Introduction
The case demonstrates the essential issue in the healthcare system: the tension between patients’ satisfaction and the quality of provided services. Sometimes it becomes challenging to achieve both aims simultaneously, and the right decision should be made. In this case, the CEO of a medical center created the solution, which lies in establishing clients’ expectations before the treatment itself. This decision will allow workers to provide patients with the highest possible quality without losing people’s gratification.
Main Points of the Case
Bryce Jackson was recently appointed as the CEO of Academic Medical Center, where he noticed the opposition between patient satisfaction and quality measures. He participated in discussions lasting for 45 days concerning the need to launch bed alarms to prevent patients’ falls (Hefner et al., n.d). Finally, he suggested elaborating a program that would establish patients’ expectations by showing the video regarding the long-lasting discussions and the tension between gratification and quality.
Definition of the Problem Situation
Bryce Jackson realized that there is a growing opposition between patients’ satisfaction and quality measures in the healthcare system. In this case, this problem is illustrated by the patients’ falls from the bed. On the one hand, such falls can be harmful to patients and lead to some injuries, which decreases the quality of the provided services. On the other hand, launched bed alarms may arise uncomfortable feelings and, thus, decrease clients’ satisfaction.
Individual Response to Case Question and the Rationale for Such Action
Question 1
To begin with, a patient’s experience is a quality concern because the results of provided medical help and services should help clients treat their health issues. Therefore, the quality of services can be measured by the patient’s experience in the medical center. Truly enough, I do not think this will change because the healthcare system should work: providing the highest possible quality of medical help to patients.
Question 2
Bryce Jackson can engage his boss and other heads of offices to work together to increase patients’ satisfaction by promoting his idea of expectations establishment. For instance, he can collect them together and use the strategy to sell his concept to the audience, describing the advantages of his solution. Such a method will decrease the time of discussion and make it possible to realize the efficient vision more quickly, preventing undesirable cases.
Question 3
A focus on the patients’ education helps resolve the described tension between quality and satisfaction to establish clients’ expectations. This strategy of expectation establishment leads to the comparison of gained experience in a medical center with what was imagined (and seen in the educational video). Thus, gratification will be the result of matching two images: the video and the reality. Finally, because the video represents reality, patients’ satisfaction will be at the highest possible level.
Question 4
To better align the leaders as mentioned in the text of the case administration representatives, Bryce can elaborate a detailed long-term plan of his idea implementation, as it was suggested by (Hefner et al., n.d). Moreover, he can always keep in touch with both sides and ask them for advice, inviting them to join meetings to brainstorm new ideas and listen to leaders and administration.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is necessary to state that the tension between the quality of provided services and patients’ expectations can be seen in different cases, not only about the establishment of bed alarms. However, in this situation, the suggestion to launch a program regarding managing clients’ expectations can be highly effective. This idea will allow workers to provide patients with the highest possible quality without any decreases in people’s satisfaction levels.
Reference
Hefner J. L., Moffatt-Bruce S., McAlearney A. S. (n.d.). Managing the patient experience facing the tension between the quality measures and patient satisfaction.