Initiatives to improve care should focus on all care settings rather than just one site, according to a report by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Aligning Forces for Quality initiative.
The report, "Care Across Settings: Challenges, Successes and Opportunities," discuses the obstacles to improving care across all settings and presents case studies from some of the 16 AF4Q communities tackling this challenge.
In the report, Robert Graham, MD, program director of the AF4Q National Program Office, shares five steps for healthcare leaders planning an initiative to improve care across settings:
1. Solicit stakeholder buy-in. Stakeholders include hospitals, physician practices, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, health plans, purchasers and consumers.
2. Secure solid financial commitments from stakeholders. Even small financial contributions from stakeholders signal their commitment to the initiative.
3. Measure, measure, measure. Collecting data on local healthcare can help stakeholders identify opportunities for improvement.
4. Start small. Narrow the focus of the initiative to concentrate efforts on reaching a realistic goal.
5. Dream big. While the initiative should have attainable goals, they should be challenging to push stakeholders to higher levels of performance.
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The report, "Care Across Settings: Challenges, Successes and Opportunities," discuses the obstacles to improving care across all settings and presents case studies from some of the 16 AF4Q communities tackling this challenge.
In the report, Robert Graham, MD, program director of the AF4Q National Program Office, shares five steps for healthcare leaders planning an initiative to improve care across settings:
1. Solicit stakeholder buy-in. Stakeholders include hospitals, physician practices, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, health plans, purchasers and consumers.
2. Secure solid financial commitments from stakeholders. Even small financial contributions from stakeholders signal their commitment to the initiative.
3. Measure, measure, measure. Collecting data on local healthcare can help stakeholders identify opportunities for improvement.
4. Start small. Narrow the focus of the initiative to concentrate efforts on reaching a realistic goal.
5. Dream big. While the initiative should have attainable goals, they should be challenging to push stakeholders to higher levels of performance.
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