COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The 14th Medical Group has rolled out the Air Force Medical Service’s Trusted Care concept.
Trusted Care is based upon healthcare organizations functioning as High Reliability Organizations.
HROs were conceived from the nuclear power and aviation industries, who consistently achieve better-than-expected outcomes in complex and high-risk environments. Healthcare HROs demonstrate significantly reduced rates of patient harm and higher quality care, by using a systematic process improvement approach which sets them apart from their peers.
Members of the 14th Medical Group take this commitment seriously and use HRO concepts to create a foundation of Trusted Care. Trusted Care embodies the vision of high reliability healthcare in providing safe, world-class care in-garrison, enroute and in deployed settings
One example of this is a technician notices a medication on the shelf has expired, so he immediately removes it to prevent a patient from consuming an out-of-date drug. Second, a unit notices three patients have fallen outside their clinic in the past two months. Upon inspection, it is discovered the sidewalk is cracked and is the reason for the three falls; this is immediately fixed. Finally, a provider adds five minutes to each appointment to allow more dialogue with the patients; this improves patient care and customer satisfaction. These are just three of many examples of how healthcare organizations can become highly reliable and trusted organizations.
Our Air Force core values are the foundation of our culture. We use them to guide our performance within our mission. The Trusted Care principles apply the Air Force core values into our practices, producing highly reliable medical care and mission support. As we lean forward into Trusted Care, our organizational culture will change. That culture change will shape the behaviors of leaders and staff, which will, in turn, positively impact our patients’ outcomes.
What does this mean for the patients of the 14th Medical Group? First, by engaging patients and viewing them as partners of the healthcare team, there will be an increase in patients’ knowledge and involvement in their own healthcare. The central focus will be on patient-centeredness. This means the delivery of healthcare will be focused on the patients’ safety.
Trusted care will also allow providers and staff to work more efficiently, so they can spend their time on what they love most; helping others and providing top quality and safe healthcare for all of our Team BLAZE members. So the next time you visit the 14th MDG, ask us about Trusted Care.