AORN's role in the Best Practice Network

AORN Journal, March, 2000 by Pat Hickey

With the many changes in health care delivery, technological advances, and new and innovative patient care processes, how is one able to keep up with the practices that best exemplify the quality patient care we all want to perform? In this era of computerized technology, the Internet quickly has advanced to the forefront of communications and has become a valuable tool for access of information.

As members of AORN, we do not have to look far for information because we have a variety of excellent resources that enable us to keep abreast of these changes. The AORN Journal, as well as the AORN web site (www.aorn.org), specialty assembly newsletters, and chapter meetings and educational sessions, all combine to offer AORN members a wealth of knowledge regarding perioperative information.

As vital members of the health care delivery process, it is necessary that we all work together in collaboration with other health care agencies around the world as they strive to improve their patient care processes. How do we stay informed of those best practices in health care as a whole, and how are the new and innovative best practices of AORN made available to the health care associations of the world?

BEST PRACTICE NETWORK

The Best Practice Network began in 1996 with grassroots "summit" meetings between health care opinion leaders and leaders of more than 40 professional nursing associations. Today, there are 34 multidisciplinary association partners collaborating to provide resources and opportunities that foster the development of best practices to improve the health of patients and communities. Annually, the associations that make up the Network's Circle of

Vision send representatives to an advisory board meeting. AORN has one representative at the advisory board meeting of the Best Practice Network: Brenda Gregory Dawes, RN, MSN, CNOR.

The idea for the Best Practice Network was spearheaded by the American Association of CriticalCare Nurses (AACN); the premise was to create an avenue for all specialties to share best practices between specialties. These would be practices that specialties discovered and would like to share to inspire discussion of common best practices among nursing and physician groups. AORN was one of the founding members of this network.

BEST PRACTICE NETWORK MISSION

The Best Practice Network is a nonprofit, multidisciplinary consortium of health care professionals, health care associations, providers of health care products and services, and concerned consumers of health care services. It is dedicated to providing resources and opportunities that foster the development of best practices that improve the health of patients and communities while contributing to the development of efficient and robust health care systems. The Network is committed to creatively engaging health care professionals as essential participants in the process of health care improvement.

The broader vision of the Best Practice Network is that, by fulfilling its goals, it will contribute to the creation of an efficient and sustainable system of health and wellness, based on the best professional practices, that earns the trust and enhances the quality of life of patients and communities.

The Best Practice Network accomplishes this by

* showcasing health care innovations and best practices as models for improving and reshaping care delivery in local health care environments;

* providing educational resources and venues for the exchange of ideas and information about benchmarking and the development of best practices;

* presenting challenging viewpoints and encouraging dialog on current trends that are shaping health care; and

* providing Internet-based opportunities for Network participants from all regions, disciplines, and professions to inspire each other, learn from each other, and collaborate in the development and dissemination of best practices.

REPRESENTATIVES ARTICULATE THE IMPACT OF BEST PRACTICES

At the last advisory board meeting of the Best Practice Network, members from each association strongly believed that the Best Practice Network offered an innovative approach to meaningful health care transformation. Joanne Kumberger, RN, MSN, CCRN, past president of the AACN, emphasized,

   The pace at which we will experience change in health care will continue to
   accelerate in the next century. Innovative approaches for delivering high
   quality, therefore, will become even more important in achieving patient
   outcomes and organizational improvements. The Best Practice Network
   provides the forum for "real time" access to innovative practices and an
   opportunity to dialog about solutions to problems. Quality will be what
   distinguishes the best health care systems and clinicians.

One key value of the Best Practice Network is sharing information, which leads to the development, dissemination, and broad application of best practices. Christy Price, RN, representative from the American Nephrology Nurses Association, emphasized the leadership role for all nurse clinicians: