The better work, better care framework: 7 strategies for sustainable healthcare system process improvement

Healthcare systems are under pressure to control costs and improve performance. Efforts to apply improvement trends such as Lean and other industrial engineering approaches have led to degradation of the working environment for healthcare professionals. Research is increasingly demonstrating how poor working environments contribute to declines in care quality and has led to calls for a quadruple aim with a focus on the working environment alongside quality, cost, and patient experience factors. This paper contributes to the debate by using a systems perspective to propose seven strategies by which healthcare systems might be improved without compromising the working environment. This article presents a rationale for these strategies based on current organisational psychology and human factors research and how these strategies might be deployed in practice. The authors argue that better working conditions leads to better care for patients and presents a viable approach for both practitioners and researchers to pursue the Better Work, Better Care agenda.

Automated summary

Healthcare systems are facing pressure to control costs and improve performance, resulting in degradation of the working environment for healthcare professionals. Research shows that poor working environments contribute to declines in care quality, leading to calls for a focus on the working environment alongside other factors. This paper proposes seven strategies for improving healthcare systems without compromising the working environment, based on current research in organizational psychology and human factors.