Once defined as “the degree of conformity with preset standards”...the standards of which care were judged was implicit and existed solely in the mind of evaluators (Sultz & Young, 2014). Quality of care is a measureable aspect of healthcare though challenging, it can classify and enumerate poor and high-quality care. Measures are used to analyze how healthcare institutions perform in quality and in finance; the organization has a basis for understanding its delivery of care and for improving that care (Dlugacz, 2006). The various departments and ranges of data needed to measure quality all differ in hospital settings but, the availability of medical records and other clinical information make it easier to evaluate quality of care. This paper will analyze the components of the quality of health care, identify agencies that focus on quality, explore the HCAHPS survey and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services roles in assessment of quality of care in hospitals.
Hospitals are major stakeholders in the healthcare industry. Hospitals of varying types exist, such as general, specialty, teaching, for or not-for-profit, rural and independent. All of which are fundamental to the health care system. The basic components of measuring quality of hospital care are structure, process, outcomes and research. The delivery of health care has been quantified with the model, structure + process = outcome (Quality). The structure component was the most utilized device to measure quality in health care until the 1960’s. Hospitals relied on credentialing mechanisms to prove quality of care, which is a structure component. “The underlying assumption of structural quality reviews was that the better the facilities and the qualifications of the pro...
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Sultz, H. A., & Young, K. M. (2014). Health Care USA : Understanding Its Organization and Delivery. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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If patients constantly have to wait an excessive amount of time they will either leave before they receive care or could end up becoming sicker as a result. Donabedian’s three-element model structure, process and outcome have become the gold standard for defining quality measurement (Varkey, 2010). Structure relates to the health care setting, which includes the hospital policies, procedures and design. Process evaluates if the right actions were taken for an intended outcome and how well the actions were executed to achieve the outcome. Outcome focuses on the patient, it measures the patient’s condition, behavior, and response to or satisfaction with care (Varkey, 2010). Although each of these measures focus on different areas, they indicate areas that need improvement. Also, the measurement from structure and process plays an important role in the patient’s outcome. If the hospital has the right staff, equipment and
Kovner, A.R & Knickman, J.R (2011) Jonas & Kovner’s Health Care Delivery in the United States, 10th Edition. New York: Springer Publishing.
The interpretation of quality health care varies with each person. Some place emphasis on the ability to access various treatments without interference. Others value the feature of being able to simply select one’s provider. Quality health care, according to the Institute of Medicine (2001), can be defined as care that is “safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient and equitable” (p. 3). Furthermore, it should account for, in detail, a patient’s medical history, and improve overall patient well-being.
In her paper emerging model of quality, June Larrabee discusses quality as a construct that includes beneficence, value, prudence and justice (Larrabee, 1996). She speaks of quality and value as integral issues that are intertwined with mutually beneficial outcomes. Her model investigates how the well-being of individuals are affected by perceptions of how services are delivered, along with the distribution of resources based on the decisions that are made (Larrabee, 1996). She speaks of the industrial model of quality and how the cornerstone ideas of that model (that the customer always knows what is best for themselves) does not fit the healthcare model (Larrabee, 1996). Larrabee introduces the concept that the patient va provider goal incongruence affects the provide (in this case the nurse) from being able to positively affect healthcare outcomes (Larrabee, 1996). The recent introduction of healthcare measures such as HCAHPS: Patients' Perspectives of Care Survey has encouraged the healthcare community to firmly espouse an industrial model of quality. HCAHPS is a survey where patients are asked questions related to their recent hospitalization that identifies satisfaction with case based solely on the individuals’ perception of the care given. This can lead to divergent goals among the healthcare team or which the patient is a member. Larrabee’s model of quality of care model
The balance between quality patient care and medical necessity is a top priority and the main concern of many of the healthcare organizations today. Due to the rising cost of healthcare, there has been a change in the focus of reimbursement strategies that are affecting the delivery of patient care. This shift from a fee-for-service towards a value-based system creates a challenge that has shifted many providers’ focus more directly on their revenue. As a result, organizations are forced to take a hard look at the cost of services they are providing patients and then determining if the services and level of care are appropriate for the prescribed patient care.
