Educational Paradigm Change and Fostering Sustainable Success of Healthcare Organization with the Aid of Web-Based Interactive Training

Introduction

Objectives of this chapter are presented in four sections providing comprehensive background knowledge and information:

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  Description of education paradigm change;

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  Description of content, structure, functions and services offered by the IMPROHEALTH^® portal;

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  Description of role play simulation training and development tool;

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  Future development of the IMPROHEALTH portal;

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  Final summarization of the presented information.

Educational Paradigm Change

An educational paradigm change is needed in order to help the existing and future healthcare professionals involved in management to acquire the right habits, behaviors and attitudes necessary for provision of effective, timely and patient-centered individualized medical care. Healthcare service quality improvement depends on the environment where these services are provided. Better healthcare service outcomes must arise out of synergy between the activities of medical professionals and the managerial staff of the service institutions. Healthcare quality management may be considered a science, a skill and a service (Bourek, 2011) where the involved professionals are expected to perform to a high degree of reliability, quality and at the same time minimize the risks (perform this service in as safe as possible way). It may come as a surprise, that only in the last three decades the practicing professionals are required to provide proof or evidence that they perform as expected (Kazandjian, 2002). This ever growing request was set off by a series of events eventually leading to the loss of blind trust in the behavior and outcomes produced by the medical professionals themselves (Kohn et al., 1999). Only adequate understanding and proper definitions allow the use of all available tools, resources and processes (including those depending on the use of ICT’s) in the most efficient way, maximizing the benefits, understanding limitations and avoiding unnecessary risks. The productivity and performance of all process stakeholders will be as high, as the level of competency they have achieved during their education and training. If we aim at improvement through traditional educational process, chances are that we will arrive at the same results as the previous generation of trainees has. People entering the training process will not be in any way on the average more intelligent, nimble or stronger than the generation before them. We need to identify and use all possibilities that the society offers for more efficient education.