recognition of patient- and family-centered care. Systems theory and team establishment concepts will be employed to devise a policy to boost individualized and family-centered care. The application of leadership notions and theories ensures a sustainable model of healthcare provision in the process of the dynamic system that is influenced by future inclinations, regulatory demands, and evidence-based practice.
Analysis
Business Practices
To ensure successful organizational leadership, in addition to the establishment of interprofessional teams, it is essential to understand the way the healthcare system remains current and is upheld to generate effective services for patients whom they serve and the involved personnel. Business practices play a vital role in influencing patient- and family-centered care within the healthcare system.
Comprehension of how business practices influence patient-centered care requires understanding the significance of individualized treatment (Ong, Lim, Tan, Chan, & Lim, 2016). Such realization is imperative since patient- and family-centered therapy results in the provision of quality care to both patients and their loved ones. This translates to such patients and members of their families having a high probability of recommending the health institution to other people over and above the likelihood of returning whenever the need arises. It also improves satisfaction for both patients and health professionals.
Enhanced satisfaction of health professionals will guarantee reduced turnover and create good operational affiliations amid staff. This leads to improved retention of professional individuals hence making health facilities incur minimal costs of training new personnel. The health facility used for this study does not have a perfect patient-centered care approach. Although they embark on effective procedures and policies, they are less patient-focused (Blacker, Head, Jones, Remke, & Supiano, 2016).
Most of the protocols that have been established for the safety of patients, for instance, the fall prevention approach, were developed by health professionals but are not family- or patient-centered. The hospital does not undertake family or patient engagement while developing strategies and procedures. Sadly, the turnover rate at the institution is high, perhaps attributable to dissatisfaction among health professionals and negative publicity.
Regulatory Requirements
The healthcare system has led to the existence of exceedingly intricate businesses. Mounting competition, technological improvements, inadequate personnel, and stringent regulatory requirements have made the delivery of care not only multifaceted but cumbersome. Most health facilities are laden with numerous hindrances and dysfunctions attributable to tough regulatory oversight, complicated payment structures, and systems functioning with obsolete formations. In such intricate settings, there appears to be a lack of concentration on patients with regard to what is significant for them as users of rendered services, which results in unfulfilled anticipations. Regulatory requirements should be the rule and not the exclusion.
They are at the vanguard of enhancing patient- and family-centered care and making it the norm in health institutions today (Ong et al., 2016). Nevertheless, there is a need to eliminate burdensome and outdated regulations concerning the prescription and verification of health arrangements and promote the application of evidence-based printed and automated requests and procedures. Such practices guarantee consistency and excellence of care offered to every patient by enabling nurses to execute timely and clear orders that save health institutions millions of dollars each year.
Reimbursement
Through the Internet and technological advancements, substantial amounts of information are accessed with a single click. Medical personnel, media, and governmental agencies should promote the making of informed decisions that relate to people’s health. Consequently, people might select their preferred health facilities with the aid of reported statistics. Health organizations and interprofessional teams should motivate infirmaries by guiding them on what is necessary for reporting. Health facilities should analyze expenditures with the aim of reducing costs and bettering the quality of care provided (Blacker et al., 2016).
Public and non-governmental institutions should motivate hospitals through monetary awards or impressive designations to proceed forward. As common in numerous health institutions today, the progress toward value-anchored care reimbursement has placed great attention on patients’ involvement and satisfaction. The quality of care in health facilities is associated with positive patient outcomes. Healthcare practitioners may benefit from tackling consumer and patient concerns while also reinforcing value-founded care reimbursement plans.
Care reimbursement established on value drives forward a more patient-centered focus in medical systems that may be observed attributable to the formation of accountable care organizations and medical homes that promote the satisfaction of patients. Although alternative payment approaches, encompassing value-anchored care reimbursement, gives more pressure to health professionals, most of them are centered on the provision of efficient services toward a reduction in the loss of revenue.
Medical practices, infirmaries, and healthcare systems should be strongly embarked on the triple aim of care provision that comprises enhancement of patient satisfaction, lessening of medical costs, and improvement of health outcomes. As health facilities are assessed concerning their success based on their past profits and revenue, the present wave toward value-founded care reimbursement is generating facilitated quality indicators and performance markers in the medical field (Forsyth & Mason, 2017).
Patient- and Family-Centered Care Organizational Self-Assessment Tool
Mount Sinai Hospital
Mount Sinai hospital was established in 1852 and is among the oldest and biggest teaching infirmaries in the US. The health institution is situated in New York City and has more than 7,000 doctors, in addition to approximately 3,800 beds. It embarks on every level of healthcare activity, from ordinary medical treatment to research studies. Mount Sinai Hospital is a tertiary care teaching institution that is highly admired around the world for eminence in the delivery of care. The patient base is relatively diverse because its service offerings vary from primary care to specialty care (Joseph, Lee, Pasick, Guerra, Schillinger, & Rubin, 2019).
