Waiting is such a firmly entrenched feature of health care that it is often expected. The solution starts with the team. Orthopaedic athletic trainer Ian Crossett details the 4-step, team-driven process that sends a message of respect for everyone: provider, patient and team.
Scope is a powerful tool when changing practice. Rather than trying to revamp in one large swoop, scoping an improvement down to palatable stages can overcome resistance and lead to meaningful results for future improvement cycles. Although new improvers may feel this approach delays impact, repeated improvement cycles often lead to sustained care transformation. Dr. Theophilus Owan demonstrated this principle in his quest to improve value by standardizing anti-thrombotic medications given to patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
Health care is complicated, emotionally challenging work. Thriving in complexity requires two things: continuous system improvement and building individual resilience. This article focuses on three ways we can build habits that support individual resilience from three experts who do it every day.
Mindfulness instructors Trinh Mai and Rob Davies guide us through S.T.O.P., a simple mindfulness practice to help mitigate our stress response.
Mindfulness instructors Rob Davies and Heidi O’Donoghue guide us through the body scan, a simple meditation that helps relax the body — and as a bonus, can also help you sleep.
Mindfulness instructors Heidi O’Donoghue and Trinh Mai guide us through a simple breathing exercise. Practiced regularly, this meditation cultivates awareness, concentration, and calmness.
A missed diagnosis can delay treatment or result in inappropriate treatment, causing unnecessary pain, suffering, and often financial hardship for our patients. Internist and hospitalist Peter Yarbrough helps explain why diagnostic errors happen with strategies to prevent them.
Surgeon Rob Glasgow reflects on the national conversation around physician burnout and calls for a connection to purpose. His advice: never stop asking what brings meaning to your life and your profession.
Ever wonder why your thoughtfully planned improvement fell flat with patients? Enter the University of Utah Health Patient Design Studio, a group of patients who meet monthly with improvers to provide actionable, direct and collaborative input on their improvement efforts.
The Effective Communicator returns to settle the never-ending debate: which form of communication is the best?
General Surgery resident Riann Robbins is on a journey to reduce unnecessary tests. She recently shared her team's work to tackle ABG testing in critical care at the annual Department of Surgery Value Symposium. What did she learn? Be patient and persistent. As Seuss said, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
For patients, the electronic medical record offers unprecedented access, transparency, and an ever-present screen in their appointments. For providers, the EMR’s impact on workload, efficiency, and patient connection are sources of challenge. Accelerate’s Mari Ransco puts a spin on the doctor/patient relationship by asking her dermatologist Chris Hull to share how he balances the demands of Epic with personalized patient care.
