The Vital Role of Clinicians in Healthcare Transformation

The Vital Role of Clinicians in Healthcare Transformation
The Triple Aim has been the guiding framework for delivering high-value care in the healthcare industry. This framework was developed by Donald Berwick and colleagues and centers around three principal objectives, including enhancing patient experience of care, improving public health, and lowering healthcare costs (Sikka et al., 2015). However, industry leaders have discovered that the successful implementation of the Triple Aim relies on an engaged and productive workforce. In order to acknowledge the vital role of clinicians in healthcare transformation, the Triple Aim framework has been revised to include improving the work-life of health care providers, both clinicians, and staff, as the fourth element (Boller, 2017). Organizations are increasingly turning to Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) to inform and justify efforts at achieving the Quadruple Aim. For instance, EBP helps reach the first measure of improving patient experience by fostering a multidisciplinary and multidirectional approach to care and communication that caters to individual patient needs, preferences, and values.
EBP includes providing patient-centered care that is respectful and responsive to the individual patient and family wishes (Melnyk et al., 2014). It insists on clinicians incorporating elements of patient-centered care into clinical decisions to improve patient satisfaction levels. When patients and their families feel that they are not only involved in clinical decisions but that their needs and values are also respected, their patient experience is greatly enhanced. EBP helps reach the second measure of enhancing population health by cultivating a spirit of inquiry: EBP is a problem-solving approach to healthcare that justifies changes in practice to improve general population health. For instance, through the seven steps of the EBP process (asking clinical questions in PICOT format, searching for the best evidence, critically appraising the evidence, integrating the evidence with clinician expertise and patient preferences, evaluating the results of the practice decisions, and disseminating EBP results), health organizations can validate as well as implement widespread practice changes that benefit population health (Melnyk et al., 2010
EBP means applying the best available evidence to guide continuous improvements in healthcare delivery at the community level. EBP helps reach the third measure of reducing healthcare costs by equipping nurses with the skills to execute and assess pract...