• Sharing scheduling data with collaborative departments
• Setting boundaries to respect the other department’s needs and processes, like avoiding late-day appointments
• Writing it down and gettng consensus so everyone can follow the procedure

What can your team do to work collaboratively with a sister department to improve the patient experience? 

• Using an evaluation checklist to determine whether the catheter is medically necessary and properly secured
• Re-educating registered nurses and certified nursing assistants on catheter use and how to minimize factors that cause bladder infections
• Encouraging physicians to refrain from administering a catheter when it wasn’t necessary and to take catheters out at the earliest opportunity

What can your team do to encourage each other to examine procedures and alter if necessary?

• Using signs as a visual reminder to nurses and other staff to lift and transport patients safely
• Communicating face-to-face and at huddles about patient-lifting equipment and procedures

What can your team do to remind each other to use patient-lifting procedures? What else could your team do to prevent injuries when lifting or transporting patients?

• Standardizing the workflow for collecting specimens and ordering lab tests
• Educating physicians about the medical assistants’ workflow and the couriers’ pick-up schedules
• Treating errors as an opportunity for coaching rather than discipline

What can your team do to collect and analyze data to make workflow improvements? What else could your team do to encourage everyone to speak up and share concerns, ideas and suggestions?