The Furst Group is conducting a series of interviews with some of the top women in healthcare, the most recent of which was with Tejal Gandhi, MD, the president and CEO of the National Patient Safety Foundation.
The following are five thoughts Dr. Gandhi shared with the Furst Group for a recent blog post on how boards can help push for quality and safety.
1. Don't underestimate the power of the hospital board. "We talk about CEOs and leadership in terms of patient safety, but I think the involvement of governance and boards is a major gap we're overlooking," said Dr. Gandhi. "Most boards don't know much about quality and safety. They tend to leave that to the clinicians and aren't necessarily demanding better performance in this area."
2. As the payment model changes, so too will board involvement. "If you start to pay for value, part of the value is quality and safety. Boards are going to have to become more knowledgeable, and they will; they are smart people and will ask the right questions. Workplace safety is a big issue in every industry. The directors will need to demand more and even think about CEO incentives being tied to safety and quality."
3. Changing a hospital's culture will require some helpful leadership tools. "We can't just say, 'Go change your culture.' We need to give people things that are much more tactical. And I come from an operational, tactical background so I like the fact that [NPSF is] going to create a playbook that says, 'Here are the concrete steps you can take as a CEO to start down this path.'"
4. Physicians play a key role in making positive changes. "The primary care physician is the person who can advocate for the goals and values of the patient when interfacing with the rest of the healthcare system." she said. "I've seen payment models where the primary care doctor gets reimbursed for going to the hospital and seeing a patient. It's very important."
5. Patients should be more involved, but the responsibility lies with caregivers. "The whole 'ask-me-if-I-washed-my-hands' thing drives me a little crazy because the patient shouldn't have to ask — that's on us," said Dr. Gandhi. "But we do need their advocacy, making sure patients feel comfortable asking questions, that they agree with and understand their plan of care and that their voice is part of creating that plan."
More articles on quality and safety:
10 interventions to improve safety in a hospital psychiatric ward
Patient safety tool: APIC's free hand hygiene implementation guide
NICU hyperoxia alarms may cause alarm fatigue and negatively impact patient safety