The Impact of Effective Leadership on Elderly Patient Outcomes in Healthcare

While much of the public is aware of the amazing and impactful work that healthcare professionals do, far fewer are aware of the significant impact that healthcare leadership plays in this process.

When it comes to caring for older adults, effective leadership is critical. This is even more true given the dire state of elderly healthcare in the modern era and the profound impact that a well-led team can have on the health outcomes of older adults.

Developing a deeper understanding of the role of effective leadership in elderly health is key for gaining a broader perspective on the healthcare space and how it’s evolving.

Here is the impact of effective leadership on elderly patients’ outcomes in healthcare.

The Difficulty of Coordinating Patient Care

Modern American healthcare has a slew of issues that public health professionals are currently working to solve. One key problem is that of coordinating care for older patients who need a diverse variety of treatments from different types of specialists.

To put this into perspective, it’s important to have some context around why elderly patients are some of the most vulnerable in the country.

One important and obvious reason is that older adults typically develop more health problems than other patient populations, meaning that they require more medical care. Sadly, getting these patients all of the care they need is easier said than done.

Oftentimes, older adults will not receive all of the care they need because of a lack of coordination among healthcare professionals. This is even more true for older adults who don’t have an involved family member or caretaker to help them navigate the maze of care coordination in the American healthcare system.

As a result of it being difficult to coordinate the many types of care that older adults often require, many elderly patients experience less-than-ideal patient outcomes. This being the case, it’s clear that changes need to be made in order to ensure that this systemic issue does not keep harming the older adult population in America.

The Role of Healthcare Leadership in Coordinating Elderly Patient Care

Despite the dire circumstances of elderly healthcare in America today, healthcare leaders can and do play a key role in helping these patients stay as healthy as possible. However, it’s not just one type of healthcare leader that helps older adults receive the care they need.

In fact, a variety of professionals, from nurse leaders to social workers, play a vital role in care coordination. Understanding the role that each of these professionals play in this process can give one a more nuanced perspective on the critical role of healthcare leaders in elderly care.

Some key healthcare leadership figures that help coordinate older adult care include:

• Social workers: Coordinating inpatient and outpatient care can be an incredibly difficult task — especially when it requires coordinating care from many different specialists. Fortunately, healthcare social workers have the knowledge and expertise to help older adults and their families navigate this process. This being the case, healthcare social worker leaders who make it their duty to go above and beyond and help coordinate care for older adults play a vital role in elderly healthcare in the modern world.
   
• Nurse leaders: Nurse leaders are responsible for making their nursing teams as effective and efficient as possible in their role of helping patients achieve optimal health outcomes. When it comes to treating and caring for older adults, coordinating care among various healthcare professionals is a key part of the process. This being the case, nurse leaders who prepare their teams for these events and go out of their way to make the coordination of care easier are having an incredibly beneficial impact on the health outcomes of older adults.
   
• Primary care physicians: Much like nurse leaders, primary care physicians are committed to helping their patients achieve optimal health outcomes. For elderly patients, this means communicating with other healthcare professionals to ensure that patients are receiving all of the robust care that they need. While many physicians don’t put that much effort into this process, those that do have a huge impact on the health outcomes of the older patients they serve.

How the American Healthcare System Can Be Improved Through Effective Leadership

As one can imagine, many have become aware of this significant problem in healthcare. However, despite great intentions and a huge amount of effort, not many healthcare professionals succeed in making changes when it comes to treating older adults.

One of the biggest reasons for this is that there are many barriers facing healthcare professionals trying to enact these types of changes. From organizational bureaucracy to financial constraints, changing the way things are done in healthcare is no easy feat.

However, leadership is a powerful quality and skill that can help these visionaries change healthcare processes and provide older adults with the robust care they deserve.

In particular, strong leadership skills help these admirable individuals navigate the obstacles and red tape in their way and make actual change. As a result of these efforts, shifts in the healthcare process can provide scores of older Americans with the care they need to achieve optimal health outcomes and live healthy, fulfilling lives.

Healthcare Leaders Help Older Adults Achieve Optimal Health Outcomes

While there are a wide variety of problems currently plaguing the American healthcare system, one that is often overlooked is the lack of robust care for older adults. Particularly, the difficulty of coordinating care for this patient population is causing many elderly patients to experience worse health outcomes.

Fortunately, many healthcare leaders are putting in the effort to change this. As a result of these amazing leaders, many older adults are receiving all of the different types of care they need to thrive and lead amazing lives.