Maximizing HR
The strategic goal of all healthcare organizations is the quality of employee performance.
In 1998, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) created the most widely accepted definition of quality
in the healthcare industry. The definition provided by the IOM is to provide patient services at
the forefront of scientific knowledge that leads to desirable health outcomes. After researching
information about high-performing healthcare organizations, this post will provide five strategic
ways to increase employee productivity and impact quality in a healthcare organization.
Improve Workplace Productivity
Healthcare is a continuous, battling conflict between the Quadruple Aims. The Quadruple
Aims reduce costs and improve population health, patient experience, team well-being – and
productivity (Arnetz et al., 2020). Research has been done on the Quadruple Aims and how they
improve workplace productivity. The Quadruple Aims was developed in 2014 and was adapted
from the widely accepted Triple Aim. Emphasizing the Quadruple Aims, these performances can
be applied to far-reaching, crucial healthcare challenges such as reducing massive rates of
burnout present in healthcare workers and combating rising healthcare costs (Arnetz et al., 2020).
These two focal points are the most crucial of the Quadruple Aims. As more healthcare workers
suffer from burnout, healthcare organizations must develop ways to help staff deal with burnout
or prevent burnout from occurring. Arnetz et al. (2020) explain that programs to address burnout
must develop programs that teach healthcare workers to use interventions like mindfulness and
stress management to improve their physical and mental well-being. However, while these
programs assist healthcare workers, they often do not address the root cause of stress and
burnout. The most effective way to address stress and burnout is to determine the root cause and
develop ways to change the healthcare worker’s practice to understand their stress and burnout
and manage the underlying cause (Arnetz et al., 2020). Therefore, if healthcare workers are able
to understand and manage their stress, they are able to manage stress to prevent burnout and will
be able to care for patients effectively. Caring for patients effectively, positively impacts
healthcare quality and leaders to positive patient outcomes.
Prioritize Employee Well-being
Enhancing and prioritizing employee well-being is essential in increasing employee
productivity and impacting quality healthcare in healthcare organizations. Most recently, the
COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented impact on the healthcare industry across the
world. Therefore, many healthcare workers have begun to suffer with their mental health. Sovold
et al. (2021) explain that healthcare professionals are likely to affect their physical, mental, and
emotional well-being when exposed to many stressors at one time. Therefore, work-related
stressors can affect a healthcare professional’s professionalism, quality of service delivery,
efficiency, and quality of life. Sovold et al. (2021) explain that identifying and mitigating the risk
factors associated with healthcare jobs is crucial to protect the healthcare professional’s mental
health and well-being.
Furthermore, continued mental and emotional distress can permanently scar healthcare
workers. Sovold et al. (2021) explain that allowing healthcare workers to express their emotions
is imperative because suppressing emotions leads to continued mental and emotional issues.
Therefore, when healthcare workers are encouraged to express their emotions, they are likely to
build emotional resilience that allows them to care for themselves by practicing self-care. Self-
care allows healthcare professionals to manage their feelings and provide quality healthcare
services to others with more compassion, sensitivity, effectiveness, and empathy (Sovold et al.,
2021).
Establish a Positive Culture and Management
Healthcare professionals must work in an environment conducive to providing exemplary
patient care. Mannion & Davies (2018) explain that healthcare organizations must clearly
understand a positive work environment because it is crucial for gaining systematic, objective
insights into the organization's work environment. Therefore, a positive work environment for
healthcare professionals is crucial to quality patient care. Another aspect of healthcare
management is understanding the culture of the healthcare organization. Often understanding the
healthcare organization's culture can be linked to change and resistance to change. Resistance to
change occurs when current and rising leaders are not receptive to change within the healthcare
organization (Besel et al., 2021). Dealing with this resistance is necessary to promote positivity
within the healthcare organization between healthcare leaders and employees. When there is no
resistance and the culture of the healthcare organization is understood, healthcare professionals
can perform their jobs in a positive work environment that provides quality patient care and
promotes positive patient outcomes.
Evaluate Employee Performance and Work Environment
A healthy work environment for healthcare professionals is a workplace that is safe,
empowering, and satisfying. Wei et al. (2018) explain that the IOM is the leader in providing
leadership and guidance to the healthcare system in the United States by releasing two landmark
reports: To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System and Crossing the Quality Chasm: A
New Health System for the 21st Century. Both of these reports recognized issues about patient
safety and quality care that challenged the healthcare system in the United States. To combat
these issues head-on, the IOM and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) began to
emphasize promoting work environments. By making this a priority in the healthcare system in
the United States, healthcare leaders can better understand the healthcare professional’s work
environment and how continuous evaluation can help strategize future healthcare needs and help
healthcare professionals identify areas where they need to improve to become part of the future
of healthcare (Wei et al., 2018).
Using Technology and Healthcare Costs
As the healthcare industry continues to grow, technology is becoming a crucial
factor of the healthcare organization’s increase in per capita healthcare expenditure. Therefore,
delivering high quality of care (QoC) to patients has become a priority, and is a challenging task
(Pinsonneault et al., 2017). This is primarily due to the use of medical technology in the
healthcare industry. Medical technology can be beneficial or detrimental to the healthcare
organization. Therefore, understanding how medical technology effects the healthcare
organization is crucial to provide quality patient care. Understanding medical technology can
also be linked to healthcare economics and healthcare costs. The health care delivery system in
the U.S. has undergone a lot of changes over the last decade. Most of these changes were
initiated with the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) now
known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA was enacted on March 23, 2010 by
President Barak Obama and was structured to provide millions of Americans with health
insurance while bending the cost curve down (Hirsch et al., 2017). However, the ACA also
foisted new taxes; led to the development of new, independent agencies with amplified power in
shaping health care policy and regulations; and advanced the implementation of accountable care
(Hirsch et al., 2017). The main purpose of the ACA is to prevent discrimination of health care
coverage to Americans since there are no restrictions. Scripturally this is supported in Matthew
10:8. Matthew 10:8 states, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils;
freely ye have received, freely give” (King James Version, 2014).
References
Arnetz, B.B., Goetz, C.M., Arnetz, J.E., Sudan, S., vanSchagen, J., Piersma, K., & Reyelts, F.
(2020). Enhancing healthcare efficiency to achieve the Quadruple Aim: An exploratory
study. BMC Res Notes, 13(362).
https://bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13104-020-05199-8#citeas
Besel, K., Flores, A., & Chang, C.Y. (2021). The good, bad, and ugly of succession planning A
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Hirsch, J.A., Rosenkrantz, A.B., Allen, B., Nicola, G.N., Klucznik, R.P., & Manchikanti, L.
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Munter, L. (2021). Prioritizing the mental health and well-being of healthcare workers:
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https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.679397/full
Wei, H., Sewell, K.A., Woody, G., & Rose, M.A. (2018). The state of the science of nurse work
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352013218300309
