Kaiser Permanente is a leader in multiple measures of clinical quality — and unit-based teams are a key to that success. Partnering together in high-performing teams, frontline workers, managers and physicians are improving patient access, expanding preventive care and increasing patient safety.

Read more about Quality

Team Cracks the Case of Missing Lab Orders

Identifying departments that send patients and specimens without orders
Using a playful law enforcement theme to educate the “violators”
Monitoring data and recognizing departments that are improving

What can your team do to approach a serious issue in a more playful way? What else could your team do to help "violators" change without blame?

Read more about Team Cracks the Case of Missing Lab Orders

Transformed Team Tracks Kidney Transplant Patients Follow-up Care

Hosting a short-term special clinic for post-transplant patients, enabling them to get all their follow-up care in one visit
Creating an Excel spreadsheet of post-transplant patients and their follow-up needs
Making outreach calls to patients with care gaps

What can your team do to fill patient care gaps? What else could your team do to proactively meet patient needs?

Read more about Transformed Team Tracks Kidney Transplant Patients Follow-up Care

Physical Therapists Use Whiteboard to Help Rehab Communication

Collaborating on “hand-off” messages between Physical Therapy and nursing staff
Writing specific messages about daily therapy sessions on a board in the patient’s room
Standardizing information placed on the boards

What can your team do to encourage better communication between team members?

Read more about Physical Therapists Use Whiteboard to Help Rehab Communication

From the Desk of Henrietta: Mind, Body, Service

Submitted by tyra.l.ferlatte on Mon, 09/19/2016 - 15:41

Keywords

Topics

Role

Hank

Request Number

hank41_henrietta

Long Teaser

Our bodies need best quality, and our spirits need best service. Henrietta, the resident columnist of the quarterly magazine Hank, makes an argument for including patients in performance improvement. From the Fall 2014 issue.

Communicator (reporters)

Tyra Ferlatte

Editor (if known, reporters)

Non-LMP

Photos & Artwork (reporters)

Only use image in listings (editors)

not listing only

Status

Released

Tracking (editors)

Flash

10/15/2014 - 12:00

10/05/2014 - 12:00

Story content (editors)

Byline

Henrietta

Story body part 1

This time, I was the patient. I’m confident I received the right care at the right time. The removal of a suspicious polyp may have averted colon cancer a few decades hence. I’m grateful for that.

But I wouldn’t say I was “at the center” of my care team’s processes. My interaction brought home for me the theme of this issue of Hank, how we can improve care by asking members to participate in performance improvement. Previous patients could have told my team:

The instructions given to members on prepping for a colonoscopy don’t mention that the effects of the purgatives might take two hours to arrive—and then arrive so urgently you’d better be three steps from the toilet. The prep sheet should note what you can do to be ready.

In the clinic itself, the row of patients lined up on their gurneys don’t need to overhear nurses, somewhat frustrated, adapting to staffing changes. Problem solving is good, but save those discussions for staff areas.

In the procedure room, introduce yourselves—and keep pleasantries appropriate. In my case, one of two nurses remained anonymous. The doctor introduced himself but asked, “How are we doing today?” The “we” was a wrong note; he and I were having distinctly different days

Body and spirit are intertwined, and so, too, are quality and service. Our bodies need “best quality,” our spirits need “best service.” Best care addresses both. Patients know better than anyone what best service looks like. Find ways to invite their voices into your team’s work.

Obsolete (webmaster)

Migrated

not migrated

Read more about From the Desk of Henrietta: Mind, Body, Service

Create a Surgery Wait List and Serve More Patients

Creating a wait list for patients who need to schedule surgeries
Assigning a full-time employee to manage the wait list
Using openings in the schedule to squeeze in emergency patients

What can your team do to improve patient satisfaction and efficiencies in your department? What else could your team do to relieve scheduling backlogs?

Read more about Create a Surgery Wait List and Serve More Patients

UBT Chief's Role

Submitted by Kristi on Wed, 08/10/2016 - 16:04

Tool Type

Checklists

Format

PDF

Topics

Performance Improvement

Quality

Role

Frontline Physicians

Taxonomy upgrade extras

lmpartnership.org

UBT Chief's Role

A leaflet that describes the Chief's responsibilities in implementing UBTs.

Non-LMP

Tool landing page copy (reporters)

Format: Printed flyer or PDF
Size: 8.5” x 11”
Intended audience: Physicians in Chief and physician team leads
Best used: In meetings and trainings. Can be posted on bulletin boards or in offices

Description: Why should physician leaders support unit-based teams? Simply because the teams remain our best hope for a workplace that supports better delivery of care and service. Find out more in this short letter-size piece that features frequently-asked questions about UBTs.

Released

Tracking (editors)

Sun, 06/20/2010 - 12:00

Obsolete (webmaster)

other

PDF

lmpartnership.org

not migrated

Read more about UBT Chief's Role

Small Changes, Healthy Babies—A Quicker Path to Vaccinations

Giving injections in the exam room, rather than the injection clinic
Limiting the choice for physicians to two versions of the same vaccine to choose from—instead of several
Huddling among medical assistants and physicians once or twice a day to determine which of their incoming patients need vaccines. Medical assistants then have the shots ready for those patients

What can your team do to use small tests of change in tackling large problems?

Read more about Small Changes, Healthy Babies—A Quicker Path to Vaccinations

Subscribe to Quality