Components of the Quality of Healthcare Essay

Healthcare is in a constant state of change with movements that impact rates, access and quality of care. Hospitals have become more competitive due to the rising cost of care delivery and the reduction in reimbursement from payers. This causes difficulty in delivering quality care to all patients, which is being measured by mandated patient perception surveys, Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS). HCAHPS scores are part of value

This paper will describe current quality outcome measures and the significance for improving medical care. Organizational accountability and transparency has improved with the emergence of Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) programs and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPs). This article will review the role of the nurse manager in creating a culture for quality care as well as the nurse for meeting organizational and patient expectations. Organizations like The Joint Commission (JC), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and The American Nurses Association (ANA) have been critical in establishing standards for quality. This paper will also report on the most recent hospital statistics and steps taken to improve HCAHP scores and reduce readmission rates at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville (UTMCK). Statistics at UTMCK will also be compared to the Tennessee and National averages found on the Medicare website Hospital Compare. The aim of this paper is to explore if healthcare system initiatives are improving quality and enhancing patient outcomes.

Quality management is essential to the success of the quality improvement of the health care industry. “Management uses management and planning tools to organize the decision making process and create a hierarchy when faced with competing priorities “( Ransom, et al., 2008). Quality measures should have these goals: effective, safe, efficient, patient-centered, equitable, and timely care (Quality Measures, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2011).

Ransom, E. R., Joshi, M. S., Nash, D. B., & Ransom, S. B. (Eds.). (2008). The healthcare quality

The way we practice healthcare and healthcare organizations are changing due to the pressure to reduce costs, improve the quality of care and to meet rigorous guidelines. This change has forced health care professionals to examine we evaluate our overall performance. Paradise Hospital, Inc. has not had any service improvements since 1995. A physician named Avedis Donabedian (2005) proposed a model for assessing health care quality based on structures, processes, and outcomes. He defined structure as the environment in which health care is provided. This is known as the organizational characteristics such as the measurement of staffing ratios and the number of hospital beds. The process is described as the method by which health care is provided. This represents the communication and interaction seen between doctor and patient. The necessity for the tests and procedures performed. The outcome is defined as the consequence of the health care provided, was there a desirable or undesirable effect.

When dealing with healthcare organizations such as hospitals; evaluating the quality of care is essential. This will help to know what needs to be done to improve the quality of healthcare. There are a few different measures

Definitions of the quality of medical care are no longer left to clinicians who decide for themselves what technical performance constitutes “good care.” What are the other dimensions of quality care and why are they important? What has changed since the days when “doctor knows best?”

Quality measures are strategies that gauge, evaluate or compute health care processes, results, discernments, patient insight, and administrative structure. In addition, quality measures are frameworks that are connected with the capacity to deliver first-class health care and/or that are able to identify with one or more quality objectives for medicinal services. These objectives include: compelling, protected, effective, quiet focused, impartial, and opportune consideration. Quality measures can be used to measure quality improvement, public reporting, and pay-for-reporting programs specific for health care providers (CMS.gov, 2016). There are an assortment of quality measures in which health care organizations can use to determine the status of the care they are delivering. Many are appropriate, but few are chosen for this research paper. Among them are: National Health Care Surveys, Hospital IQR Programs, Scorecards, and Political, Power, and Perception/Data for Decision-making tools.

All of the quality indicators are important for hospital quality but the in-patient quality indicators for mortality rates are essential for better care. Research has shown that mortality indicators varying across different hospitals and suggests there could be deficiencies in quality of care that is causing this wide range. Therefore the mortality rates as quality indicators are important to provide better quality of care across our

Some hospital trusts and health authorities consistently outperform others on different dimensions of performance. Why? There is some evidence that “management matters”, as well as the combined efforts of individual clinicians and teams. However, studies that have been conducted on the link between the organisation

Time and again, hospitals are often called upon to improve the quality of its various health care activities in order to better serve patients and immediate communities. A quality improvement plan thus helps in the selection of high priority areas and the utilization of evidence-based practices in conducting the improvement (Berenguer et al., 2010). In view of the healthcare improvement needs of Sunlight Hospital, this paper seeks to classify and justify five measurements of quality of care in a hospital, specify the four main features in a health care organization that can be used in the design of a quality improvement plan, and suggest the salient reasons quality of care would add value and create a competitive advantage

Quality indicators enable the health care system to identify inferior care in both process or outcome and structure while enhancing quality improvement in health care (De Vos et. al, 2009, p.1).

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

Quality is one of the most essential elements of healthcare. As stated by the Agency of Health Research and Quality, “Everyday, millions of Americans receive high-quality health care that helps to maintain or restore their health and ability to function” (Agency of Health Research and Quality, 2014). Improvements have become vital to the success of health care organizations and in the Healthcare Quality Book, it is explained that quality in the U.S. healthcare system is not at the standard that it should be (Ransom, Joshi, Nash & Ransom, 2008). Although this has been a reoccurring issue, attempts to fix the insufficiency have been less successful than expected.

Quality is something that every health care agency strives to achieve. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) suggests that health care organizations develop a culture of safety such that an organization's care processes and workforce are focused on improving the reliability and safety of care for patients (Groves, Meisenbach, & Scott-Cawiezell, 2011). In order to address an issue related to health care quality, it is important to look at the frameworks that will analyze an organization and identify opportunities to improve performance. The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of an organization and an analysis of the following: mission, vision and values, strategic plan, goals,