QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH CARE FACILITIES

Quality Improvement in Health Care Facilities

Quality Improvement in Health Care Facilities

Discuss the Quality Improvement process in healthcare

Quality improvement is most successful when viewed as an organization-wide process however; it is critical that quality improvement is implemented at the department level (Kazemek, E. and Charney, R., 1990). Each department needs to ensure that they know who their customers are. Customers are not only external such as the patients, physicians, third-party payers and the departments office staff. Other departments within the organization and those who the department provides services to are also customers.

Each department must understand the organizations vision and their departments quality mission (Kazemek, E. and Charney, R., 1990). One person cannot achieve the department and organizations quality by themselves. Developing a mission statement that is specific for each department along with their quality goals is a valuable tool and give each team member ownership for their success (Kazemek, E. and Charney, R., 1990). Every department in Cindy Janowski's organization needs to have performance metrics that are realistic. The metrics need to meet customer quality standards and expectations by the technical quality delivered as well as the service quality that is delivered (Kazemek, E. and Charney, R., 1990).

Why do various healthcare stakeholders define the quality of care differently?Depending on the role that each stakeholder plays within the health care organization, their definition of quality can be perceived differently. Each stakeholder has a different view for the definition of quality. Although each of their definition emphasizes different aspects of care, it does not exclude the other aspects (Ransom, E., 2008). It is often central to how payers, managers, and society define quality of care, whereas physicians and patients typically do not recognize cost-effectiveness as a legitimate, consideration in the definition of quality (Ransom, E., 2008).

Plan-Check-Act

A quality improvement cycle is a planned sequence of systematic and documented activities aimed at improving a process

Improvements can be effected in two ways:

By improving the process itself and/or

By improving the outcomes of the process.

A quality improvement cycle can typically be defined into the four steps of Plan, Do, Check and Act (also known as the PDCA cycle). The plan-do-check-act cycle (Figure 1) is a four-step model for carrying out change. Just as a circle has no end, the PDCA cycle should be repeated again and again for continuous improvement.

Figure 1: Plan-do-check-act cycle

Plan - the change

This can include:

selection of the change or identification of the need to implement change

reflection on and interpretation of relevant information concerning the existing process - this should be drawn from as wide a range of sources as possible and include information from clients and stakeholders

Do - implement the change

carry out the change or new practice

document the activities of implementation

Check - monitor and review the change

This can include:

monitoring the progress and effectiveness of the change according to your plan

recording of observations and results (planned and unexpected) in comparison with the original data or the project goals, measures and objectives

Act - revise and plan how to use ...