Mount Sinai Hospital is among the best health institutions in the United States with respect to the advancement of diversity concerns. Some of the best practices that resulted in honor of the institution in 2018 were the promotion of care for bisexual, transgender, and lesbian patients, the formation of a women’s advocacy employee resource group, and the facilitation of concentration on individuals living with a disability. The paramount aspiration of the health facility is to ensure that diversity and inclusion become an essential component of the organizational fabric in the medical system. The diverse ethnic groups cared for by the facility include African Americans, Europeans, Hispanics, Brazilians, Mexicans, and Asians.
Strengths
The professional group of nurses, doctors, and support team back Mount Sinai hospital’s practice of excellence by offering first-rate, patient-centered care provided with empathy. For over a century, health provision at the institution has been a keystone of society. The institution has a vivid account of dedication to patient- and family-centered care and partnerships (Ross, 2018). Patients and their family members take part in hospital committees, safety and quality rounds, advisory councils and are interviewed as a section of walk-rounds. Patients are facilitated to prepare and realize their treatment objectives with medical professionals considering patient preferences.
Over and above patients and members of their family participating in interview teams and search committees, they welcome staff at the orientation of new workers. Health professionals and other members of staff are well prepared and supported in concerns of patient- and family-centered care.
Equal treatment of every patient is vital for the provision of individualized care. Since healthcare professionals at Mount Sinai hospital have a patient- and family-centered perspective, they underscore the significance of access to quality care. The health facility is accessible for every patient and offers timely availability of interpreter services, in addition to navigator plans for minority and underprivileged patients (Joseph et al., 2019). Health practitioners are geared toward the improvement of quality of life for all patients and ensure that they are knowledgeable of all prospects of their care. Moreover, they treat all patients, regardless of their ethnicity, with dignity and respect.
Weaknesses
Despite numerous strengths, there are some weaknesses to care provision at Mount Sinai Hospital. For instance, patients are hardly supported in the creation of their objectives. Patients, particularly older ones, are fearful of questioning authority or having a sincere discussion concerning what they want (Ross, 2018). They are scared of speaking up as open dialogue, and effective communication is not as excellently provided for as it should. Mount Sinai hospital has poor accountability and assessment of patient- and family-centered care. Patients and their family members do not have active participation in task forces.
Additionally, patients and their family members do not fully take part in medical design tasks. The environment does not effectively back the presence of patients and their family members, their contribution, and interdisciplinary cooperation. Although patients are to some extent in charge of their care, they are not allowed to know everything regarding some diseases or treatment alternatives. Furthermore, patients and their family members do not act as educators for practitioners and are not encouraged to employ resource centers and other educational materials.
One Area of Improvement
To improve the infirmary’s practices with regard to patient- and family-centered care, executives and health professionals at Mount Sinai hospital should enhance communication, coordination, and sharing of information among all stakeholders at the institution. In this aspect, patients should be knowledgeable regarding every aspect of their care. Facilitated coordination may be realized when there is open communication among patients and medical professionals.
This plays a vital role in relieving their anxiety and improving their cooperation. Among the most vulnerable groups is the geriatric population that has numerous comorbidities. When such patients understand the one in charge and the point person to whom they can go the moment they become confused or have questions, the delivery of care to them is enhanced (Forsyth & Mason, 2017). Regarding the information and education aspect, patients should feel that the major focus is on communication and remain alert concerning every facet of their care instead of only access to their records.
Strategy to Increase Patient-Centeredness
To improve patient-centeredness in Mount Sinai hospital, executives should successfully support the involvement of patients and members of their families in an effort to ensure effective communication. Health professionals should at all times understand what their colleagues in different teams are undertaking in a bid to offer an outstanding quality of care. Moreover, the contribution from all stakeholders is paramount and necessary for an inclusive consideration of patients’ conditions.
Patient- and family-centered care should be excellently coordinated in the health institution. When this is not done, the patient has a high probability of getting lost amid poor coordination (Ross, 2018). Additionally, communication, education, and sharing of information should be deemed an essential dimension for the patient- and family-centered care
Bad communication, rather than miscommunication and ineffective sharing of information, is perhaps the most noteworthy rationale behind the occurrence of errors and poor care environment. Additionally, language should not be a hindrance to access to care. No language or ethnic background should bar an individual from going to a health facility in search of the needed care (Joseph et al., 2019). With the help of interpreters when necessary, health professionals should be in a position to understand the needs of patients for them to deliver the care they require without problems. The significance of increased patient-centeredness is revealed in the enhanced diversity of the ethnic groups and population served by the health institution.
