The appropriate driving factor in implementing change in the health organization

The appropriate driving factor in implementing change in the health organization

The primary objective of the health organization is to meet patients’ requirements by attaining their safety during care and service delivery, hence achieving organizational goals. The rationale includes providing patients with adequate protection and satisfaction during care and service delivery, through changing working culture in hospitals. However, the organization’s interest is to implement changes such as retaining skilled health practitioners and transitioning integrated delivery system in the healthcare working environment, thus satisfying patients’ needs and increase the cost per capita. The main challenge is health care practices, including employees’ participation in improving services; hence, cultural changes are necessary in providing solutions. Healthcare providers’ roles are communicating effectively with patients, educating patients and family, and personalizing patients’ experiences. The leader provides learning opportunities to health professions on how to utilize health care resources and new tolls and systems adopted, thus successful change introduction and quality improvement (Harvey and Lynch 2017, p.27).

As discussed by Weaver et al. (2016, p. 28), sustainable quality improvement is challenging for the health organization. Still, according to Denis (2013, p. 6), culture is an essential factor for quality improvement. Implementing change is necessary, but with poor cultural practices, the process of service improvement is a loss. However, leaders play a fundamental role in change implementation. Characteristics of a robust culture of a hospital include mutual trust, teamwork, recognizing best health care providers, and effective communication among the staffs, according to the Joint Commission, (2017, p. 1).

Health facilities can successfully implement change and quality improvement by identifying its stakeholders and their requirements in best performances. The stakeholders, in this case, include the employees, patients, and visitors. It is essential to identify stakeholders to align with the rationale of the inevitable health institutional changes. Health practitioners are vital players in providing patients’ safety through cultural change. The relationship between the health staff and the patient is essential in assessment, diagnosis, and treatment processes, thus positive health care outcomes. According to Hsu et al. (2019, p. 350), the patient’s voice is essential for a hospital to attribute the level of care and service efficiency to patients. Patients provide feedback using incident reporting systems in which the managers analyze and make appropriate changes, thus improving quality provision.

Five-step Roger’s theory

For health institutions to change their culture and increase performance in service provision, top administrators understand the needs and abilities of healthcare providers. Henceforth, management is responsible for encouraging physicians to collaborate and work as a team. The health institution should ensure the staff has enough knowledge of the type of change and changing process, by providing training and resources for change. Finally, recognizing performances and efforts of healthcare providers enhance service improvement.

The innovation diffusion model refers to how an individual has or acquires appropriate knowledge of making change and goes further to confirm the decision to implement or reject the planned change. The model is applicable in enhancing culture change in health institution because if the change leader fails to achieve the objectives, health professionals can fail to provide efficient services and quality care as before. However, the theory is essential in changing the way hospitals work by incorporating health providers with interest, managing the project barriers, and facilitating the ability of key players. The requirements in adopting changes include having knowledge, persuasion, decision making, the expertise of understanding the benefits of the change, and deciding to use the planned innovation, as described by Barrow and Toney-Butler (2019).

The innovation diffusion change diagnostic tool is related to the nursing process; hence, staff engagement and retention. The change leader determines the problem first. According to Barrow and Toney-Butler (2019), the theory involves data collection and analysis regarding health care culture, thus providing health professions with necessary information about the issue and the change. For example, leaders can assess problems such as high staff turnover rate in hospital environs. A Focus group and semi-structured questionnaires are required to collect data. Leaders can identify critical players interested or reject the change. Also, the change leader assesses stakeholders that will benefit from the switch and acquire resources. The use of tables and graphs in presenting the analyzed data is credible and easy to understand. The process is appropriate in diagnosing change in health facilities with minimal obstructions, hence retaining experienced and skilled physicians to provide quality care and improved services.

The other step is the appropriate planning of change implementation. Health practitioners should participate in decision making about the change. Staff should give opinions on how top management should recognize and reward the best performers for increasing clinicians’ retention. The leader should understand that change implementation may alter performances, rules, structures, and practices in an organization. A leader incorporates health care providers to bring an understanding of the project rationale. Also, the modification of misunderstandings and negative beliefs in hospitals before change-making is essential. Hence, the leader encourages the staff and provides them with an assurance of security, thus enhancing trust and change adoption. Budgets and time plans are essentials in change implementation and monitoring the process.

Change implementation is the third stage that involves putting the plans into action. The leader provides health practitioners with a supportive environment, thus persuading them to collaborate in making changes—adequate information, encouragements, and training influence physicians’ dynamics of change. Hence, practitioners make appropriate decisions for adopting cultural differences. Evaluation is the final step, whereby the leader monitors undesirable outcomes, consequences, and provide a permanent solution (Barrow and Toney-Butler 2019).

Leaders are responsible for implementing, monitoring, and evaluating various changes within an organization. The behaviours and decisions of leaders influence physicians’ perceptions of commitments. Aggressive acts in leaders are appropriate but in alignment with concern, compassion, empathy, and high listening skills. Leaders’ role is to recognize health practitioners’ performances and appreciate best performers through rewards and promotions, thus motivating others too towards commitment in quality improvement strategy. Also, nurses and doctors need to understand the necessity of respecting and trusting each other while serving patients. Finally, performances in hospitals depend on their health providers’ skills and knowledge in quality provision. Hence, leaders provide clinicians with appropriate opportunities to engage in career development, training, and organizational learning programs. This aspect enhances the interests of physicians in high performance and learning of new skills, thus quality care and patient safety, as discussed in the Joint Commission (2017, p. 1).

Subsequently, the health facility has various strengths and opportunities that will enhance change implementation. The health organization focuses on staff retention. Hospital management encourages staff engagement and motivation through rewards and promotions, to retain experienced and better-performing clinicians. Recognizing the performance of nurses and doctors influence their perception towards commitment, hence leading to improved quality. The hospital has incident reporting systems that enhance feedback collection and improvements where appropriate. This shows that the health institution recognizes and uses patients’ voices to improve quality health care and service delivery.

Barriers to Clinical Engagement for Service Improvement

Ineffective communication processes and unclear plans hinder better employee performances. Gbadamosi (2015) says that proper arrangements are essential in hospital changes and service improvement. However, poor communication of changes and set goals can lead to a failed project due to ineffective implementation directions. Gbadamosi (2015) suggests that a clear strategy reinforces obstinacies in health facilities. Lack of transparency in the communication process about the change hinders the success of change development in health care organizations (Tappen et al., 2017, p. 295).

Resistance to change is a common barrier that affects new implementation projects in health care sectors. According to Tappen et al. (2017, p. 299), dissatisfied doctors and nurses complain about not involved in decision making about the change and institutional goals. However, such stakeholders resist changes by performing poorly in contrary to the requirements. Non-involved and non-supported health care providers fear to make mistakes, thus lack confidence during performances. Busetto et al. (2018) suggest health institutions ion should provide practitioners with adequate information and engage them in decision making for successful change implementation. Hence, Busetto et al. (2018) suggest that health organizations should change leaders to bring new plans in problem elimination and strategize on efficient service delivery, communication process, motivation, staff retention, and collaboration in regards to change implementation.

According to Tappen et al. (2017, p.303), inadequate resources in health care organizations are obstacles to adequate care and service provision. However, health institutions focus on changing the organizational culture by educating and training health professions. Lachman, Runnacles, and Dudley (2014, p. 14) claim that’s insufficient funds to support and promote clinical changes can lead to persistence in challenges such as delayed patient diagnosis, waits, patient harm, and inequality issues. Other problems, as stated by Rapport et al. (2012), include technological issues, unstable leadership, non-supportive management, increased competition, and complexity of change within a hospital.