Tools and Strategies for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety

Tools and Strategies for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety

Importance of Healthcare Quality in Healthcare Organizations

Healthcare quality is important to enhance healthcare efficiency, effectiveness, and safety to achieve the best healthcare outcomes. For example, the fact that the US healthcare system is not unified has made it hard to provide a straightforward way of how healthcare services are financed and delivered (Wilensky & Teitelbaum, 2020). As a result, some individuals have not been insured. Others cannot access healthcare services since healthcare services are provided via a patchwork of private and public insurance plans, local, state, and federal government, and individual and institution providers who are more unconnected. Moreover, patients, nurses, and physicians differ regarding the value they put on various care factors. For instance, whereas clinicians may hold that health-related communication, rapport, and clinical skill are important elements of quality care, patients perceive empathy, enough time, respect, and courtesy for care as more crucial than providers (Hannawa et al., 2022). Quality healthcare ensures that the patient feels safe. For instance, if the patient is African American and feels their needs are not met with empathy, using an outside interpreter may not be considered patient-centered or quality care (Wilensky & Teitelbaum, 2020). However, using a family member or a friend of the patient may be deemed patient-centered and quality, thus making the patient feel safe. Also, quality healthcare ensures that the needs of the patient are met in a timely manner. For instance, in the US, many patients complain of long waits when they make appointments, stand in the hallways as they wait for procedures, and sit in the healthcare providers’ offices when waiting for their test results (Wilensky & Teitelbaum, 2020). Thus, quality healthcare is meant to address these issues and ensure timely responses to patients’ needs.

Healthcare Initiatives

The signing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 was an important initiative in the US that reduced the number of uninsured people. The rate of uninsured persons was 16.3% in 2010, and this rate dropped to 8.8% in 2016 (Wilensky & Teitelbaum, 2020). Other healthcare initiatives include the provision of publicly funded health insurance to vulnerable populations through Medicaid and Medicare programs as well as local, state, and federal governments. In addition, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program initiative collaborates with local organizations, cities, and states to give healthcare services to patients with HIV and AIDS who lack financial resources and health insurance coverage (Wilensky & Teitelbaum, 2020).

Quality in Healthcare System

The National Health Services Act in Great Britain provides the National Health Services, which refers to a healthcare system that is run centrally to provide universal insurance coverage to every resident in Britain (Wilensky & Teitelbaum, 2020). Since the government is held responsible for serving the residents with equal access to quality health care which is, according to Wilensky & Teitelbaum (2020), free at the point of service, all residents are eligible to receive quality healthcare services. This also means that UK patients are not supposed to be endangered when they are under care in any health facility. Health quality also means patient-centeredness. This involves the healthcare system being sensitive to patients’ preferences, values, and needs and ensuring smooth transitions between and among providers. For instance, if the patient’s first language is not English and is being taken care of at HCA Healthcare, the use of interpreters, preferably family or friends, is advisable (Wilensky & Teitelbaum, 2020). Besides, it was found that one out of five citizens of the US spoke a different language from English (Camarota & Zeigler, 2014). Healthcare quality also implies efficiency. This means that the healthcare organization has to best utilize the resources and have the best value per money spent on healthcare services and goods (Wilensky & Teitelbaum, 2020). For example, professionals have established various physical therapy registries, including the Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy- National Register for Physical Therapy and the American Physical Therapy Association (Sinnige et al., 2022). However, to ensure they are efficient in providing health care, they need to harness their optimizing care and integrate the registries with networks in healthcare. According to Sinnige et al. (2022), this integration would change health care to a learning health system, which refers to a system with continuous enhancement and innovation of information.

Another example in the physical therapy healthcare organization is the ClaudicatioNet Quality system, which refers to a system that collects, processes, and gives the outcome of a patient’s data with walking-induced temporary pain or discomfort based on the supervision of the exercise (Sinnige et al., 2022). ClaudicatioNet’s quality system aims to prove transparency and guarantee quality healthcare for patients with walking-induced temporary pain using constantly collected data. This system reflects the quality of efficiency in healthcare.

References

Camarota, S. A., & Zeigler, K. (2014). One in five US residents speaks a foreign language at home, a record 61.8 million. Center for Immigration Studies. Retrieved from http://cis.org/One-Five-US-Residents-Speaks-Foreign-Language-Home-Record-618-million

Hannawa, A. F., Wu, A. W., Kolyada, A., Potemkina, A., & Donaldson, L. J. (2022). The aspects of healthcare quality that are important to health professionals and patients: A qualitative study. Patient Education and Counseling, 105(6), 1561-1570.

Sinnige, A., Spruijt, S., Saes, M., Van der Wees, P. J., Hoogeboom, T. J., & Teijink, J. A. (2022). Using a learning health system to improve physical therapy care for patients with intermittent claudication: lessons learned from the ClaudicatioNet Quality System. Physical Therapy, 102(1), pzab249.

Wilensky, S.E. & Teitelbaum, J.B. (2020). Essentials of Health Policy and Law, Fourth Edition. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

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Week 10 Assignment – Healthcare Quality
Overview
Before attempting this assignment, it is recommended that you refer to this week’s readings for helpful information related to healthcare quality.

Tools and Models of Leadership

Examining quality and performance in the healthcare organization enables healthcare professionals to deliver reliable, cost-effective, and sustained healthcare processes. Quality initiatives enable healthcare organizations to achieve their goal of improving care while enhancing patient outcomes. This week, you will review quality improvement initiatives as a way to measure, analyze, improve, and control the ways care is delivered to patients.
Instructions
Write a 2-3 page paper in which you:
1. Explain the importance of healthcare quality in healthcare organizations by providing at least three examples.
2. Analyze three quality initiatives found in the chapter readings that are prevalent in healthcare organizations.
3. Explain quality in a healthcare system using three real-world examples of quality initiatives in current use at a healthcare organization.
4. In addition to the textbook, provide two sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and valid. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment. For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library or review library guides.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:
Propose initiatives to increase quality while reducing healthcare costs, medical errors, and adverse events.