Understanding of patients is vital in their outcome of care. Whenever patients believe that they are in control of the provision of their care, it works in their best interest and promotes their overall well-being.
Systems Theory
When employed in the promotion of effective communication for an enhanced patient- and family-centeredness and development of a multi-disciplinary team, the systems theory offers comprehension of the interconnectedness of information sharing among all stakeholders at Mount Sinai hospital instead of focusing on only a single segment. The health institution should operate as an open social system that upholds effective communication and networks successfully with the environment for the increased patient- and family-centeredness.
Mount Sinai hospital relies on its environment for numerous vital resources such as patients who seek medical care, health professionals and other workers who provide labor, suppliers who ensure that the required materials are available, and the government that enacts regulations, to mention a few. This open-systems approach creates a scenario where the health institution conveys information, communication, energy, and resources to all stakeholders (Joseph et al., 2019).
As outlined in the systems theory, Mount Sinai hospital should improve the process of receiving information from the environment in the form of information or other necessary resources. The institution should thereafter process the input within, which is referred to as throughput and convey outputs into the environment, all stakeholders, in a bid to restore equilibrium by ensuring effective communication. This could be through, for example, assessing the number of patients from different nationalities and ethnic groups and recruiting a suitable number of interpreters to mitigate the language barrier.
The systems theory concentrates on approaches employed in guaranteeing organizational survival and underscoring lasting objectives instead of short-range goals. The majority of successful organizations have adapted to their environments. When changes in communication approaches are implemented in Mount Sinai hospital, all stakeholders should adapt in an effort to maintain homeostasis, state of equilibrium. Since communication practices are dynamic, they are constantly changing and may generate much uncertainty regarding what Mount Sinai hospital should do to enhance patient- and family-centeredness for continued survival and growth.
Nevertheless, the key to tackling such uncertainty is information. The management of Mount Sinai hospital should regularly monitor its environment and gather information concerning effective communication deviations. Feedback may also occur in the form of negative input, and such information may inform the management of underlying problems that should be rectified (Forsyth & Mason, 2017). Negative input is important as it will alert the management of the institution that something is wrong and requires adjustment.
The management of Mount Sinai hospital should organize and process the information they receive to create solutions and reactions to the implemented change. Such information will be utilized to tackle communication problems and to adjust consequently. Adjustments may influence both processes and the structure of administration at Mount Sinai Hospital. Impact on the structure will alter what the institution is while effects on processes modify what the facility and its personnel do.
For instance, the management of Mount Sinai hospital can change its structure by hiring more employees or downsizing to uphold competitiveness. They may also change their processes in an effort to abide by effective communication strategies (Ross, 2018). The chosen approach should be tailored tactically to suit the organization’s objectives, ideals, and the relationship fabric that it holds with patients and members of their families.
Financial Implications
Change is an obligation for the continued success of an organization. Nevertheless, change demands adjustment not only with regard to time and money but also workers who acclimatize to the changing workplace. The management, health professionals, and other employees at Mount Sinai hospital should dig into their resource depositories and devote physical and cognitive energy for purposes of learning and practicing new communication skills, adjusting organizational processes, and altering their behavior, thoughts, and feelings. This may result in turnover attributable to the dissatisfaction of some employees hence translating to the cost of recruiting and training new personnel.
Some of the costs that might arise when change is not sufficiently implemented encompass the loss of investment realized in the project over and above missed opportunities of not having ventured into other tasks (Ross, 2018). The risks entailed include increased expenditures, failure to realize efficiency in organizational operations, decreased revenue, stagnant or reduced market share, and higher waste, to mention a few.
Mulling over the effects of change management at Mount Sinai hospital, with regard to risks and financial implications, is a beneficial approach since increased success and profitability are prevailing concepts of the institution. Successful management of change and implementation of the strategy will help Mount Sinai hospital evade additional and excessive costs incurred for ineffective communication, for instance, being rejected by patients from some ethnic backgrounds.
Moreover, effective implementation of the strategy will assist in the alleviation of excessive risks of failed change management. The application of change management as a cost evasion approach or risk alleviation policy may be successful in sharing values of effective communication (Joseph et al., 2019). It might also assist in the development of a multi-disciplinary team and improvement of patient- and family-centered care through enhanced support and assigned time, energy, and resources toward the betterment of information sharing and effective communication.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Strategy
One of the methods through which the management of Mount Sinai hospital can evaluate the success of the implemented strategy is through assessment of provided feedback. The institution’s public relations officer could be tasked with the collection of feedback in an effort to measure the success of the strategy. Another method that could be used by the management is the assessment of gains, both fiscal and non-financial, to the institution attributable to the implementation of the strategy (Forsyth & Mason, 2017).
