Just read this discussion paper.

Difficult to argue with the credentials of the organisations behind the paper (Cleveland Clinic, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, etc.)

And the content of the paper makes lots of sense.

The checklist is as follows:

Foundational elements
• Governance priority—visible and determined leadership by CEO and Board
• Culture of continuous improvement—commitment to ongoing,
real-time learning
Infrastructure fundamentals
• IT best practices—automated, reliable information to and from the point of
care
• Evidence protocols—effective, efficient, and consistent care
• Resource utilization—optimized use of personnel, physical space, and
other resources
Care delivery priorities
• Integrated care—right care, right setting, right providers, right teamwork
• Shared decision making—patient–clinician collaboration on care plans
• Targeted services—tailored community and clinic interventions for
resource-intensive patients
Reliability and feedback
• Embedded safeguards—supports and prompts to reduce injury and infection
• Internal transparency—visible progress in performance, outcomes, and costs

For those of us interested in health informatics much of this speaks to streamlined and managed processes, information technology embedded in everything that happens, use of information technology to improve patient outcomes.  And the importance of an effective EHR is very much to the fore.

Well worth a read – would be interesting to see the views of healthcare provider CEOs.