Outcomes Focused
A  Personal Reflection by Jim Scott

"Being outcomes-focused is having a vision and trying to actually make it happen. Not just having the vision – not just caring and hoping that it will occur – but actually making it occur because you’ve got a fire in your belly and a passion toward the desired outcome.

"At Peace Health, the outcomes we seek are noble: better health for individuals and our communities; the relief of pain and suffering. We want to be able to say we’re doing something to achieve these outcomes, which is very different from saying, “Gee I’m able to see 35 patients every day.”  That’s production. That’s an efficient process. But being outcomes-focused means never losing sight of what that process is achieving – patients who maintains their health or who are returned to health. No needless deaths, no needless suffering, no needless pain, no needless delays.

"For individuals, being outcomes-focused is really saying that I’m going to make a difference in my career. Saying that as a result of my work, thousands of people will say something is different. Something is better. Something is special. You can be compassionate, spiritual, humble and all of our other attributes without necessarily accomplishing anything. But being outcomes-focused means you’re trying to actually working to make something happen.

"Every patient who interacts with Peace Health has an outcome they’re seeking. They want a positive outcome. That’s what we’re seeking too, through things like surprising, creative new ways of delivering care, defining and achieving clear outcomes through tools and processes like clinical improvement and continuous improvement.

"Being outcomes-focused aligns with our other leadership attributes because its tough to achieve desired results without having passion, spirit, compassion, and strong relationships with our patients and our care partners. We want to make a real difference. We each want to look back on our career and say, “I really did something special here. This place is different because of my leadership or the leadership of our team.

"What makes Peace Health a really special place is our focus on our mission – the outcome. We have the vision. We have the will. We have the processes and the people all working to make it happen. As a result, we’re actually curing people, relieving pain and suffering, and providing our patients and their families with a positive care experience. That’s what outcomes focused is about."