On the other hand, there are various ways that at least some of the external manifestations of lack of concern for patient welfare can be better identified and addressed than they seem to be at many facilities. Failure to adhere to fundamental protocols, such as those pertaining to antisepsis have been proven time and again to contribute directly to the unacceptably high rate of nosocomial infections in clinical environments (Reid, 2009). Generally, those types of protocols, such as compliance with hand-washing requirements and glove changing are some of the first signs that a health care worker is not highly motivated to provide the best possible care to patients (Hamric, Spross, & Hanson, 2009). That problem is one that government regulators have sought to resolve, at least indirectly, by shifting the financial burden of several types of nosocomial infections (such as those occurring in connection with urinary catheters) to the institutions since the change in CMS reimbursement policies in that regard that took effect in 2007 (Reid, 2009).
However, in many respects, the problem is actually much more fundamental than that. It may very well be a function of the fact...
Certainly, there is an appropriate role for regulators and facility administrators to play in ensuring the highest quality of patient care. However, the most effective and realistic way to motivate better care would be to tap into the principal motivation underlying the choice of many newer entrants into the health care field: personal compensation. In the nursing home and other elder care environments, connecting compensation to results and to patient evaluations might go much further toward improving the quality of care than relying exclusively of regulatory formulae that, not matter how stringent, can never address the internal states of mind and personal motivation of health care workers.
References
Hamric, a.B., Spross, J.A., and Hanson, C.M. (2009). Advanced Practice Nursing: An
Integrative Approach. St. Louis, MO: Saunders.
Reid, T. (2009). The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer
Healthcare. New York, NY: Penguin.
