By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    benefits of using protein powder to build muscles
    Protein Powder for Muscle Mass: Everything You Need to Know
    December 12, 2021
    changes brought on by blockchain in healthcare
    Technology In The Healthcare Industry
    March 28, 2022
    What Does Core Body Temperature Say About Health?
    August 17, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    FDA Approves Diabetes Pill
    May 2, 2011
    Patient Gets Drunk on Hand Sanitizer
    June 20, 2011
    Cultivating Health Improvement
    July 20, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Team-Based Care Delivery: The Worth of Social Capital
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Hospital Administration > Team-Based Care Delivery: The Worth of Social Capital
Hospital Administration

Team-Based Care Delivery: The Worth of Social Capital

Andy Witt
Last updated: August 28, 2013 8:11 am
Andy Witt
Share
5 Min Read
team-based healthcare
SHARE

team-based healthcareHealth care enterprise models tend to be born from economics rather than the value of exceptional patient experiences. We see this manifested in the manner hospitals score success. Incremental change is scrutinized for financial return on investing in “customer satisfaction” and jauntily correlated with care provider performance.

team-based healthcareHealth care enterprise models tend to be born from economics rather than the value of exceptional patient experiences. We see this manifested in the manner hospitals score success. Incremental change is scrutinized for financial return on investing in “customer satisfaction” and jauntily correlated with care provider performance. Human capital—one’s practicing experience, medical knowledge and capability of care—becomes the scapegoat for struggling hospitals. Low performers are trained harder and longer under the exhausted conventional wisdom that more knowledge is the solution. Such guidance is dangerously comforting for an uncertain industrial climate: “where this a problem, there is training to fix it.” But it is that very wisdom that has created the vicious break-fix cycle your organization can’t seem to escape.

An organization-wide value of exceptional patient experiences, in contrast, recognizes the impact of social capital: the capacity and leverage of social interactions among your staff. Where an emphasis on human capital suggests organizational strength lies in an individual’s knowledge and performance, social capital holds personal networks and team-based care delivery in a higher regard. Where does a nurse turn when she witnesses aggressive physician behavior? Who does a physician consult when he needs a second opinion on a diagnosis? How does a surgeon stay connected to referring primary doctors? Who do they all confide in when they just don’t know the cure? Better staff interactions ultimately enable better patient experiences.

Enlightening empirical evidence surfaced by Carrie Leana, Professor of Organizations and Mangement at the University of Pittsburgh, shows direct correlation between strong social capital, particularly one of high trust and frequent interaction, and student achievement scores in education. In her research, teachers with the highest human and social capital produced the greatest student outcomes. Those with the lowest collective capital produced the lowest outcomes. This is expected. What’s interesting is teachers with lower human capital can fare just as well as their mid-range colleagues if they have stronger social capital. A teacher’s network becomes her lifeline for extra help when needed. The same applies to medical professionals.

More Read

meaningful use stage 2
The Meaning of Meaningful Use
The 4 Keys of Improved ED Throughput
Health Reform Beyond the ACA: Are We Inching Towards Consensus?
Most Medical Decisions Are Not Risk-Free
Who Leads Whom?

Dr. Brian Sexton, an Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, found that health care organizations with strong workplace cultures of communication have better clinical outcomes. His landmark Safety Attitudes and Safety Climate Questionnaire is so effective it can predict infection and surgical complication rates. As Sexton’s colleague, Atul Gawande, puts it, “Man is fallible. Men are less so.” The bare minimum of medical professionals knowing each other’s names even has great potential for better outcomes. Nurses, surgeons and anesthesiologists report greater comfort in vocalizing red flags they see as well as having greater awareness of the patient’s condition during an operation. A simple pre-operative introduction has been shown to reduce complications and deaths by 35%.

Areas of your organization like the ICU that experience high staff turnover could benefit most from greater attention to such social capital development. With more than 17% of critical care RN’s voicing intention to leave their current position within one year, the creation of principles that encourage and reward supportive symbiotic relationships could mitigate complications through allowing newer nurses to lean on the more seasoned for guidance.

Emphasizing social capital reorients your organization’s values onto an axis of altruism and patient safe-guarding. The development of human capital is still of an utmost importance, but it must not cloud your vision of the other contributors to exceptional patient care delivery. Changing your accountability model to one that considers both the strength of your staff and it’s combined potential is most promising, for caregivers become more effective when their knowledge is built on the support of their peers. It’s time we move from “Who has the best physicians in the country?” to “Who has the best care team in the country?”

(healthcare teamwork / shutterstock)

TAGGED:team-based care
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Dental health
May 21, 2025
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
Dental health
May 21, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025

You Might also Like

Value-Based Purchasing
BusinessFinanceHospital AdministrationPolicy & Law

Changes to Value-Based Purchasing Measures in 2015

December 31, 2014

Tight Dress Sends Joan Collins to the Hospital

March 2, 2011

A Culture of Safety in Hospitals and the CEO’s Role

October 31, 2011
Patient Centered Health Care
Hospital Administration

What Sets PCMH Apart from Other Healthcare Models?

April 23, 2013
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?