Indicators to Monitor Quality, Research Paper Example

Indicators to monitor quality within a healthcare organization are essential in order to optimize healthcare needs at a high level. It is important for organizations to be proactive in working with clients and in advancing the needs of a given patient population through quality-based measures that aim to improve health and wellbeing. It is important to utilize technology-based tools such as computer-based monitoring in order to improve quality and performance, as these support information gathering and support at a high level to meet patient care needs (Ammenwerth, Rachegger, Ehlers, Hirsch, & Schaubmayr, 2011). This process is instrumental in shaping how organizations respond to change and in supporting a dynamic whereby patient care outcomes will be improved with these tools in place, including checklists and task-based lists to support nurse-related activities (Ammenwerth et.al, 2011). In a similar context, it is important to implement the use of electronic information systems as part of a larger framework to support patient care needs as another indicator of improving quality of care (Kelley, Brandon, & Docherty, 2011). These factors support the continued growth and expansion of efforts to improve health and wellbeing for patients and to recognize the value of expanding knowledge and resources to support patient health. Measures of quality have become increasingly relevant in the nursing spectrum; therefore, they must be addressed as such and support an environment whereby patient care and treatment is taken seriously and is supported by a dynamic that encourages continuous improvement and growth at the nursing level. Performance-based methods must also aim to impact how patients are treated at the bedside, during diagnostic procedures, during surgeries, during meals, and during transport periods. These factors must aim to improve the level of care and treatment that patients receive, along with an examination of the tools and resources that are available to support effective outcomes for patients that translate into improved quality of life over the long term.

References

Ammenwerth, E., Rauchegger, F., Ehlers, F., Hirsch, B., & Schaubmayr, C. (2011). Effect of a nursing information system on the quality of processing in nursing: An evaluation study using the HIS-monitor instrument.International journal of medical informatics, 80(1), 25-38.

Kelley, T. F., Brandon, D. H., & Docherty, S. L. (2011). Electronic nursing documentation as a strategy to improve quality of patient care. Journal of nursing scholarship, 43(2), 154-162.