Healthcare Quality

Healthcare Quality

The quality of healthcare is a critical aspect enforced using regulations from government health agencies and the facility’s management. The interplay of external and internal factors shapes the healthcare market. The health industry is subject to controllable and uncontrollable factors or standards affecting market activities. Various changes tend to compel the facility’s management to change their strategies, which should lead to fulfilling the goals (Noh, Kwon, & Yoon, 2011). The attainment and retention of the quality of healthcare services is essential for the safety of patients. Technology and continuous quality improvement play a critical role in this process.

Impact of external and internal standards

According to the healthcare triad that guides service delivery, the healthcare organization needs to operate efficiently and effectively. Such operations can be achieved through risk assessment, management, and establishing measures for the clinic’s performance. External and internal factors should not affect these aspects adversely (Cowing, Davino-Ramaya, & Ramaya, 2009). The process of risk assessment should identify such potentially adverse impacts. Such information enables the management to implement various techniques to manage the adverse effects in cases where other options are worse or lacking.

Various indicators that the facility can use to measure the impact of environmental aspects include costs of running the hospital, time taken during service delivery, the rate of service, and satisfaction. Speed of service is ideal for assessing the efficiency of operations, while different measures of clinical performance can detect the effectiveness of operations. To assess satisfaction, the facility needs both objective and subjective indicators. To improve such, the facility can reduce the time taken to offer services, personalize the process of delivery, learn the client’s needs and expectations, and encourage collaboration among providers to ensure that these needs are met throughout different departments (Cowing, Davino-Ramaya, & Ramaya, 2009). To ensure positive health outcomes are realized, it is essential to mentally prepare the patient for these outcomes by engaging them in establishing a diagnosis, creating a treatment plan, and choosing the best interventions.

Role of continuous improvement in quality and safety

Continuous quality improvement at the ability to attain excellent operations. It should begin with the top-level management, who must commit to change that constantly improves the quality of services. The need for the managers and board members to support and own this process is emphasized through the training processes. A rigorous and stable training program is critical in introducing permanent changes that improve the quality. During the process, it is essential to remain responsive to the staff’s needs and coach them in a supportive manner. Such support is likely to elicit a positive response from the staff members. Their involvement alongside the other staff members leads to an appreciation of the resources required to sustain the entire process. The training process enlightens all individuals on critical skills such as problem-solving. The learned skills should be supported consciously through mentoring as well as coaching. The engagement of staff members in the process of improving quality yields stability. The common occurrence, an alienation of staff members, tends to create resistance to any changes, especially if the communication process needs to be handled (KPMG, 2019). The importance of these activities is to ensure that the facility attains operational excellence and retains it as a mark of the quality services offered herein.

Plan for employee development in quality and safety

Quality improvement is an ongoing process that takes the effort of all stakeholders for success. In the case of employees, ensuring that they are part of the journey requires more than just rules, regulations, and policies. Most importantly, training is critical in ensuring that employees develop the necessary skills that lead to quality and safe services. Training must be rigorous, well planned, meet the workforce’s needs, and regularly conducted. The training should be informal. Instead, the facility’s management should create informal and out-of-session forums to engage employees to solve problems. They should also act as role models for staff members to emulate. The second aspect that the facility should implement is cultural and attitude change. Changing attitudes and culture takes time (World Health Organization, 2008). However, the training process is insufficient if the internal environment does not encourage employees to prioritize patient safety. Thus, this process can be initiated through a review of the values that an entity stands for. These should be communicated often and practiced from top to bottom. Such influence should motivate employees to adopt the new changes. Consistency results in a desired positive culture and attitudes as well.

Role of technology in quality and safety

New technology innovations continue to flood the health industry. The presence of different machinery to monitor patients, gadgets to carry out tests, and screen patients are assumed to make work easier. True to this assumption, doctors can make better diagnoses with the availability of accurate data in the form of images or other laboratory analyses of varying samples. Doctors can estimate the seriousness of a condition based on the data obtained through different technological innovations. However, it is essential to highlight that these technological gadgets can only ensure patients’ safety with the healthcare providers. To maximize the benefits of technology in healthcare, providers need to realize and accept their role in ensuring patient safety and quality services (Astier, Carlet, & Hoppe-Tichy, 2020).

Conclusion

The attainment and retention of the quality of healthcare services is essential for the safety of patients. Technology and continuous quality improvement play a critical role in this process. Every health facility is responsible to its patients to ensure that quality and safe interventions are applied. Such assurances are necessary to ensure the health and safety of patients and employees. From a business perspective, such a facility may face closure, leading to a loss of revenue.

References

Astier, A., Carlet, J., & Hoppe-Tichy, T. (2020). What is the role of technology in improving patient safety? A French, German, and UK healthcare professional perspective. Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management, 25(6), 219-224.

Cowing, M., Davino-Ramaya, C. M., & Ramaya, K. (2009). Health Care Delivery Performance: Service, Outcomes, and Resource Stewardship. The Permanente Journal, 13(4), 72-78.

KPMG. (2019). Continuous improvement in healthcare. Retrieved from https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2019/01/continuous-quality-improvement-in-health.html

Noh, J. W., Kwon, Y. D., & Yoon, S. J. (2011). Internal and external environmental factors affecting the performance of hospital-based home nursing care. International Nursing Review, 263-269.

World Health Organization. (2008). Guidance on developing quality and safety strategies with a health system approach. Retrieved from https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/96473/E91317.pdf

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Imagine you are being vetted for a managerial position at a local healthcare facility. As part of the process, they have provided prompts for which you must write a response.

Healthcare Quality

Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper describing the process for tracking outcomes and improving quality and safety. Include the following in your form:

Impact of external and internal standards
Role of continuous improvement in quality and safety
Plan for employee development in quality and safety
Role of technology in quality and safety