New Practice Implementation
Unplanned change in the healthcare sector is met by negativism, distractions, or even active resistance from the team members. However, the strategic implementation of change encourages improved performance. New ideas need to be smoothed into practice by nurturing a culture of self-satisfaction and inertia. This study proposes a new practice in promoting patient-centered care by implementing comprehensive patient care and discharge procedure. The routine outpatient care and discharge policy need to be improved for better patient satisfaction.
Steps in Implementation of change
There are various elements that must be put in place to ensure a comprehensive discharge program is initiated. Some of these elements include agreeing on best methods, having a functional and effective leadership in the team, and cultivating a culture that promotes and reward the change (Melnyk et al., 2017). Devising better outpatient care and discharge program is recommended articulating the hospital’s vision of preventing readmission and providing patient-centered care to both inpatients and outpatients.
Identification of the need for a policy change
The responsibility of a patient does not end upon release from the hospital. The hospital management should embrace their responsibilities to help the patient continue with the treatment path to achieve maximum health. Tah et al. (2019) note that discharge is a critical juncture for transitioning between the hospital and post-hospital care. Over the years, the department has reported many readmission to the facility, frequent visits to emergency departments, and rehospitalization. These factors create a need for device new strategies to mitigate that course. The proposed improvement methods, include increasing the patients’ links to the healthcare resources, sharing insurance information, and putting up reminders about healthcare instructions and hospital visits.
Communication
Frequent and effective communication is the most efficient tool during the implementation of a change. For instance, in our department, there have been complications such as adverse events that could be prevented if the discharge program has an appropriate follow-up program. There is a need to create awareness of the existing condition and to come up with a solution for them. Communication makes the ideas acceptable by a majority of the team members thus eliminating the tendency to resist the change (Gesme & Wiseman, 2010). The present policy of transitioning the patient from an inpatient to an outpatient is mostly nonstandardized and frequently poor in quality. Strategizing better methods will not only increase the staff knowledge but also prevent adverse events and readmission to the health center.
Identifying and Empowering the Change Team
The best method to speed up the implementation program is selecting a team that will assist in initiating and pushing for the change. Gesme & Wiseman (2010) notes that consciously working on developing a team culture in which every team member will expect to achieve the common goal. In our case, the group should ensure patient follow-up is done regularly after discharge. The group leader should have all the necessary resources required to ensure the new discharge protocol has been followed. After setting clear expectations, the group will focus on the meeting of the goals. Some of these goals include preventing complications, adverse events within 30 days after discharge, reducing the case of readmission, and ensuring safe practices by the patient during 30 days of discharge. The team will act as the champions of change by ensuring the new discharge protocol is followed. Visible change champions ensure they lead others in meeting the set goals. As the practicing leadership, one may identify their strengths, leadership skills, and their convincing power to seek support and to set changes.
Initiate the change
The hospital management should strategize ways to meet the set goal. Making ideas a reality requires the change team to come up with a discharge protocol. The protocol should prevent the risk factors that can make the patient get readmitted, educate the patient on self-medication, and educate the family about patient care. The team is also mandated to make random community health programs like home visits to follow-up on the patient’s progress after discharge (Mitchell et al., 2016). The discharge unit should alert to the patient to remind them of the procedure and medication plan to minimize possible complications.
Providing feedback and positive reinforcement
The nursing staff is motivated by getting feedbacks or positive reinforcement of their work. The outcome should be used to encourage and praise the individual who performs well. Reducing patient readmission numbers and other milestones should be celebrated to foster cohesion and to sustain change efforts. Positive feedback is the final method of implementing change as it acknowledges the team’s efforts in the change process.
References
Gesme, D., & Wiseman, M. (2010). How to implement change in practice. Journal of oncology practice, 6(5), 257. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?output=instlink&q=info:83F7JHxdbjUJ:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&scillfp=7597513323813444962&oi=lle
Melnyk, B. M., Fineout‐Overholt, E., Giggleman, M., & Choy, K. (2017). A test of the ARCC© model improves the implementation of evidence‐based practice, healthcare culture, and patient outcomes. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, 14(1), 5-9.
Mitchell, S. E., Martin, J., Holmes, S., van Deusen Lukas, C., Cancino, R., Paasche-Orlow, M., … & Jack, B. (2016). How hospitals re-engineer their discharge processes to reduce readmissions. Journal for healthcare quality: official publication of the National Association for Healthcare Quality, 38(2), 116. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc5102006/
Tah, Y. V., Sherrod, D. R., Onsomu, E. O., & Howard, D. C. (2019). Utilizing the IDEAL discharge process to prevent 30-day readmissions. Nursing Management, 50(11), 28-32.