HQW 2026: International Edition: Rethink, Adapt, Influence: Leading Through Change (Live)-HQW 2026: International Edition: Rethink, Adapt, Influence: Leading Through Change (Live)

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Video Summary

The presentation offers practical strategies for healthcare quality and safety professionals navigating uncertainty, complexity, AI, and rapid change. Amy Mills and Rebecca Capon describe today’s healthcare environment as volatile and unpredictable, with rising demands, shifting reimbursement, reduced external support, and more decisions falling to health systems. They advise focusing energy on what can be controlled or influenced.

They introduce three connected capabilities: <strong>rethink, adapt, and influence</strong>. To rethink, approach beliefs as hypotheses rather than facts, pause when feeling defensive, and ask questions before responding. To adapt, break large changes into small, useful steps and reduce friction. To influence, understand what matters to others, find shared goals, and frame proposals in language that reflects their priorities.

Dr. Zakaria Alital expands the discussion globally, arguing that quality professionals must move beyond audits, incident reports, policies, and compliance to help redesign healthcare systems. Key forces include AI and automation, resource and financial pressures, new models of care, and rising patient expectations. Future-ready professionals need systems thinking, data literacy, critical thinking, communication, change management, and cross-functional influence.

AI can help analyze data and identify patterns, but responsible use requires clearly defining the problem, verifying data and outputs, integrating tools safely with human oversight, and continuously monitoring results. Professional development should combine competency assessment with learning through real improvement work.

Ultimately, quality professionals connect organizational strategy with frontline practice. Successful change depends not only on technology and processes but also on listening, engagement, and ownership—with respectful, effective, and safe patient care as the central purpose.

Keywords

healthcare quality

patient safety

uncertainty

AI in healthcare

systems thinking

change management

adapt and influence

quality improvement

data literacy

human oversight