Quality Improvement in Health Care, Research Paper Example

Quality improvement in health care is designed to deliver better results for patients while improving efficiency. Focusing on patients and considering stakeholder interest should be in the focus of every quality improvement program. Plans to improve the quality of care should be drawn up by the project team that assesses the current situation, reviews processes, and makes recommendations to improve the service and the outcome of treatments. Quality improvement in health care can successfully deal with staff shortages, health risks, health crisis situations, and develop a long term plan for increasing the organization’s shared assets: knowledge. There are several ways a health care organization can decide to improve care quality. Providing training for staff to update their skills, coaching new employees, and sharing experiences within the team are some of the most effective methods. However, it is also important to note that health care quality improvement often results in increased efficiency and reduced costs.

Quality management is needed in health care to improve leadership and employee commitment. In order to deliver better results, clear goals need to be set and effectively communicated towards all stakeholders. In many cases, leaders involve employees, patient representatives, and communities in designing the quality management and improvement plan, to ensure that they serve the interest of all involved the best possible way. The main focus areas of quality management and improvement programs are: patient safety, care quality, timeliness, efficiency, patient focus, equity, and effectiveness.

Different stakeholders’ perception of care quality and efficiency varies, therefore, it is important to – in the preparation phase – assess patients’ satisfaction level, and address issues. The quality of care is defined by various measures within health care organizations and teams. However, in patient centered care, it is important to measure the satisfaction level of stakeholders being served by the organization. Employees’ perception of the quality of health care can also differ from that of patients’. Objective measures need to be developed in order to address concerns from all stakeholder groups and improve the quality of care in a way that it benefits all.

The main actors in developing a quality management plan are leaders and governors of the health care organization. However, leaders often decide to create new teams focusing on various development areas within the organization and work closely alongside the management. Patient advocates are also often appointed in order to provide information about the perception of the specific stakeholder group. The main members of quality improvement teams should be appointed from a talent pool with clinical leadership, technical expertise, day-to-day leadership, and project sponsorship skills. Members can also be appointed from patient representative groups, nursing team members, medical assistants, and community health workers. The more diverse the team is the better insight members can provide for the leadership about necessary developments and proposed solutions.

In quality improvement, it is important that team members engage in an active conversation. Some members would collect data in the form of patient surveys, while other members with technical skills would be able to create statistical data and present results. Researchers can explore quality improvement programs, while practitioners will assess the feasibility of each intervention. A quality improvement project is based on a series of modifications in processes and interventions in order to improve quality of care, patient safety, and efficiency within the organization. Simple changes, such as restructuring care teams, providing training for employees, and introducing new appointment systems can deliver greater overall efficiency on the individual and team level, which will positively impact the organization’s performance.

There are certain areas of health care that need to be closely monitored by the quality management team. These are defined by the acronym: STEEEP. The areas of STEEEP stand for safety, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient-centered health care. Safety practices can be measured using computer-based analysis of reports. Incidents, therefore, need to be reported and electronically reported. However, the area of safety in health care also involves the presence of effective risk assessment procedures, which need to be developed and improved by the QI team. Effectiveness measurement is a bit more complex, and needs to consider the different processes involved in treatment and intervention. Measures can include the time spent in ward, waiting time, referral outcomes, and test results improvement. In a surgical ward, for example, the time elapsed between admittance and release of the patient is a good indicator of effectiveness. Measuring equability within health care is often based on statistical reports and patient surveys. Measures should focus on assessing the quality of health care across all populations. Finally, patient-centered aspect of health care is mainly measured through surveys and interviews. It is important to appoint a team or patient liaison within the team to engage in meaningful active discussion with the most important stakeholder group: patients.

Some of the measures currently used in health care setting to assess the quality are: leapfrog measures, HEDIS clinical measures, consumer assessment surveys, hospital outcomes analysis software, and the AHRQ patient safety indicators.

In the United States, the American College of Surgeons has an advanced standards program that provides guidelines for practitioners. National programs are overseen and guided by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. The independent The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) focuses on the health care quality of managed care organizations.

There are, however, several government and independent agencies that regulate the various processes health care organizations are involved in. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have their regional offices that regulate states’ hospitals and private health care providers.  However, the regulations and legislation of other agencies, such as the Health Resource and Service Administration also have an influence on the work of health care organizations. The roles of the above organizations differ, however, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) oversees the qualification of hospital staff, adopting various byelaws, and the board’s self-evaluation. Medicare also has a set of standards set for health care providers that need to be met in order to participate in the program. Local regulations also differ from one state to another. Patient advocacy groups are likely to influence decisions made by the board, as well.

There are several resources available for health care quality management teams, such as the American Medical Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute of Medicine: Healthcare and Quality. These organizations regularly carry out research in order to support health care providers in implementing evidence-based quality improvement programs. Guidelines and recommendations are also published by the above agencies and independent health care institutions. Reviewing relevant guidelines and seeking consultation can improve the outcome of QI projects.