Briefing: Improvement as mainstream business: The strategic case (The Health Foundation, November 2023)
Summary:
This briefing explores the advantages of using quality improvement (QI) methods in healthcare. QI offers a systematic way to make measurable improvements in the quality of care, and it offers benefits for staff, patients, and the wider healthcare system.
Benefits of QI:
Improved workplace culture
Greater job control and higher satisfaction
Improved access to appointments and services
Improved safety and reduction in patient harms
More efficient use of resources
Efficiency gains and productivity improvements
Modes of improvement activity:
Improving service processes and quality
Redesigning pathways and service models
Transforming organisational delivery
Enabling innovations
Barriers to improvement:
Differences in the perception, practice, and experience of improvement
Lack of shared understanding about how change happens in complex systems
Ways to embed improvement:
Create consensus about the role of improvement
Recognise and foster the mediating role of local leaders
Create an improvement-centred vision for healthcare
Build connected improvement ecosystems
Ensure that improvement is properly resourced
The briefing concludes that a strong case can be made for using QI approaches to transform healthcare services and achieve better outcomes for patients and staff.
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