Tufton: There’s a difference between technology and transformation

WESTERN BUREAU:

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton is asserting that while medical care and hospital infrastructure have advanced over the years, both in Jamaica and on the global stage, distinctions must be made between technology and efficiency in order to provide better healthcare to the public.

Tufton made the declaration on Friday while addressing the 22nd annual Caribbean Neurosciences Symposium [CANS] at the Half Moon hotel in Montego Bay, St James, which was held under the theme ‘Advances in Neurosciences through Global Collaboration’.

“As I listen to the discussion around the technology and the advancement, I’d like us to make a distinction, because there is a distinction between technology and transformation. It is a very important distinction that, I think, we need to engage, dissect, explain, and advocate,” Tufton told the symposium’s attendees.

“We have on the horizon new hospitals being built out, the likes of which we have not seen since Independence…all of this represents advancement in infrastructure and advancement in technology. What it does not fully capture is transformation, in the real sense of what transformation means,” Tufton outlined. “Technology allows for currency, keeping up to date; transformation is around efficiency, how you deliver greater value by an enabling environment. One is important for the other, but one does not guarantee the other. That is the challenge that we face as a people, as a society.”

The minister noted that the distinction must be made in order to deliver a healthcare provision response that is adequate for the health profile of the population.

“It is important because, ultimately, we are serving people, and if you start with the health profile of the population that you serve, in Jamaica and globally, you will recognise that there are some changes that are taking place which require a response that is characterised by levels of dynamism, research, and application of that research. We’re going to be equipping ourselves with all of this infrastructure, you are doing your research to show breakthrough approaches, but how does that create the transformation that is required?” said Tufton.

“The transformation that is going to be required around training should include some use of the technology in a way to expand the pool, so that the infrastructure is not built out and then there’s no one to man it … If we do not embrace that kind of thinking out-of the-box approach, we are likely to build the hospitals, buy equipment, understand technology, and not be able to respond to the needs of the population,” Tufton added.

ENABLING CULTURE IS CRITICAL

His comments followed an observation by Patrick Hylton, the chairman of the University Hospital of the West Indies’ (UHWI) board of management, who told Friday’s session that his organisation must become better at managing its various stakeholders’ needs and embody a culture of client satisfaction, so as to deliver quality healthcare and educational service.

“One of the things we have to get good at is stakeholder management; in other words, understanding what are our stakeholders’ needs and requirements. The truth is that when we are managing the various stakeholder needs, sometimes you’re going to have conflicts…sometimes there’s also miscommunication. So we as an institution may receive information or feedback on what are the priorities of a particular stakeholder group, but we are seeing those priorities through the filter of our own biases,” said Hylton.

“Creating an enabling culture is critical, and we talk about transformation because we want to transform this as a healthcare facility. We want to transform it as a teaching facility, technologically, socially, from a customer experience perspective,” Hylton added. “We’re not going to do it overnight, but as I have also said, true transformation begins with the person, with the individual. If you are not transformed, you can’t lead transformation, because after a while the people will see that you are not authentic, and they are going to come to the conclusion that ‘the emperor has no clothes.’”

During the CANS conference, neuroscience specialists came together from different countries to discuss and present on the latest advancements in the treatment of brain diseases and cranial trauma, as well as the importance of developing an international neurosurgery exchange programme.