From the October 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Let’s dissect a change issue: A patient with Clostridium difficile (C-diff), the disruption of normal healthy bacteria in the colon, often from antibiotics, is discharged to a long-term care facility. According to Darrel Hicks, environmental services director at GCI Certified, the next patient admitted to that same room is 40 percent more likely to get the same potentially deadly bacteria. Hicks goes on to state that breaking the chain of the C-diff infection requires several elements: “a certified EVS tech, the right disinfectant, the best-in-class microfiber products, the right amount of time to process the room and an environmental checklist for monitoring terminal cleaning.”
To further reduce exposure to C-diff, another change could be added — introducing UV light devices or vaporized hydrogen peroxide solutions. Both provide increased efficiency at reducing the risk of C-diff transference to others. However, adding another step results in more time, cost and training. Effective change requires evaluation to determine if the goal has been met. In this case, the health care system has to determine if the added step and the associated cost create enough benefit to incorporate the practice.
People resist change for numerous reasons, some emotional, such as anxiety about the unknown; fear that the change will result in a loss of control or status; stress that the change will result in a greater workload; and worry about appearing inept. According to a 2013 strategy survey, the success rate of major change is only 54 percent. Successful change requires communicating the message through multiple channels along with clearly defining the goal. Announcements are not as effective at driving change as personal conversations.
For example, doctors who have been installing pacemakers in patients’ chests will soon be forced to retrain. Pacemaker innovation has reduced the size from approximately the proportions of an iPod to a large vitamin. The smaller size means an entirely new procedure for inserting the device. Device makers know the most effective method of changing a surgeon’s mindset is to hold training sessions that acknowledge the audience’s special skills and allow for participants to ask peer-to-peer questions. Without change, these doctors would not be educated on the new surgical procedures for installing pacemakers.
About the author: Thom Wellington is the CEO and a stockholder in Infection Control University, a company that provides staff training programs and control processes for infectious microorganisms in hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities and other health care-related institutions.Back to HCB News
