This toolkit establishes a process model to guide organizational change efforts for improving the quality of primary care for SGM patients (see Figure 1.1). First, we encourage primary care staff at your clinic to develop a multidisciplinary Implementation Team to lead organizational change. Second, the team will establish and align leadership roles throughout the clinic. Third, the team will conduct an organizational assessment to determine areas for improvement. Fourth, the team will develop Action Plans for organizational change that include SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic/Relevant, and Time-Bound) objectives to measure progress. Finally, the team will repeat its organizational assessment and revise the plans as needed to achieve the end goal of improved primary care for SGM patients.
There should be opportunities to solicit input from SGM patients and their advocates regarding additional changes to improve accessibility and quality of care throughout the organizational change process. It is also important to tap into a variety of perspectives when planning and implementing change because there is much diversity among SGM patients. These are topics we will review again in Chapters 3 and 4.