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Standard Quality of Care Hcs 451

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Substandard Quality of Care HCS 451 Health Care Quality Management and Outcomes Analysis Professor Jodi Sapaguh By Lisa Gresley August 9, 2010 Substandard quality of health care is duly recognized as a major form of medical crises with potential to jeopardize the functioning and purpose of the American health care system. Whereas on the one hand medical costs of treatment are rising, on the other malpractices and non compliance on the part of medical professionals and institutions compounds the problem and seriously questions the quality of health care being provided to citizens. However, before proceeding further it is important to understand what is exactly meant by the substandard quality of care. The substandard quality of …show more content…

Healthcare information technology forms a pivotal part of today 's healthcare system. Improved quality of healthcare, patient safety, drastic reduction in medical errors and enhancement of care delivery is possible because of the induction of these solutions in the healthcare delivery environment. Today, healthcare IT solutions are enabling processes like planning, decision-making related to organizational development, strategic planning to drive growth, recruitment of competent personnel, managing employee benefits, payroll, intra-department communication, etc. One policy that has changed the health care delivery to shift cost responsibility toward the hospital was the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982. This policy has changed hospital reimbursement under Medicare with the introduction of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) (Sultz & Young, 2009). The DRG prospective payment system rewarded hospitals financially for efficient care (specifically shorter hospital stays) and reduced the incentive to consume (Sultz & Young, 2009). Another policy that placed the burden of responsibility on the hospital was the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 which required hospitals to provide care to everyone who presented in the emergency department regardless of ability to pay (Sultz & Young, 2009). This law was designed with good intent to reduce the “patient dumping” that had arisen from the DRG system, but it nevertheless

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