News Archive
July 11, 2008
The Alliance for Health Reform Briefing, "Innovations in Patient Care: Lessons from the Field."
On Friday, July 11, 2008, INQRI program director, Mary D. Naylor was invited to speak as part of the Alliance for Health Reform's briefing, "Innovations in Patient Care: Lessons from the Field" in Washington D.C.
View video clips from the briefing.
Excerpts from the briefing:
Nancy Ridenour, Ph.D., R.N., Member, House Committee on Ways and Means:
I know that nurses are all over access, cost, and quality, and certainly accountability and what I have experienced on the Hill is the nursing voice is not very present both in terms of nurses coming to the Hill but also in terms of using nursing research and all the data I know that is out there to inform policy?
Mary Naylor:
Nurses need to be much more visible. We have the best opportunity when we make the case through rigorous evidence about what it is that we can do and how it is that we can impact but that evidence is not enough…I think nurses need to be major ambassadors along with all of the other individuals that they represent – patients and family caregivers…It has not necessarily been part of our history to have a major place at all of these tables but I think we need to advocate for it. Our professional organizations need to work as hard as they can to position nurses on all of the major policymaking groups locally, state level, regionally and nationally...we need to be willing to go the extra step, not just doing the teaching, not just doing the research, but really translating what we do for major impact…I think the INQRI program is an exceptionally good opportunity here because now we have a real commitment to build the evidence and a real commitment to engage stakeholders for maximal impact.
Reed Tuckson, Executive VP and Chief of Medical Affairs, United Health Group:
What we are starting to see here is an important shift [in the way nurses talk about their contributions to quality]… What you are hearing from the nursing representatives on this panel is consistent, persistent themes of 'pay attention to the evidence'. So what we are getting now is nurses saying 'look, let us not get into a debate'…here is information that transforms health care delivery…This is about science, evidence, documentation.