scholarly journals Improving Quality in Primary Care: A Model for Change

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 320-329
Author(s):  
Dr. Jose A. PonceVega ◽  
Dr. Irene A. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Health Care Quality ◽  
Target Population ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Health Care Leaders ◽  
Care Facilities

Health care spending accounts for 17.7% of the gross domestic product in the United States, and it is expected to continue rising at an annual rate of 5.3%. Despite high costs, health care quality lags behind other high-income countries; yet, over 70% of change initiatives fail. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies primary care leaders use for implementing quality improvement initiatives to improve patient outcomes and reduce waste in primary care facilities. The target population consisted of 3 health care leaders of 3 primary care facilities in southern California who successfully implemented quality improvement initiatives. The conceptual framework for this study was Kotter’s 8-step of change management. Data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with senior health care leaders, document review, and quality reports. Patterns were identified through a rigorous process of data familiarization, data coding, and theme development and revision. Interpretations from the data were subjected to member-checking to ensure trustworthiness of the findings. Four themes emerged from this study: communication, leadership support, inclusive decision-making, and employee recognition.

scholarly journals A Brief History of Quality Improvement in Health Care and Spinal Surgery

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 5S-9S
Author(s):  
Kevin Hines ◽  
Nikolaos Mouchtouris ◽  
John J. Knightly ◽  
James Harrop
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Spinal Surgery ◽  
Health Care Quality ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
Quality Improvement Initiative ◽  
Institute Of Medicine ◽  
Technological Advances

While medical and technological advances continue to shape and advance health care, there has been growing emphasis on translating these advances into improvement in overall health care quality outcomes in the United States. Innovators such as Abraham Flexner and Ernest Codman engaged in rigorous reviews of systems and patient outcomes igniting wider spread interest in quality improvement in health care. Codman’s efforts even contributed to the founding of the American College of Surgeons. This society catalyzed a quality improvement initiative across the United States and the formation of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals. Since that time, those such as Avedis Donabedian and the Institute of Medicine have worked to structure the process of improving both the quality and delivery of health care. Significant advances include the defining of minimum standards for hospital accreditation, 7 pillars of quality in medicine, and the process by which quality in medicine is evaluated. All of these factors have affected current practice more each day. In a field such as spinal surgery, cost and quality measures are continually emphasized and led to large outcome databases to better evaluate outcomes in complex, heterogeneous populations. Going forward, these databases will be instrumental in developing practice patterns and improving spinal surgery outcomes.

Patient-Centered, Integrated Health Care Quality Measures Could Improve Health Literacy, Language Access, and Cultural Competence

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignatius Bau ◽  
Robert A. Logan ◽  
Christopher Dezii ◽  
Bernard Rosof ◽  
Alicia Fernandez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Health Care Quality ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
National Committee ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Organizational System ◽  
Language Access

The authors of this paper recommend the integration of health care quality improvement measures for health literacy, language access, and cultural competence. The paper also notes the importance of patient-centered and equity-based institutional performance assessments or monitoring systems. The authors support the continued use of specific measures such as assessing organizational system responses to health literacy or the actual availability of needed language access services such as qualified interpreters as part of overall efforts to maintain quality and accountability. Moreover, this paper is informed by previous recommendations from a commissioned paper provided by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) to the Roundtable on Health Literacy of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. In the commissioned paper, NCQA explained that health literacy, language access, and cultural competence measures are siloed and need to generate results that enhance patient care improvements. The authors suggest that the integration of health literacy, language access, and cultural competence measures will provide for institutional assessment across multiple dimensions of patient vulnerabilities. With such integration, health care organizations and providers will be able to cultivate the tools needed to identify opportunities for quality improvement as well as adapt care to meet diverse patients’ complex needs. Similarly, this paper reinforces the importance of providing more “measures that matter” within clinical settings.

scholarly journals Quality indicators of dental health care in Serbia

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-42
Author(s):  
Svetlana Jovanović ◽  
Maja Milošević ◽  
Irena Aleksić-Hajduković ◽  
Jelena Mandić
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Health System ◽  
Quality Indicators ◽  
Health Care Quality ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
System Quality ◽  
Quality Health Care ◽  
Quality Health

Summary Health care has witnessed considerable progresses toward quality improvement over the past two decades. More precisely, there have been global efforts aimed to improve this aspect of health care along with experts and decision-makers reaching the consensus that quality is one of the most significant dimensions and features of health system. Quality health care implies highly efficient resource use in order to meet patient’s needs in terms of prevention and treatment. Quality health care is provided in a safe way while meeting patients’ expectations and avoiding unnecessary losses. The mission of continuous improvement in quality of care is to achieve safe and reliable health care through mutual efforts of all the key supporters of health system to protect patients’ interests. A systematic approach to measuring the process of care through quality indicators (QIs) poses the greatest challenge to continuous quality improvement in health care. Quality indicators are quantitative indicators used for monitoring and evaluating quality of patient care and treatment, continuous professional development (CPD), maintaining waiting lists, patients and staff satisfaction, and patient safety.

The essence, content and characteristics of medical services’ quality

2021 ◽  
pp. 40-43
Author(s):  
Constantin Etco ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Health Care System ◽  
Health Care Quality ◽  
Services Quality ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Care System

One of the priorities of the health care system in Moldova is the medical services’ quality improvement. Th is article presents various defi nitions for health care quality and the principles connected with quality improvement. An important part in this article is allocated to the structure and main principles of total quality management in the health care system. Th is part reveals the problems of the commissions that are studying the quality of medical services in healthcare establishments.

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