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The Importance of Accountability

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The Importance of Accountability
Accountability is a situation in which people who exercise authority are controlled by external means and internal norms Medical ethics the amount to which a person is accountable to a superior authority. (1) A condition in which individuals who exercise power are constrained by external means and internal norms. (2) Taking responsibility for one’s own actions and defending them to anyone who asks (McGraw-Hill, 2002).
Why is accountability important in the health care industry?
Accountability has become the most important problem in health care. Accountability entails the procedures and processes by which one party justifies and takes liability for its behavior. The theory of accountability contains three important components: 1) the loci of accountability--health care consists of at least 11 different parties that can be apprehended accountable or hold others accountable; 2) the domains of accountability--in health care, parties can be held accountable for as many as six activities: professional competency, legal and ethical conduct, financial routine, sufficiency of access, public health promotion, and community benefit; and 3) the procedures of accountability, including formal and informal procedures for evaluating compliance with domains and for disseminating the evaluation and responses by the accountable parties (Emanuel EJ and LL, 1996).
How to measure an employee’s accountability in the health care industry
Accountability means being held answerable for accomplishing a goal or assignment. Unfortunately, the word "accountability" often connotes punishment or negative consequences. Certainly, management should not tolerate poor performance and should take action when it occurs. However, when organizations use accountability only as a big stick for punishing employees, fear and anxiety permeate the work environment. Employees are afraid to try new methods or propose new ideas for fear of failure. On the other hand, if approached correctly,

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