AHA Quality Series Part Five

This is the last in my series of posts on the Six Quality Aims set out by the Institute of Medicine and supported by the AHA. Today I’ll look at the top of the pyramid and consider talent management‘s contributions to timeliness as well as provide some concluding thoughts.

Timeliness – Keep wait times to a minimum and focus on making the patient care processes flow smoothly.

It’s acknowledged that wait times are the result of multiple factors ranging from access to diagnostic services and results, to staff shortages, to operating room availability. Regardless of the cause, the AHA urges all of those involved in healthcare to be focused on ensuring that patient care processes flow smoothly.

Long wait times affect patient satisfaction, something that Medicare and Medicaid are taking a closer look at.

Similar to efficiency, timeliness is partly a cultural issue that can be addressed through organization wide goals to keep it top of mind, so employees are always focused on minimizing wait times. Goals can used to address staffing levels, equipment requirements and even flawed processes.

If every employee has a goal to improve timeliness in their area, the organization overall has a powerful resource for identifying bottlenecks and ideas for improvements. Having this be part of the talent management process means that it’s easy for HR and management to stay on top of progress, proactively identify problem areas, and take appropriate action to address any issues.

Equity – Ensure your hospital reflects the community it serves. “Overcome racial, cultural, or ethnic disparities in health care, and treat each person based on their health care needs, rather than on personal characteristics that have nothing to do with their illness.”

This last aim is also a cultural one that can be captured through goal management, but it can also be evaluated in key roles as a competency. Monitoring competency scores in this area can give management a valuable indicator of organizational culture, and even help identify particular departments or areas where there’s room for improvement.

Conclusion
While at first glance HR might not seem to have role in helping their healthcare organization achieve the IOM’s six quality aims, I think they can actually play a pivotal one by supporting corporate culture/policies and giving managers and employees across the organization the tools they need to effectively manage employee performance, support ongoing learning and adherence to policies/procedures, and drive accountability.

Seen in this light, an automated talent management system can be one of your most effective tools for influencing improved patient safety.