Greg Andreas’ Post

How does virtue signaling impact our organizational Quality, Safety and Human Factors (QSHF) work? Showing we are 'good' through public expressions or behaviors without meaningful action makes virtue signaling distinct from other, similar terms like illustrative solidarity. At the organizational level, specific examples of virtue signaling in QSHF work might include 🔅 Stratifying data by race/ethnicity without acting on the findings, 🔅 Copy/paste implementation of changes to the RCA process because “other hospitals were doing it”, 🔅 Excessive chase of accolades/benchmarks to the detriment of locally-defined QS&HF risks How can organizational virtue signaling be better detected and addressed at the organizational level and higher?: 🔹 Oversight bodies supporting healthcare organizations in focusing on risks that are relevant to their staff and patients and minimizing unjustified broad sweep requirements 🔹 Increasing face time between those at the sharp and blunt ends of the healthcare system (e.g., nurses versus policy makers, respectively) 🔹 Involving patients and community members in improvement work, from day 1 when data is discussed 🔹 Promoting the use of qualitative data to complement our currently quant-heavy world to better understand subjective experiences outside of pre-defined targets What would you add to the list? Specifically tagging folks who I know will have good insights (though the full list is loooonnng) Donna M. Prosser, DNP, RN, NE-BC, FACHE Tom McDaniel Gareth Lock Ana Luísa Neves Carole Hemmelgarn Mark Sujan Krista Hughes - BCPA Jeff Brown Anushree A. Adam Johns Ariana Longley, MPH Steve New Stay tuned for Part II!: “How does virtue signaling impact individual QS&HF professionals?” Here’s a little ditty for the day: (I Just) Died in Your Arms – Cutting Crew #healthcarequality #patientsafety #humanfactors #virtuesignaling

This is such an important topic! Looking forward to learning from this great panel.

If you really want to get out of the weeds as a leader, you have to trust your team to take over completely. I failed at this recently. After my team encouraged me to step away from the areas where my input wasn’t necessary, I agreed to relinquish control over these areas… except, I didn’t do it. I was still going through my team’s work and fixing details, giving multiple rounds of feedback, and generally trying to train people to be just like me. Naturally, this approach to leaving the weeds backfired. People felt like I was nitpicking, and that I didn’t trust them to do the work. Of course, the opposite was true, but my actions did not reflect my trust. It reminded me of my time as a medical resident when so many of us felt frustration with our supervisors - whose feedback often reflected their own personal preferences for patient care, rather than a true standard or north star. Clearly, I forgot about how annoying residency life could be, which is why I steamrolled ahead with my deluge of feedback for my team anyway, in spite of my promises to be more hands-off. Now I recognize that it’s valuable for leaders to get out of the weeds, yes… but it’s equally as valuable to do that in a way that empowers your team to handle your relinquished work their own way. Your ability to pace (or skip) the feedback, ignore the details, and allow people to work the way they want to work speaks volumes about your implicit trust in them.

On the things we tell ourselves (about what's really wrong and why) I've just shared my thoughts on this article by Prof. Margaret Ikpoh, which speaks to the state of Primary Care in the UK (which is GP services for those not in-the-know). I'm resharing it here, because I see it as bringing important awareness to the question of adequate resourcing for the provision of Patient Services in Community Settings (which for any of us using or providing GP services know that it is, and always has been under-resourced by those who commission it). This means that if we're really interested in using our own leadership to bring about change (and this is directed at those of us who commission services), we'd do well to watch the language that we're using to describe what's actually happening (under-resourcing with finance and labour), and what really needs to happen in order to resolve it (providing more money and people). #NHS #PrimaryCare #Leadership #Discourse Extracted from the original article:- "We can choose words that either polarise or unite; stigmatise or empower. Terms like ‘broken’ can create a sense of hopelessness, inevitability and a lack of public confidence discouraging efforts to seek solutions. Conversely, thoughtful language that acknowledges challenges while highlighting resilience and potential for improvement can inspire action and optimism. General practice faces significant challenges, but it is far from broken. By recognising our strengths, addressing our weaknesses constructively, and using language that promotes positive change, we can ensure that we continue to thrive and safeguard patient safety. If anything is broken it’s the broken record from successive governments that have failed to ensure that general practice remains the cornerstone of healthcare which is best placed to meet the demands of our growing population. This can only happen with appropriate resources, adequate workforce and an evolving will with key stakeholders to address this – so how about we fix that first?"

