How does standardizing care affect quality?

Which works best for your patients - using a standardized care plan or personalizing the plan for each individual? In most cases, it's a hybrid of both.

Healthcare’s perception of standardization varies by industry role. While administrators see standardized care as a way to achieve efficiency and quality, caregivers have historically viewed standardization as an administrative mandate that can sometimes go against their patients’ best interests.

Administrators, physicians, and nurses are beginning to realize they need to work together to improve the quality of care and reduce costs, and understand how standardization and personalization can actually complement each other.

A case for standardizing care

Studies show that variation in care, costs, and outcomes exists across hospitals, states, and regions. Advocates of standardized care tout how the industry uses evidence-based medicine in a systematic way to ensure patients receive high-quality care, while some critics think of it as quality“cookie-cutter medicine.”

Regionalized care is a necessary reality, but standardizing best practices is an important part of delivering effective, safe, and affordable care. There are numerous benefits to standardized care:

• Consistent outcomes
• Labor savings
• Improved quality of care
• Better documentation
• Reduced waste
• Improved efficiency
• Improved patient safety
• Reduced costs.

A case for personalization

Advocates of personalization don’t want to see a standardized, one-size-fits-all approach to treating patients become the norm. They idealize the concept of a local family doctor who knows everyone in the family, understands each family member’s health concerns, and responds to everyone individually.

Personalization improves patient satisfaction and increases patient engagement. In today’s healthcare environment, in which patients’ ownership of their health and outcomes is growing and becoming essential, physicians are right to personalize care and motivate patients to become active participants in their health journeys.