If no gains are realized, the management should endeavor to improve communication processes in the organization until when a suitable solution is achieved. This method would be based on the perception that change should be a continuous process in an effort to maintain organizational success, and without it, an institution will fail to effectively adapt to environmental variations and finally stop existing.
The management and public relations officers at Mount Sinai hospital should employ the aspects of systems theory to put into operation regular feedback mechanisms to the institution hence aligning it with inclinations of people in its environment. The theory will offer a vital approach to comprehending the benefit of research and feedback in the creation of a carefully analyzed and reliable policy (Ross, 2018).
The evaluation of effectiveness and endorsement of strategy assists in the conceptualization and justification of not just the research budget of the institution but also the need to arrive at decisions that tactically align communication in the hospital with information and language required by patients and their family members. The practical execution of effective communication prevents public relations from being employed as an unimpressive publicity tool and maintains its role squarely in the tactical management process.
Creation of a Multidisciplinary Team
Potential members of the multidisciplinary team that will assist in the implementation of the identified strategy at Mount Sinai hospital include nurses, specialists, hospital managers, leaders, physicians, and lab technicians. For health institutions, making sure that patients obtain suitable care improves the quality of treatment provided (Boamah, Laschinger, Wong, & Clarke, 2018). Doctors, nurses, and specialists at Mount Sinai hospital should accurately and carefully share information concerning patients with other facilities or health professionals to help establish the best approach to treating a given patient’s condition.
Lab technicians, physicians, and nurses should maintain constant communication to ensure that the delivery of care proceeds as smoothly as achievable. Hospital managers and leaders should uphold frequent communication with patients, physicians, and other health professionals. They do not just watch over administrative tasks but also engage in the essential role of developing interprofessional teams and improving patient- and family-centered care. For effectiveness, hospital managers and leaders sustain open lines of communication within the health institution, in addition to other facilities.
Cultural Diversity
Cultural diversity in the team creates opportunities and challenges in the realization of patient-centeredness and culturally competent care. Facilitated by cultural diversity, culturally competent care enables health practitioners and hospitals to successfully provide treatment that satisfies the cultural, linguistic, and social demands of individual patients. Cultural diversity ensures improvement of the quality of care, as well as medical outcomes, and leads to the eradication of ethnic and racial disparities (Ross, 2018). As underscored in cultural diversity, the main aim of patient-centered and culturally competent therapy is to ensure the highest possible quality of care to all patients, irrespective of race, ethnic background, culture, fluency in spoken English, and literacy level.
Transformational Leadership
The leadership style to use in developing the team is transformational leadership since it permits leaders and their followers to operate jointly in a bid to realize great extents of motivation and employee morale. Rather than dictating proposed alterations to the team, a transformational leader seeks to ensure that the stakeholders alter their views, anticipations, or motivation to operate toward a given objective (Boamah et al., 2018). Over and above easily acquiring respect, trust, and high regard, such leaders are ready to implement changes or improvements in their organizations when necessary.
Working Together to Implement the Strategy
To develop effective communication, the team will work jointly to implement the strategy through such practices as creating interpreter services, hiring and retaining employees from minority groups, offering training that promotes information sharing, cultural competence, skills, and knowledge. Moreover, the team can integrate culture-specific practices and principles in the promotion of care delivery (Boamah et al., 2018). The inclusion of community and family members in the making of vital decisions in the health institution develops effective communication and information sharing. The multidisciplinary team at Mount Sinai hospital should push for linguistic competency whose influence is felt beyond medical encounters at the appointment office, service billing, and other processes.
Communication of Identified Strategy
The team will convey the chosen strategy and planned outcomes to the healthcare organization by directly communicating with all employees at the facility and making them feel connected. This goes a long way toward enhancing the degree of productivity in the organization. The team will seek to uphold open communication as a means of creating trust and acquiring more benefits such as enhanced support from all stakeholders (Ross, 2018). Following the communication of identified strategy and proposed outcomes, members at all levels, even the lower ranks of the institution, will have equal authority to articulate their views.
Tool
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator will be used to develop the team’s self-assessment skills. This tool postulates four vital psychological roles through which people experience personal and organizational occurrences. They include intuition, sensation, thinking, and feeling (Boamah et al., 2018). This tool provides an introspective self-report questionnaire that evaluates personality inclinations and positions them into any of the available sixteen forms that assist in the observation, interpretation, or operation in a particular manner.
Conclusion
Healthcare characterizes an intricate system that encompasses exceptional economic practices, regulatory requirements, and quality pointers that are not recognized in traditional organizational settings. Systems theory, cultural diversity, and interprofessional team establishment concepts help to devise policies that boost patient- and family-centered care. Transformational leadership ensures a sustainable model of healthcare delivery in the process of the dynamic system that is swayed by future tendencies, regulatory demands, and evidence-based practice.
References
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