Example Of Why Is The Accountability Important In The Healthcare Industry? Research Paper

Importance Of Accountability

Importance Of Accountability

The healthcare industry is continually striving to improve the performance, efficiency and enhance the quality of health care service given to patients by using different quality improvement steps and various performance management techniques. It is important that the healthcare industry is able to maintain the culture of accountability as it is the main step towards improvement and measurement of performance of the employees. Accountability is generally defined as a process where one party is able to justify and take full responsibility for its activities that were done in order to achieve the goals of an organization (Tanner, 2010).
The main reason why accountability is significant for the healthcare industry because each person is responsible and equal responsible who is providing service to the patient and an accountability culture within a healthcare organization will help improve the value of money a patient spends along with providing quality of health service to the patients. Second, the increasing use of accountability will also help to reduce the overuse, underuse and also misuse of the hospital resources. Apart from this, an accountable culture in healthcare industry also encourages the assessment of the evidence that is present from different outcomes and feedback from the patient. Eventually, if the management and the employees are able to understand the concept of accountability, the desire to learn and apply health care practice that is evidence-based will improve the overall performance of the healthcare industry (Tanner, 2010).

How is an employee accountability measured in the healthcare industry?

The satisfaction level of employee in the health care set-up can be measured through the service ratings that the patients provide based on their own satisfaction level. It is imperative that the healthcare industry is able to develop a culture where every employee strives to improve the quality of service and performance and efficiency level. The performance of each employee can be measured through different initiatives to measure the performance for improvement of the quality of overall service offered (Karpf, 2010). Hence, it is important that, first a culture of employee accountability should be developed, and then serious measures should be taken to maintain accountability at a serious level. The services provided by all employees should be the one that meets public demand and helps to reduce or close the quality gaps that exists within the system. It is also important to note that employees, that are satisfied, will be more accountable for their actions than the ones that are unsatisfied. The accountability of employees is possible when the healthcare industry is able to implement the concepts that can ensure a high level of performance and validity in the deliverance of the healthcare (Karpf, 2010).

How does accountability apply to ethical considerations in leadership and management?

Ethics is one of the most important aspects of healthcare industry because it basically helps to shape the practices and policies in a healthcare institution along with improving the decision-making process. Ethical aspect in the profession is important for all professionals, but in healthcare, it is most important because it helps the professionals to share their accountability. Major aspects of ethics such as clinical and management ethics are based on the concept of the healthcare accountability as they guide moral values that are significant in creating trust with the patients. Hence, it is important that healthcare institutions develop a culture that is able to promote and encourage accountability and protect the interests of patients. Along with this, the healthcare industry should also incorporate other stakeholders such as taxpayers, physicians, and government agencies to imply with ethical standards as these are also equal partners in the protection of the interests of the patients (Silverstein, 2010).

What does a checks-and-balances process look like in a successful organization?

The check and balances in any organization are a mechanism that helps controlling any individual or an organization, along with a mutual and well-established interdepartmental relationships within an organization. The process of efficient check and balance within an organization gives legitimate power to the top management to support and govern the implementation of rules, regulations and procedures. The process of check and balance also ensures that inappropriate actions such as misuse of power, abuse of authority, oppression of any sort, corruption and lack of accountable behavior. In a healthcare organization, there is always room for an individual to misuse the resources or the power in order to benefit themselves or their family / friends at the expense of tax paid by the general public. Hence, a proper check and balance system can help control and eliminate the chances of forgery and misuse of resources (Silverstein, 2010).

How does accountability affect on organization’s working culture

Accountability has a profound impact on the working culture of every organization to be precise especially the healthcare industry. The main reason behind it is, because accountability acts have the main external mechanism to control and monitor the organization’s progress. The concept and proper implementation of accountability have proven to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare industry and any other organization. It brings a transformation in the environment of an organization and assists the employees to monitor and point out the mistakes of each other. This assists in improving the organizations processes and activities in order to benefit the organization and also its shareholders as a whole ( Silverstein, 2010). Hence, the concept of accountability is important for the creation of the culture that is desired and will ensure that the safety of patients and staff within the healthcare industry.

How can you maintain a positive working culture and avoid a working culture of blame?

When the doctors and staff try to work on achieving the best possible patient safety level for the patients, it is a work of human skills and expertise, enhanced reliability level, and collaborative human effort and comprehensive research on the healthcare system. It is imperative that in order to maintain a positive working culture within the healthcare industry, a breakdown should be performed of the right decisions will be taken within the healthcare industry as it is filled with complex situations and sensitive issues. This will help avoid the blame culture and also ensure that the a proper flow of information takes place along with learning environment to identify the failure and mistakes of employees. It is equally important that all the stakeholders should set aside their differences in order to achieve the organization’s success and development to thrive towards a common goal. The system of accountability is difficult to deal with at times and requires that new means of achieving this should be developed at a higher level and the culture should be developed to promote and encourage the open learning system (Vancouver Coastal Health, 2012).

References

Karpf, T., Ferguson, J. T., & Swift, R. (2010). Light still shines in the darkness: Decent care for all. Journal of Holistic Nursing,28(4), 266–274.
Silverstein B (2010) Accountable Care and Patient-Centered Medical Homes: Steps to Creating Value-Based Healthcare. CareFirst Book of Business, p 90.
Tanner T, Antony J. (2006) Comparing public and private hospital care service quality in Turkey. Leadership Health Service;19(2):1-10.
Vancouver Coastal Health (2012) Vancouver Coastal Health Population Health: Advocacy guidelines and resources. Retrieved from http://www.vch.ca/media/Population Health Advocacy Guideline and Resources.pdf