Journal of Healthcare Management - January/February 2014 - (Page 27)

t H e r ole of a p ublI c -p r I vate p artners HIp Matching research projects with organizational capacity. Specific projects should be manageable within the scope and capability of the participating hospitals and should be designed with input from community providers so that the assessment of capacity and the relevance of the study or project to a community setting are realistic. To the extent that initiatives can promote the use of standardized performance metrics managed by national organizations (e.g., the CoC's RQRS), project resources can be used more efficiently and simultaneously contribute to expansion of benchmarking to increase standardization across the delivery system. Multisite efforts to support research projects in a community-based setting are challenging due to the variation in capacity and expertise, the discrete data systems and definitions, local institutional review boards, and limited research experience. The NCCCP pilot has shown that projects should have the benefit of technical guidance and be sequenced to increase in complexity, so that hospitals can refine their expertise and build on accomplishments in conducting research or to use for quality improvement studies-that is, the theory of small wins (Weick, 1984). Accessing relevant expertise to address disparities. Addressing healthcare disparities is a particular challenge given all the demands facing community hospitals. The NCCCP pilot demonstrated that hospitals have the ability to reduce cancer healthcare disparities by linking with organizations that have relevant expertise to promote the development of creative and sustainable approaches. Additionally, to I Mprove c ancer c are focused efforts on specific underserved populations and an integrated program across the full cancer care continuum, including the promotion of clinical trial opportunities, helped to address disparities. The expertise offered to NCCCP pilot sites by NCI and other organizations allowed the community hospitals to test and adapt approaches, creating synergies that led to measurable progress. For strategies to be effective, management support is required to (1) draw on disparities or health services research expertise to design initiatives, (2) implement IT system changes and train staff to track underserved populations across all data systems, (3) measure progress by tracking patient outcomes using standardized and comparative data, and (4) improve community engagement to increase access to underserved groups through formal partnerships and informal alliances with community organizations. CoNClUSioN As demonstrated by the NCCCP, science can be translated to practice to improve cancer care and potentially other service lines within a community setting. Future efforts need to consider the underlying principles that guided the NCCCP implementation and performance as a public-private partnership. As described by an NCCCP hospital CEO, "Healthcare is a parochial business, and the NCCCP [as a public-private partnership] offers a breakthrough opportunity to transform care for cancer and other diseases." NotE 1. 27 Day-to-day project management for the request-for-proposal acquisition and procurement process and the resulting

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of Healthcare Management - January/February 2014

Journal of Healthcare Management - January/February 2014
Contents
Interview With Kenneth R. White, PhD, FACHE, Associate Dean for Strategic Partnerships and Innovation and the University of Virginia Medical Center Professor of Nursing, University of Virginia School of Nursing
Team-Based Care at Mayo Clinic: A Model for ACOs
The Management Springboard: Eight Ways to Launch Your Career as a Healthcare Leader
The Role of a Public–Private Partnership: Translating Science to Improve Cancer Care in the Community Donna M. O’Brien and Arnold D. Kaluzny
The Value of Patients’ Handwritten Comments on HCAHPS Surveys John W. Huppertz and Robert Smith
Can Inbound and Domestic Medical Tourism Improve Your Bottom Line? Identifying the Potential of a U.S. Tourism Market
Success Factors for Strategic Change Initiatives: A Qualitative Study of Healthcare Administrators’ Perspectives

Journal of Healthcare Management - January/February 2014