It’s the collaboration, stupid!
By Shelley Burns
Okay, I admit it – I snowcloned my title from Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Snowclones have entered our lexicon because their form and cadence are instantly familiar, and the relationship immediately understood. We’ve all done it: “Try my experimental casserole! I’m not a chef, but I play one on TV!”
But that’s the thing, isn’t it? I could wrack my brains to come up with a clever, pithy title, or I could build on the collective knowledge of our culture to uncover a shorthand title that instantly conveys my topic. And that’s what collaboration via the HMC KnowledgeWeb is all about – building the collective knowledge of the group for the mutual benefit of the group. (We could, I suppose, debate whether snowclones are really beneficial.) Healthcare is complex – a convoluted maze of protocols, policies, practices, people, patients, and data. Reinventing an established and proven best practice every time you need to improve a process is akin to shooting yourself in the foot – and wondering why it hurts to walk.
True healthcare reform requires collaboration on a large scale. And I’m not talking about the big collaborations – like the insurance companies suddenly deciding that they will all use the same form for hospital claims (although that would be nice, wouldn’t it?). No, I’m talking about more local, more operational collaborations. This is the sort of collaboration where EVERYONE is involved in improving their little corner of healthcare.
The nurse educator wonders if others found that online refresher courses improved performance on competency tests. The infection control manager shares strategies for increasing hand-washing compliance. The admissions clerk asks how others handle living wills and healthcare-power-of-attorney paperwork. Nurses debate the pros and cons of call lights and hourly rounding.
The HMC KnowledgeWeb empowers this large-scale, focused collaboration so that the aggregated, collective knowledge of everyone benefits…well, everyone. It’s web-based, so it’s available 24 by 7, when and where it’s convenient for healthcare workers. Also, it’s scalable – the more participation, the merrier. You can query your peers; you can submit the results of your own initiatives; you can search on archived solutions and documents; you can rate and debate ideas with others. And if you get stuck or have a question, there are live people to help you find your way.
Visit the HMC KnowledgeWeb and redefine the old slogan with: “It’s the collaboration, genius.”
Shelley Burns is head of HMC knowledge management.
