Knowledge Transfer and Retention in Health Care - The Implementation of Best Practices in an Acute Care Setting

Over the last few decades advances in health care services have allowed for the effective treatment of many illnesses. The only problem is that proven, effective treatments are not consistently applied in most health care settings. The question is, if we know better, why are we not doing better? This book attempts to answer this question from multiple perspectives. Using a qualitative research design, clinicians from an acute care setting were interviewed about an integrated care pathway for congestive heart failure, two years post-implementation. What follows is an exploration into the impact of system design, organizational culture, and individual will on the eventual disuse of the pathway. As patients begin to demand more consistent care, it will be up to health system leaders to find ways to address these barriers to sustainable knowledge transfer.