Improving healthcare: a guide to roll-out best practices

BACKGROUND: Best practices comprise recent, relevant, and helpful nursing practices, methods, interventions, procedures or techniques based on high-quality evidence. Best practices should be implemented to improve individual patients' health outcomes the overall quality of health care, and to strengthen the health system at large. Four facilitators (benefit levers) to effectively roll-out best practices in healthcare organizations were identified: alignment, permeation plans, leadership for change, as well as supporting and reinforcing structures. PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH: To develop and review a guide for an operational plan to facilitate the roll-out of best practices in healthcare organizations. METHODOLOGY: The content of the guide was based on findings of an integrative literature review and interviews. This article discusses the development of the guide using the logic model as format (phase One) as well as its review including five key informants using the Delphi method (phase Two). RESULTS: The Logic Model provided a feasible format for the guide. Two Delphi rounds were required to review the guide's design and content. This guide addresses pre-roll-out resources; pre-roll-out activities, best practices (outcomes) during and after roll-outs; and impact. CONCLUSION: The guide should be tested in different healthcare organizations and adapted accordingly to have an impact on improved patient and health outcomes. The guide can be used by managers wishing to roll-out best practices in their healthcare organizations to achieve improved health outcomes for individual patients.