The path to 5 stars for Medicare Advantage plans is more uncertain than ever with the recent wave of CMS changes. Future Star Ratings success will rely heavily on understanding and influencing individual member behavior. Engaging and activating hard-to-reach members at scale is the focus of Wellth Northstar, a dedicated solution for MA plans to move quality ratings on critical Part C & D measures and HEI performance. Learn how MA plans are adopting Wellth Northstar to see: Significant improvements in 3x weighted med adherence measures 20% reduction to inpatient and ED utilization 80%+ daily engagement for over 12+ months by leveraging the concepts of behavioral science Download now: https://hubs.la/Q02vdg1c0

I read a comment today that we need to start changing our mindset to think of our profession as “pre-hospital care” and less that it’s just “emergency care”. I could not agree more. This mindset change is so important and overdue. Once we start recognizing that our profession goes well beyond an emergency call we can start to break down our own jaded opinions about “non-emergency” assignments and how they aren’t worthy of our time. We need to start acting like the pre-hospital clinicians that we are and take the time to assess, educate when necessary, and know that everyone is worthy of our care even if it doesn’t include fancy push-dose pressors and intubations.

Check out the recent post from our friends Center for Discovery to learn more about one of their clinical directors “what’s your why”!

Today is my last day at Valley Health, capping a journey of seven years. During that time, we were able to build an incredible urgent care and occupational medicine program to meet the needs of our friends, families, and greater community in the quad-state region. We helped hundreds of thousands of patients during a period where people needed hope, help, and somewhere to turn when they couldn’t get in with their regular care teams. All of this wouldn’t have been possible without the outstanding leadership I’ve had. The mentorship and guidance of my leaders has made me a better leader, and more importantly, a better person. Healthcare is human and I believe there’s a decidedly right and wrong way to go about the delivery of it. I’m proud to have been part of a group that valued and cared about every patient who walked through our doors. Just as importantly, I have been extremely fortunate to lead a group of people who put their trust in me to make the right decisions for our teams, our patients, and for one another. Working in healthcare is rarely easy, but working with such a committed group of people who genuinely care for each other makes the challenges seem manageable. I’m going to miss the conversations, the highs and lows, and the purpose we were all united behind. To me, the workplace has always been about building relationships with one another. There is such value to building a community within and appreciating how we can learn from each other, especially when things aren’t easy. The oftentimes trite term “communication” is a essential part of building relationships. Communication is so simple to understand, yet so complex to deliver effectively. I’ve learned a lot about being an effective communicator over these last seven years and I’m excited to use all of the skills I’ve gained in my next endeavor.

Happy Health Workforce Well-being Day! ACLM offers a great course on Physician and Healthcare Provider Well-being with CE attached. It’s chock full of actionable tips and great ideas! It’s important that those of us who care for patients, clients and others also pay attention to our own well-being. Burnout and exhaustion are still a risk in healthcare and it’s good to see organizations and employers starting to pay attention. After all, it’s the organizational structure and resources that ultimately modify the workload, policies and work team autonomy, as well as the culture of well-being vs. overwork. Employees can’t do it alone… even with exquisite attention to their own self-care. Healthcare worker well-being is a cultural issue that deserves focus. #wellbeingatwork #wellbeing

Don’t focus on the number of followers or connections you have, but rather on the people who truly have your back. Surround yourself with individuals who prioritize your well-being and mental health. Remember, you will encounter both supporters and detractors in life, so it's important to know who is who. This week, I was feeling exhausted from all of the things I am involved in the State of Michigan. and for the first time in 20 years, I slept for more than 8 hours. It was a reminder that putting your health first is crucial. Jobs and money come and go, but your family needs you. No job is worth sacrificing your well-being. This does not mean you can’t be intense and be driven to achieve success. Just have your priorities in order. I shared this message with students, pharmacists, and other health professionals, emphasizing the importance of being in a healthy environment to achieve success. Building a network of influential individuals who care about you is essential. I’m going to start highlighting some of the best people to start building a healthy network. One of those individuals is Farah Jalloul. Farah is the State of Michigan Emergency Preparedness Coordinator and Director of Professional Development at the Michigan Pharmacists Association. She's been a great friend for years and someone you need in your network. She is a great person to add to start building a HEALTHY network. she is also one of the most influential pharmacy leaders in the state of Michigan, and I’m fortunate to have her as one of my best friends. Remember, your health and well-being should always come first. Start thinking this way today. #pharmacist #business #pharmacists #humanresources #pharmacy #mentalhealth #worklifebalance