... is an abstract model that proposes an exploratory plan for health services and evaluating quality of health care. In accordance with the model, information about quality of care can be obtained from three categories: structure, process, and outcomes. In addition, not long ago The Joint Commission include outcomes in its accreditation valuations (Sultz, & Young, 2011, p. 378).
The standards of the Joint Commission are a foundation for an objective evaluation process the may help healthcare organizations measure, assess and improve performance. These standards are focused on organizational functions that are key for providing safe high quality care services. The Joint Commission’s standards set goal expectations of reasonable, achievable and surveyable performance of an organization. Only new standards that are relative to patient safety or care quality, have positive impact on healthcare outcomes, and can be accurately measured are added. Input from healthcare professionals, providers, experts, consumers and government agencies develop these standards.
In the healthcare system, quality is a major driving compartment for patient outcomes. The quality of care reflects the outcomes in a patient’s care. According to Feeley, Fly, Walters and Burke (2010), “quality equ...
Nembhard, I. M., Alexander, J. A., Hoff, T. J., & Ramanujam, R. (2009). Why Does the Quality of Health Care Continue to Lag? Insights from Management Research. Academy Of Management Perspectives, 23 (1), 24-42. doi: 10.5465/AMP.2009.37008001
Reforming the health care delivery system to progress the quality and value of care is indispensable to addressing the ever-increasing costs, poor quality, and increasing numbers of Americans without health insurance coverage. What is more, reforms should improve access to the right care at the right time in the right setting. They should keep people healthy and prevent common, preventable impediments of illnesses to the greatest extent possible. Thoughtfully assembled reforms would support greater access to health-improving care, in contrast to the current system, which encourages more tests, procedures, and treatments that are either
According to Fred Lee (2004) hospitals use clinical results and process improvement as a gauge of quality as this data can be readily measured and objective. Conversely, patients judge the quality of care by individual perception. Therein a gap of what the patient’s perception of quality care and how the healthcare providers perceive quality of care is created. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Gaps Model of Service Quality while comparing the findings of the work done by Fred Lee in the book, If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 91/2 Things You would Do Differently.
Quality care, safe practices and principles, and accountability constitute the foundation of any health care organization (Huber, 2014). Addressing patient safety issues and improving health care quality may include reorganizing operations to improve efficiency, coordinating care with interdisciplinary team members, and using information technologies (Wang, Cha, Sebek, McCullough, Parsons, Singer, & Shih, 2014). In this paper, I will review my organization’s quality program goals, objectives, and management structure, how quality improvement (QI) projects are selected, managed, and monitored, and how nursing staff are trained and supported in
The World Health Organization outlines 6 areas of quality that help shape our definition of what makes quality care. Those areas are; (1) Effective: using evidence bases practice to improve health outcomes based on needs of individuals and communities. (2) Efficient: healthcare that maximizes resources and minimizes waste. (3) Accessible: timely care that is provided in a setting where the skills and resources are appropriate for the medical need and is geographically reasonable. (4) Acceptable/Patient-Centered: healthcare that considers individual needs, preferences, and culture. (5) Equitable: healthcare quality that does not vary because of race, gender, ethnicity, geographical location, or socioeconomically status. (6) Safe: healthcare that minimizes harm and risks to patients. (Bengoa, 2006)
Shi, L., & Singh, D. (2012). Delivering health care in America: a system approach. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.
Understanding quality measurement is essential in improving quality. Teams need to be able to understand whether the changes being made are actually leading to improved care and improved outcomes. For data to have an impact on an improvement initiative, providers and staff must understand it, trust it, and use it. Health care organization must understand the measurement of quality provided by the Institute of Medicine (patient outcomes, patient satisfaction, compliance, efficiency, safe, timely, patient centered, and equitable. An organization cannot improve its performance if it does not know how it is performing. Measuring quality improvements is essential as it reflects the quality of care given by the providers and that by comparing performance