Effective Crisis Leadership in Healthcare

Lessons Learned from a Pandemic

Aimee Greeter, Max Reiboldt

• Publisher: American Association for Physician Leadership
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9780984831180
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medizin
• Subtopic: Medizinische Theorie, Praxis & Referenz

COVID-19 thrust the world into a state of crisis for which no one was adequately prepared, and the fact is that no industry was so hard-hit as healthcare. Although some providers were more equipped than others, without warning all physicians' offices and hospitals were obligated to stay up and running through the deadly pandemic while delivering life-saving care and preventing wide-spread infection.

Effective Crisis Leadership in Healthcare conveys hard-learned tactics, strategies, and advice to enable healthcare leaders to increase their confidence and mental preparedness prior to the next big catastrophe. This book addresses industry-wide problems revealed by COVID-19 like inadequate crisis planning, lack of financial stability, and inexperience with communication and leadership.

How does this book give you an advantage?

Greeter and Reiboldt share key lessons learned from the Pandemic and arm medical practice leaders with actionable information to continue to develop their leadership skills in preparation for future crises.

Here are just some of the topics the authors discuss in detail:

• Definition of Crisis
• Business and Continuation Planning
• Developing a Preparedness Plan
• Actions to Take Before a Disaster
• Communication Techniques During and After the Crisis
• Qualities of Effective Leaders
• Vision of the Future
• Management Principles for Administrative and Physician Leaders
• Minimizing the Potential Impact of a Crisis
• Ongoing Monitoring
• Cybersecurity and Crisis Management
• Third Party Vendors
• Crisis Management Planning Team
• Stress & Tension
• Legal Counsel's Role in a Crisis
• Post-Disaster Checklists
• Organizational Learning and Social Evaluations
• Learning from Our Mistakes

If you're a healthcare provider or administrator, Effective Crisis Leadership in Healthcare will give you the benefit of COVID-19 hindsight and a roadmap to planning for any future catastrophes.

Chapter 1

What Is a “Crisis?”

The word “crisis” has a negative connotation that often evokes feelings of panic, anxiousness, fear, unrest, or agitation. Many crises arise unexpectedly, test previously unproven boundaries or capabilities, and are of a sufficient magnitude to make those directly and indirectly affected feel overwhelmed. However, a crisis also can spark new ideas, hone leaders’ skills, and cause overlooked or underprioritized improvements and efficiencies in calmer waters. Thus, while a crisis may initially evoke panic, it may also yield benefits.

Crises can be prompted by natural disasters, civil disturbances, legal and regulatory challenges, environmental disruptions, and other challenges that individuals and organizations may encounter. In this chapter, we describe the characteristics of a crisis and address the gap in the social safety net that results from a crisis. We define what a crisis is and is not, categorize the types of crises, outline the human response to a crisis, and lay a foundation for more specific discussions to follow.

Definition of Crisis

One definition of crisis, according to Merriam-Webster, is1:

1. An unstable or crucial time or state-of-affairs in which a decisive change is impending, especially, one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome.
2. A situation that has reached a critical phase.

No matter what type of crisis is in play (and, as we note below, a crisis can take on many different forms), it often falls to leaders to make decisive changes during unstable times. Given that healthcare is a people-centered and people-driven industry, the outcome may affect the lives of many, thus amplifying the potential overall impact, whether either desirable or undesirable.

Crises in the healthcare space can be disruptive. Adequate education of leaders, preparation by the organization, and communication to stakeholders are critical to ensuring the impacts of a crisis are as positive as possible and, when negative, are short-lived.

Characteristics of Crises

Bundy et al., identify the four primary characteristics of crises2:

1. Sources of uncertainty, disruption, and change.
2. Harmful or threatening for organizations and their stakeholders.
3. Behavioral phenomena, meaning they are socially constructed by those involved.
4. Parts of extensive processes rather than discrete events.

These characteristics apply to all types of crises (categorized below) and highlight the interrelatedness of crises and people. Every crisis likely will have a people element. That is, people either will be the cause of or will be affected by the crisis. This characteristic is important as it underscores the need to engage in pre-planning, mitigation, and post-crisis events. If people are central to a crisis (either as a cause or in its effects), they likewise are central to its mitigation and cessation.

Types of Crises

While crises can manifest in myriad ways, we can organize them into several overarching categories, as illustrated in Figure 1.1.3

Figure 1.1. Types of Crises

Natural Crisis Results from disruptions in nature and the environment. Is outside the control of humans; often not directly man-made. May include the following subcategories: Geophysical (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, and volcanic activity) Hydrological (avalanches and floods) Climatological (extreme temperatures, drought, and wildfires) Meteorological (cyclones, storms, wave surges)

Biological Crisis Includes disease epidemics and plagues. Has arisen in recent years as the seasonal influenza outbreak, the 2003 SARS epidemic, the 2015 Zika virus, and, most recently, the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Technological Crisis Results from a gap, failure, temporary, or permanent disruption in technology. Encompasses technology equipment failures, malware and other corruptive software, and issues with system upgrades or replacements. Is a more significant issue today due to destructive practic...

Table of contents

• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors
• About Coker Group
• Preface
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 15
• Appendix A