The Purpose of Quality Management in the Health Care Industry, Research Paper Example

The purpose of quality management in healthcare industry can be explained through interpretation of three concepts. They are structure, process and output.  Essentially, quality management ensures that these three entities within the organization function to produce successful outcomes and goal attainment. Quality management in itself enables an organization to be consistent in its delivery in relation to the environment it was designed to service. This is articulated by giving full attention to efficient planning,  creating specific control measures,  upholding integrity in service  delivery and  conducting continuous  evaluation towards service improvement (The National Learning Consortium (NLC), 2014).

Evaluating the organization’s structure is a major purpose of quality management. In health care managing the present structure enables stability within the organization. For example, structures in clinical settings must be designed for efficient/ safe dispensation of care. There is a team leader to whom team members are held accountable for executing tasks during their clinical practice. Each team member has specific duties to perform based on their training and licensure. Once this structure is carefully monitored for effectiveness quality management strategies have been applied to the process. There is a structure through which favorable outcomes are assured (Rose, 2005).

Evaluating and adjusting the process of healthcare delivery is another important role of quality management in the industry. An example of this relates to specialization in the nursing discipline. Training nurses to perform in clinical areas such as intensive care units, obstetrics, surgical, medical, and emergency is executing quality management from a process perspective. Similarly, when providers specialize and hospitals too, quality management becomes effective during the process. Importantly, the process focuses on meeting customers’ desires along with executing astute leadership. Providing the required services to customersinitiates expansion of the industry. Patients who are considered customers of the healthcare have many needs when they become sick or require preventative care (The National Learning Consortium (NLC), 2014).

Further, leadership when applied to the quality management process in the healthcare industry prepares the organization function at the highest level anticipating risks and avoiding incidences that have serious legal implications. For example, medication errors are frequent in the industry.  There has been also a prevalence of surgical errors related to wrong sites and patients when operations are performed. Quality management ensures that healthcare leaders design policies to address these irregularities that affect outcomes and ultimately maximizing profits (Nederpelt, 2012).

The third concept, which explains the purpose ofquality management in  thehealthcare industrypertains tooutput. Healthcare analysts contend that output could be misinterpreted to mean outcome in some disciplines. However, output relates to strategies management utilizes in establishing quality aspect the process. For example if quality management has distinct purposes then the output must coincide with a number of variables, which are predecessor to the change in the patient’s status such as actual intervention ns responsible for resolution of specific conditions. These include a simple irregularity such as high temperature whereby a temperature test is executed and either a tepid sponge is done or medications administered along with ordering investigations. As such, the purpose of quality management is to ensure that the output of care resolves the patient’s fever high blood pressure (Rose, 2005 )

In concluding this discussion it can be reiterated that the real purpose of quality management in health care is to ensure patient safety, promnote efficiency in delivery of care along with maximizing profits

References

Nederpelt, P (2012). Object-oriented Quality and Risk Management (OQRM). A practical and generic method to manage quality and risk. MicroData

Rose, K. (2005). Project Quality Management: Why, What and How. Fort Lauderdale, Florida: J. Ross Publishing

The National Learning Consortium (NLC) (2014).Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Strategies to Optimize your Practice. Retrieved on January 7^th, 2015 fromhttp://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/tools/nlc_continuousqualityimprovementprimer.pdf