Quality and safety are critical determinants of the nature of healthcare available in different medical settings. Emerging concepts and frameworks can guide different stakeholders to promote desirable practices that have the potential to maximize patients’ overall experiences. Systems thinking is a powerful strategy that analysts associate with improved healthcare services. Regulators and accreditors can rely on systems thinking as key players to introduce systems thinking, introduce additional skills to practitioners, and identify new guidelines to drive safety and quality in medical practice.
Linking the Work of Accreditors and Regulators to Systems Thinking
Nursing practice is a complex process characterized by numerous procedures, clinical guidelines, participants, and policy initiatives. Each element plays a critical role towards influencing the nature and quality of medical support available to the targeted patient. Systems thinking presents a unique approach for examining most of these factors, their possible interactions, and the manner in which they contribute to the quality of care (Dolansky et al., 2013). Involved stakeholders relying on this framework will monitor the existing complexities and analyze each form of design, activity, and process that impacts the available health services.
Accreditors and regulators play a unique role in the field of healthcare to guarantee quality and safety. Through systems thinking, these stakeholders can identify most of the promoted initiatives to ensure that they resonate with the needs of the patients. For example, decision-makers in such agencies can begin by identifying the educational procedures for nurses and physicians to ensure that are timely and do not contribute to care delivery gaps (McNamara & Teeling, 2021). The involved leaders will revise the existing curriculum and clinical guidelines in accordance with the identified needs.
Accreditation organizations need to implement additional mechanisms to maximize adherence while analyzing the subsequent outcomes continuously. Leaders can examine the level of certifications and requirements and compel other stakeholders to meet them (McNamara & Teeling, 2021). Through systems thinking, these regulators and accreditors will monitor various areas to examine whether they contribute to improved healthcare or nursing procedures (Linnéusson et al., 2022). They will go further to analyze the manner in which such attributes relate to the other strategies undertaken in practice.
Driving Safety and Quality
The Joint Commission is a good example of an accreditor that has the potential to drive quality and safety by employing the concept of systems thinking. The above section has presented a unique approach for maximizing certification while at the same time ensuring that all stakeholders monitor their activities. The model provides a holisitic view of all procedures to identify possible gaps and unearth additional opportunities for continuous improvement (Linnéusson et al., 2022). The relevant agencies can go further to educate practitioners about the use of systems thinking in their respective units. The selected institutions will introduce additional programs to train and encourage more professionals to start embracing the idea.
Through the identified multifaceted approach, key participants will identify possible causes of medication errors and sentinel events in their respective settings. Practitioners who apply systems thinking as a regulatory requirement will monitor the healthcare system and propose additional interventions to support the delivery of personalized and culturally-competent services (McNab et al., 2020). These insights show conclusively that systems thinking can result in the reduction of sentinel events and gaps, thereby taking safety and quality to the next level.
Conclusion
The mission to deliver quality and safe medical care is the responsibility of all key stakeholders, including practitioners and regulators. These accreditors can rely on the concept of systems thinking to support the introduction and implementation of various policies and clinical guidelines. The move to educate and encourage more practitioners to apply systems thinking as a major practice requirement can transform nursing practices. This initiative is evidence-based and capable of improving the quality of care and services available to more patients.
References
Dolansky, M. A., & Moore, S. M. (2013). Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN): The key is systems thinking. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 18(3), 71-80. Web.
Linnéusson, G., Andersson, T., & Kjellsdotter, A., & Holmén, M. (2022). Using systems thinking to increase understanding of the innovation system of healthcare organisations. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 36(9), 179-195. Web.
McNab, D., McKay, J., Shorrock, S., Luty, S., & Bowie, P. (2020). Development and application of ‘systems thinking’ principles for quality improvement. BMJ Open Quality, 9(1). Web.
McNamara, M., & Teeling, S. P. (2021). Introducing health care professionals to systems thinking through an integrated curriculum for leading in health systems. Journal of Nursing Management, 29(8), 2325-2328. Web.