Caring for communities.

BACKGROUND: For two decades health care workers have been struggling, with varying degrees of success, to use the principles of continuous quality improvement (CQI) to improve the quality of patient care. The Institute of Medicine report To Err Is Human prompted most hospitals to turn their attention to the pandemic of medical errors and to the realization that without changing the culture of blame, and thus releasing an avalanche of information, major improvement would not be possible. This article describes one community hospital's approach to changing its organizational culture and the critical role of leadership in that transformation. THE REALITIES: The places to look for trouble when diagnosing organizational problems are purpose, structure, rewards, helpful mechanisms, relationships, and leadership. Hospitals are professional bureaucracies in that the real power resides with clinical staff. Improvement requires that effective relationships be built within the executive suite. Relationship and team building must be part of the organizational culture. Quality improvement will not occur unless it is clearly aligned with the organization's core objectives. CONCLUSIONS: Managing the five realities is essential to creating a suitable environment for sustaining clinical or more general CQI efforts within health care organizations. This is particularly crucial if the basic culture of the organization is to be changed. All five realities must be addressed on a continual basis, which takes time, and positive outcomes can be expected only over a longer rather than shorter time frame.

Hospitals, Community↗

PubMed2003

Penetration of medication safety technology in community hospitals.

Results of a survey of medication safety technology in community hospitals are presented. A written questionnaire was mailed to pharmacy directors at 88 hospitals located in 21 states. Items in the questionnaire addressed current and planned use of technology intended to improve medication safety. Fifty-six usable responses were received for a response rate of 63.6%. Medication safety was considered one of the most important issues facing pharmacy departments. Barriers identified by respondents to the implementation of medication safety initiatives included lack of time and personnel. Most hospitals had implemented one or more different types of medication safety technology. Computer-generated or electronic medication administration records, pharmacy computer systems interfaced with laboratory values, and unit-based medication dispensing cabinets were the most common medication safety technologies used. Pharmacy managers perceived these technologies to have resulted in a reduction in the rate of medication errors in respondent hospitals.

Hospitals, Community↗