Sourcebook : 2.8 Testing Changes : 2.8.4 Spreading Change: From One to Many

When a team improves care for a group of patients or in one unit, the entire organization is likely to want to spread the change further: from cancer to cardiac patients, from one unit to another, or even from one hospital to another within the system.

For dissemination to occur, organizations need:

• A leader who is responsible for the spread of change
• Change that is in accord with the organization's strategic mission for the year
• A well-proven change to spread
• Resources to initiate change in other areas

Breakthrough Series teams have been able to spread enthusiasm for changes from one area to another - from pain management to dyspnea management, and from oncology to the intensive care unit. The opportunity to use this method in multiple areas is compelling.

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This online version of the book Improving Care for the End of Life: A Sourcebook for Health Care Managers and Clinicians is provided with permission of Americans for Better Care of the Dying [ www.abcd-caring.org ] and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For further information on quality improvement in end-of-life care visit The Palliative Care Policy Center [ www.medicaring.org ].