In Chapter 3 of
Transforming Healthcare
, there is a discussion about how many
doctors and nurses found the most difficult change to be the standardization of
work.
Dr. Jacobs describes how there can be six different doctors in the same
department all treating the same type of ailment six different ways.
Why is it so
difficult to standardize work in medicine?
Why is not standardizing detrimental?
What are the benefits of standardization?
Standardization is hard simply because every practitioner is an individual and believes in their
own morals and education. Simply put, what works for one doesn’t work for all which is why we see
different treatments being offered to patients with the same condition. However, standardization
streamlines the treatment process. While it is up to individual doctors and their teams to streamline a
treatment plan, facilities hold the responsibility to ensuring quick and effective treatment is being
received. The most effective way to do this is to create a team where all voices are equal (Kenney &
Virginia, 2010, p. 36). People are creatures of comfort and routine which means these changes can cause
resistance, and the staff in
Transforming Healthcare
witnessed this with changes to their cancer
treatment (p. 44).
Standardizing care reduces risk and creates a safer environment for the patient and staff by
reducing variation in clinical treatment. “Standardization reduces waste, makes treatment predictable
and controllable and defines clear responsibilities for all team members” (Lehmann & Miller, 2004). As
Transforming Health
showed, patients were wasting valuable time traversing around the hospital when
they were only in for a 15-minute procedure as seen by the blue yarn display (p. 33). In this case when
faced with a life-or-death condition, time is literally of the essence and this proves that ignoring
standardization is detrimental to the patient.
References
Kenney, C., & Virginia, M. C. (2010).
Transforming health care: Virginia mason medical center's pursuit of
the perfect patient experience
. Productivity Press.
Lehmann, C., & Miller, M. (2004). Standardization and the Practice of Medicine.
Journal of Perinatology
24
. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7211060
