Steve Harden: 7 Lessons Healthcare Must Learn from the VA Scandal

1. Increased patient volume stresses an inefficient system- The stress caused an exodus of medical practitioners, which magnified the caseloads
2. Higher volume + inefficient systems = more mistakes- Doctors and nurses were under such a strain that medical mistakes happened more often
3. Changing the culture of healthcare is hard- Long wait times are a problem the VA has known about for years
4. There is no substitute for leadership rounding- Keeping an organization as large as the VA honest to its core mission isn’t easy but it's essential
5. Every hospital needs better metrics and reporting- Starting now, the VA needs to come up with accurate methods to measure conditions at local facilities
6. Beware a single-payer system- Watching the VA scandal unfold provides us fair warning of the dangers of government-run healthcare
7. It 's always about the willingness to speak up for patient safety- In the end it was the military veterans in Phoenix and Central Texas who needed an advocate

Source: Life Wings
Source URL: http://www.saferpatients.com/Newsletter/monthly-tip-june2014...