The need for Environment of Care (EOC) rounds within healthcare has been well documented and is a critical component to help maintain high standards for safety within the healthcare environment. Most organizations have built standard processes for conducting rounds, standardizing checklists, and ensuring that identified deficiencies are routed to the right areas for follow-up and close-out. However, the question remains how do we use the results from EOC rounds for ongoing performance improvement efforts and to implement long-term sustainable change for chronic deficiencies. One way to ensure this occurs is to incorporate ongoing performance improvement efforts into your core EOC team.
Using data from EOC rounds to make lasting changes in healthcare involves a systematic approach to identifying issues, implementing improvements, and ensuring the sustainability of changes. Here's a quick overview of effectively using the environment of care rounds results to drive lasting change that any team can use.
1. Use EOC data to spot common trends: Start by collecting data from EOC rounds; this data can include top deficiencies by checklist, occurrences of high-risk deficiencies, deficiencies by area or location, the average time required to close deficiencies, etc. Analyze this data to identify trends, recurring issues, and areas for improvement.
2. Brainstorm potential ideas for improvement: Use brainstorming and ideation to identify ideas for improvement. Ensure a safe environment where individuals can communicate ideas without criticism and use brainstorming sessions to build upon each other's ideas. Often one person’s idea suggested can trigger a bigger and/or better idea by another person.
3. Use Rapid Process Improvement to test ideas: Whether you choose to use PDSA, Kaizen, or a Rapid Improvement Event to develop and test ideas, it is essential to follow a methodology to ensure the efficacy of your work. All performance improvement methodologies will ensure that the idea you plan on implementing has been reviewed and includes essential elements such as the overall aim, implementation steps, and performance measures.
4. Implement Ideas: The final step is to implement your ideas. Effective implementation requires clear communication, adequate resources, and ongoing engagement with staff. Measuring and tracking your progress is vital as part of implementation or as a separate step. Use key performance indicators (KPIs) and data metrics to assess whether the changes have the desired impact. This will help you identify any deviations or setbacks and make necessary adjustments.
To help facilitate this process, Performance Logic has integrated Performance Improvement planning directly into our rounding software. Any team can utilize information from the software platform to manage PI efforts and share and track solutions' overall progress and impact.
The importance of EOC rounding and its impact on the healthcare environment is well-documented and an essential part of the compliance framework. Organizations have also built consistent processes and mechanisms to maintain EOC programs. Organizations seeking to achieve the next level of success with their programs should consider incorporating performance improvement into their efforts.
