Initiatives

Keys to Success When Implementing the Safe Practice Recommendations Advice From Hospital Teams

1. Get leadership support for the project before you begin
1. Administrative support from the CEO
2. Clinical leadership support from the CMO and others
   
   
2. Form multidisciplinary clinical project team with a physician champion and a laboratory champion; need belief this is a worthy project and clinicians need to take the lead
   
   
3. Focus on the goal of improving the communication process to improve the outcome for the patient; keep the solution simple; focus on realistic ways you can achieve this goal in your hospital environment; build in simple supports for the clinical teams; standardize processes wherever possible; design processes that will make it “easy to do the right thing”.
   
   
4. Don’t waste time looking for the high-tech solution; spend your efforts on improving workflow communication patterns for the clinical teams; plan for long range integration with IT solutions; get the process right, then think about automation
   
   
5. Don’t get bogged down trying to create the perfect list or making it the focus of this initiative
   
   
6. Evaluate your existing processes
   1. Consider your existing process
   2. Flow chart how it currently works
   3. Find the flaws in the existing system and where problem areas exist
   4. Collect baseline data
   5. Identify examples of communication breakdowns
   6. Then focus on how to improve, modify, or change the existing process to improve communications
      
      
7. Start small; test how enhanced communication process can be integrated most efficiently with current work processes; moving too fast can be a mistake; ensure smooth and successful processes before moving to other areas; look for willing volunteers to try a new process
   
   
8. Build teamwork; lessons learned with improved communication on this initiative can enhance communication processes for other projects
   
   
9. Regular systematic collection and review of data is essential to accelerate improvement on this initiative

For more information, contact Paula Griswold at pgriswold@macoalition.org or (781) 272-8000 x152.