Laboratory plays a pivotal role in disease control and prevention program by providing timely data or information for patient management and disease surveillance. [1] Quality in the laboratory has huge impact on diagnosis and patient management as about 80%[2] of all diagnoses is made on the basis of laboratory tests.[3] Objectives: To compare the semi-annual performance of the laboratory by using the Laboratory Quality Indicators. Methods: It is a Library Research Methodology, in which the analysis of historical records and data (all quality indicators of laboratory and blood bank) was done for the year 2016 for the study hospital laboratory and blood bank. Significance of Research: It was noted at the end of the year 2016 that there was no improvement in the performance of the laboratory and blood bank as compared to the first half of the year 2016. Hypothesis: Null Hypothesis (Ho) and Alternative Hypothesis (H1) were used and tested to compare the first half with second half of the year 2016. Study Design: All the Quality Indicators which were monitored during the year 2016 for the Laboratory and Blood bank were compared for the first half and second half of the year 2016 individually for measuring the …show more content…
Based on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) definition of quality of care as “the degree to which health care services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge,” [6] a quality indicator is a tool that enables the user to quantify the quality of a selected aspect of care by compar¬ing it with a criterion.[7] A quality indicator may be defined as an objective measure that evaluates critical health care domains as defined by the IOM (patient safety, effectiveness, equity, patient-centeredness, timeliness, and efficiency), is based on evidence associated with those domains, and can be implemented in a consistent and comparable manner across settings and over
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
First, this text will discuss some background on Labcorp to form a better understanding of the business, and the practices used. Labcorp is one of the largest clinical Laboratories in the world, which includes many wholly owned subsidiaries. The Laboratory Corporation of America (2013) website LabCorp has over 220,000 clients and process over 400,000 samples per day. LabCorp uses an innovative clinical laboratory processing, referral, and specimen testing information systems to create fluent, and easy to use specimen processing and testing. This process has developed through time, and LabCorp has grown into a robust multi- laboratory testing facilities through the buyout, and absorption of numerous specialty laboratories. As the buyout of subsidiaries has been a large part of the growth of this business, information technology had to grow along side, as the connection between all sites became critical for survival, to keep the stance of a premier multifunctional Laboratory tycoon (Laboratory Corporation of America, 2013).
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.
The patients should receive safe and appropriate care in return for payment equal to the level of care received (“What is Value-Based Care”, 2016). For providers, this means using affordable and proven treatments while also catering to the patient’s needs (“What is Value-Based Care”, 2016). Additionally, this model is built upon measurement which when relayed to the patient will inform them of the scope and cost of their care. Examples of measures that are tracked, provided by the article “What is Value-Based Care,” include: procedural complications, hospital-acquired infections, and readmissions; providers face penalties if these metrics are unacceptable (“What is Value-Based Care”,
The blood center supplied more than one hundred thousand whole blood donations and nine thousand six hundred apharesis donations to fifty medical facilities. The blood center collected hundreds of additional red cells by piloting the implementation of new technology (apharesis) designed to increase the blood centers available blood supply, called double red cell donation (Baker, 2003). The blood center has a laboratory where the blood center performs its own laboratory tests in house including HIV, HBV, and HCV (The blood center headquarter visit and tour, June
... 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).
Monitoring the TAT is one of the most important part of laboratory services. It is considered as the key performer indicator and many clinicians used it to judge the quality of a laboratory. In many critical care laboratories unsatisfactory TAT is a major source of complaints and it directly delays the patient treatment process. To improve the TAT in critical care laboratories, implementing the appropriate corrective measures are always important to maintain the quality assurance and provide the quality patient care.
Quality assessment and quality assurance are often found together in health care quality literature. However, these terms are not always differentiated appropriately. Quality assessment is a measurement of quality against an establish standard (Shi & Singh, 2015). The measurement of quality includes the process of describing how quality is determined, identification of specific indicators to be measured, and collection of data for the measurement, statistical analysis, and explanation of the results (Shi & Singh, 2015). Quality assurance is included with quality assurance and is the process of implementing quality through continuous assessment and using the results from the assessments for continuous improvement (Shi & Singh, 2015).
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...
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)
Quality improvement (QI) involves the regular and constant actions that enable measurable improvement in health care. QI results in enhanced health services, organizational efficiency, quality and safe care to patients, and desired health outcomes for individuals and patient populations (U. S. Department of Health and Human Service, 2011). A successful quality improvement program is patient-centered, a collaboration of teams, and uses data in systems. QI helps to develop a culture of excellence in nursing, identify and prioritize areas of improvement, promote communication and collaboration, collect and analyze data, and encourage continuous evaluation of systems and processes (American Academy
Westgard, J. O. (2013). Perspectives on Quality Control, Risk Management, and Analytical Quality Management. Clinics in Laboratory Medicine, 33(1), 1-14.
Nurses play an important role in the quality of safety because they gave treatment to patients and their negligence may affect on the health and even can die due to their negligence. Performance of quality management involves enhancing the outcomes and reducing the risks. The quality and safety improvement permeates the health care and services provided to an individual increase institution for current profession. The effective health care targeted processes that demonstrated desired outcomes. The system is important to adopt the process of various techniques and identify the prevented techniques for the influence of changing associated system. Some techniques are involved for assessment of performance and tools for the quality of improvement.
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
In the health care industry, gathering information in order to find the best diagnosis route or even determine patient satisfaction is necessary. This is complete by conducting a survey and collecting data. When the information is complete, we then have statistical information used to make administrative decision within the healthcare field. The collection of meaningful statistics is an important function of any hospital or clinic.