A tribute to a person in the integrated care arena

by Kenneth H. Cohn Julie Manas' Hospital Impact post, "Integrated care: The bridge between quality and efficiency," inspired my post this month because people in her organization are doing what is necessary to improve performance. As the president and CEO of the Western Wisconsin division of Hospital Sisters Health System, she wrote about the need to view patient-centered care, quality, safety and efficiency collectively to provide improved care coordination. Her organization's accomplishments to date include: Aligning physicians with overall strategic direction through leadership on clinical councils Centers of excellence Increasing transparency of information Celebrating champions in every department Rounding for safety Phone calls to patients shortly after discharge As a nephrologist once wrote: Through the process of discovery, we began to think and act more as long-term partners and co-owners than short-term customers and renters. The Medical Advisory Panel process allowed us to evolve beyond maintaining a level playing field for all physicians to leveraging hospital resources to meet community needs. That clinicians who prided themselves on patient care could come to consensus on long-term priorities gave the Board and hospital administration the confidence to accept the Medical Advisory Panel recommendations. Centers of excellence, along with clinical councils and engaging physicians to adopt health information technology, are important ways to help i...
Source: hospital impact - Category: Health Managers Authors: Source Type: blogs