Improving care, reducing costs and addressing workforce shortages are top objectives for healthcare leaders as their perception of quality shifts from mere compliance to excellence. That’s according to new findings of a two-year national study released Wednesday by the National Association for Healthcare Quality.
The results show that healthcare leaders believe that quality is “not just a compliance function, but a shared responsibility of the entire workforce and a core business strategy driving better patient outcomes and stronger financial results,” NAHQ said.
Perceptions varied between administrators (quality professionals, quality leaders and C-suite decision-makers) and clinicians (physicians and nurses). Sixty-seven percent of clinicians said that healthcare quality is a core job responsibility, compared with 43% of administrators, with some overlap.
“While both saw quality as being tied to positive outcomes, clinicians viewed quality through the lens of patient outcomes and experience, while administrators saw quality more as systems and standards,” NAHQ said. “This lack of common understanding creates challenges in working in a coordinated way towards common goals.”
Patient safety and artificial intelligence emerged as new priorities in the second year of the study. “This reflects a growing recognition that safety is foundational to sustainable, high-quality care,” according to NAHQ.
AI moved from the No. 10 priority in the first year into a top-five priority for healthcare leaders in year 2.
“We learned there are differences in how AI is being prioritized between the C-suite and quality leaders and differences in attitudes on the value and benefits of AI between administrators and clinicians. This presents an opportunity to work towards greater alignment in prioritizing AI and its value across groups,” NAHQ said. “Specifically, in order to successfully implement AI initiatives in the workplace, these findings provide key decision makers with new insights into how the workforce perceives AI to better inform workforce upskilling plans.”
The report is timely, the authors said, as the Trump administration increases its focus on efficiency and effectiveness.
“Healthcare executives are under tremendous pressure to solve the quality and cost conundrum,” NAHQ said. “And now, the industry is in the earliest stages of grappling with the impacts of AI, which brings both extraordinary promise and serious risks. There is more work to do, and importantly, as AI is implemented, quality and safety should remain the highest priorities.”
