Fostering Implementation of Staff’s Creative Ideas to Improve Patient Healthcare Experiences

Abstract

Substantial improvements are needed to achieve the U.S. healthcare system aim of providing patient-centered care. Healthcare staff (e.g., physicians and nurses) may be an important source of creative ideas to improve patient care experiences. Thus, many healthcare organizations are encouraging staff creativity, i.e., the generation of novel and useful ideas. Our aim was to assess the impact of implementation of creative ideas on patient care experiences, the relationship between idea creativity and its implementation, and moderators of this relationship. We conducted a longitudinal study of 220 ideas generated by improvement team members from 12 community health centers over 18 months, and the experiences of 2,201 patients. We used data from patient surveys, quality improvement meeting transcripts, staff surveys, and wearable sociometric sensors. Creative idea implementation was positively associated with better patient care experiences, but such ideas were less likely to be implemented than other ideas. Three staff characteristics increased the likelihood of creative idea implementation: more collaborative relationships, longer organizational tenure, and a more central position in the organization’s social network. Results show the value and the challenges of fostering creative idea implementation to improve patient care experiences. Legitimizing creative idea implementation in healthcare organizations should advance quality improvement efforts.