The Esther approach to healthcare in Sweden: A business case for radical improvement

Learning points

• Start by getting some patients and key actors from across the whole care chain in the same room to talk about improvements.

• Follow  a patient story through the whole chain to get the same picture from different perspectives. From this, identify the key processes that are common to every patient journey. For example: The discharge process with an individual care plan and recommendations for further care.

• Use simple questions: What’s best for Esther? Who has to cooperate to make this happen?

• Train and trust your patient and the frontline staff to start small improvement projects.

• There must be space in the schedule to attend Esther meetings.

• Coaches can make a difference.

• Find a way to engage doctors.

• Find a way to bring in stable funding over time.