What is one strategy for sustaining change in healthcare organizations?

Building changes into standardized processes is a crucial strategy for sustaining change in healthcare organizations. This approach ensures that new practices become part of the routine workflow, making them easier to follow and less likely to be abandoned over time. When changes are embedded into standardized processes, they are documented, consistently applied, and monitored for effectiveness, which helps create a culture of continuous improvement.

Standardization can also reduce variability in practice, leading to better patient outcomes and increased efficiency. By institutionalizing changes, healthcare organizations can ensure that improvements are not seen as temporary initiatives but as integral parts of how care is delivered. This helps foster an environment where staff feel supported, understand the changes, and are more likely to adopt and sustain new practices effectively.

In contrast, options such as micromanaging clinical staff, avoiding the involvement of frontline managers, and limiting communication among team members would create barriers to successful change. Micromanagement can lead to low morale and disengagement, while excluding frontline managers undermines the very leaders who are often crucial for implementing and maintaining change. Lastly, limiting communication stifles collaboration and feedback, which are essential for refining processes and ensuring everyone is on board with new practices.