The HOPE exchange program for employees in hospitals and healthcare facilities is an activity of the European Hospital and Healthcare Federation. Every year, program participants are given the opportunity to gain an insight into another healthcare system in the EU or in another European country during a four-week training period in a host hospital. Gabriele Koch, Quality Management Officer at Klinikum Bad Gleichenberg, took part in the exchange program from 6 May to 4 June 2019.
Gabriele Koch traveled to Denmark as part of the HOPE exchange program and spent a month working in various healthcare facilities in central and northern Jutland and got to know a project for the planning of a new hospital in Zealand.
"Evidence-informed decision making in healthcare management" was defined as the main topic for all participants in the 2019 exchange program. An evaluation meeting of all European participants on this topic was held in Ljubljana from June 2 to 4, 2019.
The following is an excerpt from Gabriele Koch's summary:
"In Denmark, we have been working intensively on the topic of evidence-informed decision making in healthcare management. When it comes to decision-making based on existing data, Denmark has a very extensive collection of medical records to draw on. In each of the 5 Danish regions, all medical and patient-related data is managed in a dedicated business intelligence center. Information that can be gathered from these records gives the healthcare system the ability to track all change and improvement processes and evaluate the results. It was very impressive to see in the hospitals we visited how these figures are used to guide QM projects. Each of these projects begins with the definition and collection of key figures that subsequently make the development of the quality level visible. To give an example: Thanks to the wide range of key figures, it is possible to compare the reduction in length of stay (e.g. after a birth) with the number of complications after discharge. A mother who has previously given birth can leave the hospital 2 to 4 hours after the birth if there are no complications. The Danish system succeeds in keeping the length of stay very short compared to Austria. However, this significant reduction in length of stay without any loss of quality can only be guaranteed by a strong extramural care system. The care of patients outside the hospital is largely provided by qualified nurses, or DGKP for short. In addition to their training, the DGKP has an additional specialist qualification and is therefore qualified to provide aftercare and also to be the first point of contact for medical problems. As patients are already told in hospital which nurse will look after them after discharge and what they need to look out for, I have had the feeling in personal discussions with patients that they do not feel overwhelmed by their "early" discharge. For the DGKP, this is a very independent and satisfying job. Knowing that a doctor will provide immediate support in the event of any uncertainties or complications. The Danish law also allows the DGKP with additional qualifications to carry out medical procedures at the clinics that doctors are allowed to do in Austria. Due to these "new" tasks of the DGKP, a strong interdisciplinary cooperation has developed between the DGKP and the doctors. For example, a DGKP carries out an endoscopy and consults the doctor if the findings are not negative. That was very surprising for me at first. During the exchange program, however, I came to the conclusion that the DGKP is qualified to do this due to her special training. In my view, this intensified interdisciplinary cooperation between nurses and doctors can only have a positive effect on the quality of results, employee satisfaction, resource management and therefore also on expenditure in a healthcare system. In my view, this can certainly help to cushion the growing shortage of doctors in Europe to a certain extent."
