Executive representatives of more than a dozen hospitals and medical groups, together known as the听Healthcare Value Network听(HVN), visited Packard Children鈥檚 last week to observe the work that is already under way to improve the way healthcare is delivered. On January 26 and 27, 43 healthcare leaders made a series of visits to the Ford Family Surgery Center operating rooms to see how staff had changed their work systems and made goals and potential problems easier to see and solve.
Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital Stanford Hosts Healthcare Value Network
Hospital and national collaborative 鈥渞edefining value for patients鈥
For Release: February 03, 2012
PALO ALTO, Calif.听鈥听No one in America likes sitting in a waiting room, or waiting as a doctor or nurse steps out to search for supplies, or paying for or enduring tests or treatments that have been proven unnecessary. Providing the healthcare you need as quickly, safely, respectfully and affordably as possible, and with the very best health outcomes鈥攖hat鈥檚 what it means to deliver 鈥渧alue鈥 in healthcare.
As part of the ongoing focus on healthcare reform in the U.S., hospitals are looking deeply at their own systems for delivering valuable care. Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital Stanford, long noted as a leader in patient safety and quality outcomes, is now focusing on developing and implementing innovations that offer a model to hospitals seeking to reform the patient experience.
HVN representatives also visited the听听to see and learn about simulation training, and heard a presentation from leaders in the Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units on the work they are doing. These departments are also developing continuous audits for quality, and aligning focus on who determines what is valuable: namely, the patient and family.
鈥淭he visit by HVN was very important to us,鈥 said Christopher G. Dawes, president and CEO of Packard Children鈥檚. 鈥淚t was a validation by some of the nation鈥檚 top healthcare leaders that our work, called the Packard Quality Management System, is making inroads in redefining value for our patients.鈥澨(Dawes and other hospital leaders discuss the Packard Quality Management System听.)听Established in 2009, the Healthcare Value Network unites healthcare leaders through peer-to-peer learning experiences in real world settings. Together, these leaders develop relationships, share knowledge, conduct experiments and access the best resources to accelerate their organization鈥檚 system transformation. This teamwork actively develops, tests and shares changes in delivery system transformation and indicates the highest level of involvement in the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value in Appleton, WI. The Healthcare Value Network currently consists of 53 organizations across North America.
Established in 2008, the non-profit听听is a worldwide resource and connecting point for healthcare leaders passionate about improving healthcare. Their mission is to create a healthcare marketplace that rewards value by collaborating with leaders in the provider, employer, insurer, and government communities to create:
- Transparency of healthcare performance
- Redesigned care delivery which is measurably less wasteful with fewer errors
- Payment systems that reward patient value creation
The Center鈥檚 vision is to change the industry through decisive action and education that spreads learning and accelerates improvement. During a visit to Packard Children鈥檚 earlier, ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value CEO John Toussaint, MD said, 鈥淚 was very impressed by the value-creating work being done at Packard. It is very much in line with the outstanding innovation going on at other leading organizations. And, in fact,鈥 he added, 鈥淧ackard is doing some really thought-leading work in several areas, such as simulation, to support patient safety.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 all part of a very collaborative effort,鈥 said Craig Albanese, MD, Packard鈥檚 Chief of Pediatric Surgery and Vice President of Quality and Performance Improvement. 鈥淢embers of the Healthcare Value Network learn from each other and share best practices in providing the best and most affordable outcomes for patients. That鈥檚 what value means.鈥 An example of the Packard Quality Management System, as shared with the HVN, illustrates several years鈥 worth of improvements in Perioperative Services to optimize patient flow and supplies management. Also, for more than six years, Packard Children鈥檚 has had Local Improvement Teams to keep a steady eye on quality and to measure clinical outcomes. Unlike other hospitals with similar teams鈥攂ased on Dartmouth鈥檚 Clinical Microsystems鈥擯ackard Children鈥檚 has uniquely integrated the work of the Local Improvement Teams into their daily management system.
鈥淥ur goal has been to drive transformational growth,鈥 added Dawes. 鈥淭his includes physical transformation through our facility expansion, and also the professional transformation of how we work, which is dramatically improving our systems for delivering care as well as the way our patients and families experience care.鈥 The reforms promised over the next several years through the Packard Quality Management System are many. There will be less of a wait in that waiting room. And those supplies will be kept close at hand. And only the tests and treatments you really need will be the ones provided. 鈥淭he leaders at Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital are creating a new paradigm for healthcare delivery and healthcare leadership,鈥 said HVN President and COO Helen Zak. 鈥淪haring this with the Healthcare Value Network is one way to drive change throughout the healthcare system to redefine value to the patient.鈥
Authors
Robert Dicks
(650) 387-7500
rdicks@stanfordchildrens.org
About 麻豆果冻传媒 Children's Health
麻豆果冻传媒 Children鈥檚 Health, with听Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital Stanford听at its center, is the Bay Area鈥檚 largest health care system exclusively dedicated to children and expectant mothers. Our network of care includes more than 65听locations听across Northern California and more than 85 locations in the U.S. Western region.听Along with Stanford Health Care and the Stanford School of Medicine, we are part of听, an ecosystem harnessing the potential of biomedicine through collaborative research, education, and clinical care to improve health outcomes around the world. We are a nonprofit organization committed to supporting the community through meaningful outreach programs and services and providing necessary medical care to families, regardless of their ability to pay. Discover more at听stanfordchildrens.org.
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