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Enhancing Capacity & Capability
July 16, 2009
On April 3rd and 4th 2009, the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George played host to a meeting where internationally recognized experts came to discuss one of the key attributes of highly effective health care organizations – that is, a “learning center (or commons)”.
Many of the organizations which are, or are becoming, well known internationally for the effectiveness and breadth of their improvement work have a portion of their organization which is devoted to learning and development in a very ‘hands on’ way. Such a commons works by supporting individuals or teams in addressing specific concerns and also teaching quality improvement skills. Support is also provided for measurement and data analysis; and often teams involve a variety of skills from clinical, financial, administrative and support staff areas. Through this approach, specific improvements are achieved and individuals gain the skills and capability to participate in future improvement work. This increases the organizational capacity to improve. In some of these high performing organizations it is an organizational goal to have all staff trained. It is, as Goran Henricks ofJönköping County Sweden says, “learning by doing”.
Organizations that are internationally recognized for their ability to improve and to provide high quality, sustainable health services that have developed some form of a learning center include Care Oregon, Intermountain Health (Utah), Jönköping County (Sweden) and South Central Foundation (Alaska).
At the Prince George meeting international experts, Dr. David Labby, Medical Director of Care Oregon and Lucy Savitz, Senior Scientist with Intermountain Health, presented how the learning centre has played a critical role in improving effectiveness and efficiency of in their organizations.
Attendees from the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council, the Ministry of Health Services, Northern Health, the University of Northern British Columbia, the University of British Columbia, Impact BC, as well as local physicians, considered how such a concept could work in the B.C. context to ensure sustainable, accessible, world-class health services.
“We need to learn from other jurisdictions – from both their challenges and successes,” says attendee, Dr. Doug Cochrane, Chair of the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council. “This was a great opportunity to hear from health care leaders who have achieved significant results in quality.”
Meeting organizer and Chair, Dr. Dan Horvat, has spent the past decade studying world-renowned organizations (such as those listed above) in order to identify the common characteristics contributing to their success. “Being a learning organization, starting with the development of a learning centre, has been used very successfully elsewhere to drive transformational change. Now we’re asking ourselves, how can we bring this concept to B.C.?” says Dr. Horvat.
The BC Patient Safety & Quality Council, through its Health Quality Network, established an Education & Capacity Working Group to develop strategies that support increased specialist expertise and a greater internal capacity to lead quality initiatives within health authorities and other health service delivery organizations. This expanded capacity will create the leadership required to establish an infrastructure for quality improvement – such as learning and development centres – across the province.
The meeting was sponsored by Northern Health, the University of British Columbia, the University of Northern British Columbia, the Northern Medical Society, and the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council.
Dr. Dan Horvat is an Assistant Professor with the Northern Medical Program, part of the UBC Faculty of Medicine, and co-lead for primary care at Northern Health. For more information about the learning and development centre concept, please email dan.horvat@northernhealth.ca
For more information about the BC Patient Safety and Quality Council, please visit www.bcpsqc.ca
