Triple Aim

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Triple Aim

Health care is a critical aspect of the recovery process for every patient. Most hospitals have begun embracing the importance and need for quality care and to demand it from healthcare providers. For this reason, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement launched the Triple Aim in 2007 in order to help improve the current state of healthcare with three goals in mind: to improve the general health of the masses, to improve patient satisfaction in terms of care and quality and to lower the per capita cost incurred in health care. The aim of this essay is to discuss the most critical tenet of the Triple Aim when it comes to optimizing healthcare delivery, which is Aim #1 (improving the patient experience of care for the patient). It also sets out to discuss how clinical and non-clinical stakeholders can work together to improve the same.

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As a healthcare manager, I feel that the most important tenet of the Triple Aim in regard to achieving the goal of healthcare delivery optimization is that of improving the patient satisfaction in terms of care and quality (Batalden & Davidoff, 2007). In between diagnosing the patients and providing them with subsequent treatment, it is important to know that anything can happen. A number of complications can occur within the hospitals including Hospital-Acquired Conditions (HACs) and falls and fall-related injuries (American Hospital Association, 2015). The truth is that most of these complications can be avoided entirely if healthcare providers are trained and well-equipped to take care of the patients regardless of whether they have minor or major health issues.

In most, if not all cases, payment incentives serve to encourage better quality outcomes and patient experience especially among the healthcare providers. In the article Zeroing in on the Triple Aim by the American Hospital Association, falls and fall-related injuries are posed as examples of complications that may occur during the recovery process of the patient in the hospital. According to the article, 25% of these injuries can be prevented. If healthcare providers are provided with payment incentives which are then followed through with the falls risk assessment protocol used on all patients, 20,000 falls could be avoided as well as an average cost of $144 million (American Hospital Association, 2015).

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Besides, clinical and nonclinical stakeholders should collaborate in order to improve the way healthcare is delivered, thus. providing better quality outcomes (Berwick, Godfrey & Roessner, 1991). Using the previous example on payment incentives, the stakeholders can set up an account that is specifically dedicated to the payment of the incentives of the healthcare providers (Petersen, Woodard, Urech, Daw & Sookanan, 2006). This will not only encourage the healthcare providers to be the best at what they do but also show that the stakeholders and other interested parties do appreciate the work that the healthcare providers are doing.

Of the three goals of the Triple Aim, I feel improving the patient experience of care is the most important one in terms of achieving healthcare delivery optimization. It is also clear from the article that if the healthcare providers paid a little more attention to their patients than they presently do, patients would not only leave the hospitals satisfied but also have reduced risks of acquiring HACs. For this reason, it is my opinion that the application and use of payment incentives can serve to encourage better quality outcomes and patient experience and subsequently benefit both the patients and the hospitals a lot in terms of cost savings. Lastly, through collaboration, both the clinical and nonclinical stakeholders can play a big role in overseeing the success of the Triple Aim.

References

American Hospital Association. (2015). Zeroing in on the Triple Aim. New York, NY: American Hospital Association.

Batalden, P. B. & Davidoff, F. (2007). What is “quality improvement” and how can it transform healthcare? Quality and Safety in Health Care, 16(1), 2-3.

Berwick, D. M., Godfrey, B. A. & Roessner, J. (1991). Curing Health Care: New Strategies for Quality Improvement. Journal for Healthcare Quality, 13(5), 65-66.

Petersen, L. A., Woodard, L. D., Urech, T., Daw, C., & Sookanan, S. (2006). Does pay-for-performance improve the quality of health care?. Annals of internal medicine, 145(4), 265-272.