Expand roles to allow nurses and medical assistants to manage preventative care and chronic health coaching under physician-written standing orders.Use pre-visit planning and pre-appointment lab testing to reduce time wasted on follow-up results review.Implement team documentation so that nurses, medical assistants, and other staff can assist with EHR documentation, order entry, prescription processing, and charge capture.In the original Quadruple Aim article, the authors propose these practical steps to improve clinician and staff work life. Popular solutions include improving documentation efficiency (a pain point for physicians) and care team coordination. There are many strategies for improving healthcare team wellbeing while reducing costs and improving patient outcomes and population health. How can healthcare systems achieve the Quadruple Aim? They clearly state, “Burnout among the health care workforce threatens patient-centeredness and the Triple Aim.” In short, there is no Triple Aim without a Quadruple Aim.

Sinsky emphasized that physician burnout is associated with lower patient satisfaction, reduced health outcomes, and possibly increased costs. The authors proposed expanding the Triple Aim concept, which the Institute for Healthcare Improvement coined and popularized. Christine Sinsky introduced the idea of a Quadruple Aim in healthcare in a 2014 article.

While burnout awareness has prompted doctors to focus more on their work-life balance, healthcare organizations are addressing administrative burdens and providing support for care team mental health. The burnout problem persists in 2023, over half of doctors say they are burned out. In 2019 healthcare leaders declared physician burnout a “ public health crisis,” making connections between provider wellbeing, patient safety, and the quality of care. This aim is often called “joy in work” or “improved physician experience.” The Quadruple Aim builds on the initial three priorities with a focus on caring for those who provide care – the healthcare professionals themselves. This goal of fiscal responsibility, alongside the other aims, has led to innovative approaches like value-based care models and enhanced care coordination. The Triple Aim framework recognized that comprehensive healthcare improvement requires addressing rising healthcare costs. Reducing the per capita cost of healthcare By collaborating with community partners, healthcare institutions can support prevention, early intervention, and long-term health management. Organizations have extended their efforts beyond the clinical setting to address social determinants of health such as housing, education, and nutrition. Improving population healthīeyond the traditional emphasis on individual patients, the Triple Aim defined population health as an essential focus. Enhancing the patient experience includes improving healthcare equity, access to care, communication, and ultimately patient outcomes and safety. Enhancing the patient experienceĪt its core, the Quadruple Aim is about improving patients’ lives. Let’s look more closely at the four elements of the Quadruple Aim of healthcare. The Quadruple Aim of healthcare is a holistic approach to health systems improvement that incorporates a focus on provider wellbeing. However, in the past decade, physicians and healthcare leaders have realized that we can only accomplish the Triple Aim if the care team also thrives at work. The Triple Aim of healthcare refers to three goals: enhancing the patient experience, improving population health, and reducing costs.

Triple and quadruple aim