HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT
Healthcare Accountability for Sustainable Care As healthcare organisations focus their efforts to improving quality care and operational efficiency, accountability becomes a core component of their strategy for providing better clinical outcomes.
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OVID-19 has pushed organisations across the globe into distress and healthcare organisations are no exception, due to increased demand for services amid mounting financial pressures. The pandemic has acted as a warning signal stressing on the importance of improving health surveillance systems and infrastructure, public health interventions. Emphasis lies on the need to develop preventive measures, improve technology integration, and increase remote care. Virus outbreaks and COVID-19 pandemic have exposed the limitations, weaknesses and the lack of preparedness by governments and the life sciences and the healthcare industry. Hospitals and health systems have been unable to handle pressures resulting from
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A SI A N H O S P I T A L & H EA LT HCAR E M A N AGE M E N T
the unprecedented increase in patient numbers. Despite public and private health systems focused on contingency plans, they found it tough to cope with rising demand. While critical to operate according to the need of the hour, it is important for hospitals—crippled with finances owing to halted out-patient consultations and limitation to perform critical surgeries—to maintain transparency in patient management. This will help build trust between patients and providers. Accountability at the center of everything
Implementing policies that lay emphasis on quality care through good governance and effective resource planning and management has become the key in the current scenario. Any
IS S UE - 50, 2020
discussion related to improving quality of care while reducing costs will tie back to accountability as the focus lies on maximising care, minimising medical errors, improving efficiency for better outcomes. Accountability is in a way comparable to healthcare stewardship in the sense that focus lies on showcasing responsibility towards patients. Importantly, accountability in a healthcare set up results in providing effective care through efficient use of available resources that include human, technological, physical and financial. So what encompasses the culture of accountability in a healthcare setting and why is it important to create a culture? It is essentially a set of policies and guidelines indicating evidence-based decision making and caregiving. Creating
