Health Services Quality and Patient Satisfaction

2017 ◽  
pp. 1172-1182
Author(s):  
Sofia Xesfingi ◽  
Athanassios Vozikis
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Healthcare Quality ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Care Industry ◽  
Medical Health

Quality of care from the patient's perspective and patient satisfaction are two major multidimensional concepts that are used several times interchangeably. Patient satisfaction is a topic that is important both to medical (health) providers, the patients (consumers) and other third-party stakeholders in the medical care industry; it is, therefore, a dominant concept in quality assurance and quality improvement programmes. Patient satisfaction is an important measure of healthcare quality because it offers information on the provider's success at meeting the expectations of most relevance to the client. The importance of quality in the health care sector has been recognized recently, but it has been accelerated over the past years through the development of quality assurance, quality improvement programmes and patients' agendas. Patients are the ones situated at the front lines of care; therefore their opinion may provide useful insights into the quality of healthcare in different European systems, nevertheless the methodological limitations that should be taken into consideration.

Health Services Quality and Patient Satisfaction

2016 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Xesfingi ◽  
Athanassios Vozikis
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Healthcare Quality ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Care Industry ◽  
Medical Health

Quality of care from the patient's perspective and patient satisfaction are two major multidimensional concepts that are used several times interchangeably. Patient satisfaction is a topic that is important both to medical (health) providers, the patients (consumers) and other third-party stakeholders in the medical care industry; it is, therefore, a dominant concept in quality assurance and quality improvement programmes. Patient satisfaction is an important measure of healthcare quality because it offers information on the provider's success at meeting the expectations of most relevance to the client. The importance of quality in the health care sector has been recognized recently, but it has been accelerated over the past years through the development of quality assurance, quality improvement programmes and patients' agendas. Patients are the ones situated at the front lines of care; therefore their opinion may provide useful insights into the quality of healthcare in different European systems, nevertheless the methodological limitations that should be taken into consideration.

scholarly journals Going operational with health systems governance: supervision and incentives to health workers for increased quality of care in Tanzania

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii77-ii92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Francetic ◽  
Fabrizio Tediosi ◽  
Paola Salari ◽  
Don de Savigny
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Health Facility ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Healthcare Quality

Abstract Improving the quality of care is increasingly recognized as a priority of health systems in low- and middle-income countries. Given the labour-intensive nature of healthcare interventions, quality of care largely depends upon the number, training and management of health workers involved in service delivery. Policies available to boost the performance of health workers—and thus the quality of healthcare—include regulation, incentives and supervision—all of which are typically included in quality improvement frameworks and policies. This was the case in Tanzania, where we assessed the role of selected quality improvement policies. To do so, we analysed data from a representative sample of Tanzanian government-managed health facilities, part of the 2014/15 Service Provision Assessment component of the Demographic and Health Survey. We constructed two healthcare quality indicators from data on patient visits: (1) compliance with Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) guidelines and (2) patient satisfaction. Using multilevel ordered logistic regression models, we estimated the associations between the outcomes and selected indicators of incentives and supervisory activity at health worker and health facility level. We did not identify any association for the different indicators of top-down supervision at facility and individual level, neither with IMCI compliance nor with patients’ satisfaction. Bottom-up supervision, defined as meetings between community and health facility staff, was significantly associated with higher patient satisfaction. Financial incentives in the form of salary top-ups were positively associated with both IMCI compliance and patient satisfaction. Both housing allowances and government-subsidized housing were positively associated with our proxies of quality of care. Good healthcare quality is crucial for promoting health in Tanzania not only through direct outcomes of the process of care but also through increased care-seeking behaviour in the communities. The results of this study highlight the role of community involvement, better salary conditions and housing arrangements for health workers.

CQI: Meeting the Mandate for Quality

1995 ◽  
Vol 112 (5) ◽  
pp. P111-P111
Author(s):  
Carl A. Patow
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Continuous Quality Improvement ◽  
Educational Objectives ◽  
Continuous Quality

Educational objectives: To understand the principles of continuous quality improvement and to use these principles to enhance patient satisfaction through increased efficiency and improved quality of care.

scholarly journals National initiatives to promote quality of care and patient safety: achievements to date and challenges ahead

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalia Dreiher ◽  
Olga Blagorazumnaya ◽  
Ran Balicer ◽  
Jacob Dreiher
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Quality Indicators ◽  
Patient Experience ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Care Providers

Abstract Background The quality of healthcare in Israel is considered “high”, and this achievement is due to the structure and organization of the healthcare system. The goal of the present review is to describe the major achievements and challenges of quality improvement in the Israeli healthcare system. Body In recent years, the Ministry of Health has made major strides in increasing the public’s access to comparative data on quality, finances and patient satisfaction. Several mechanisms at multiple levels help promote quality improvement and patient safety. These include legislation, financial incentives, and national programs for quality indicators, patient experience, patient safety, prevention and control of infection and accreditation. Over the years, improvements in quality indicators, infection prevention and patient satisfaction can be demonstrated, but other fields show little change, if at all. Challenges and barriers include reluctance by unions, inconsistent and unreliable flow of information, the fear of overpressure by management and the loss of autonomy by physicians, and doubts regarding “gaming” of data. Accreditation has its own challenges, such as the need to adjust it to local characteristics of the healthcare system, its high cost, and the limited evidence of its impact on quality. Lack of interest by leaders, lack of resources, burnout and compassion fatigue, are listed as challenges for improving patient experience. Conclusion Substantial efforts are being made in Israel to improve quality of care, based on the use of good data to understand what is working and what needs particular attention. Government and health care providers have the tools to continue to improve. However, several mechanisms for improving the quality of care, such as minimizing healthcare disparities, training for quality, and widespread implementation of the “choosing wisely” initiative, should be implemented more intensively and effectively.

Involvement in Medical Informatics May Enable Pharmacists to Expand Their Consultation Potential and Improve the Quality of Healthcare

1992 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alise E. Woodruff ◽  
C. Anthony Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Medical Informatics ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Knowledge Based Systems ◽  
Related Services ◽  
Medical Computing ◽  
Knowledge Based

The outlook for pharmacy-related services foretells more involvement of both computers and information systems. Expert therapeutic systems and databases will enable pharmacists to expand their consultation potential through networks and improve the quality of healthcare that they provide. Therapeutic information management could be the largest pharmacy speciality of the future. As knowledge-based systems and networks become commonplace, there will be an increasing need for new components, system monitoring, and quality assurance. This is an opportunity for pharmacy to bring medical computing, as it relates to therapeutics, into the mainstream of the profession as a new discipline.

scholarly journals Combined quality function deployment and logical framework analysis to improve quality of emergency care in Malta

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Catherine Buttigieg ◽  
Prasanta Kumar Dey ◽  
Mary Rose Cassar
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Quality Function Deployment ◽  
Patient Flow ◽  
Healthcare Quality ◽  
Improve Quality ◽  
Logical Framework ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated patient-focused analytical framework to improve quality of care in accident and emergency (A & E) unit of a Maltese hospital. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a case study approach. First, a thorough literature review has been undertaken to study the various methods of healthcare quality management. Second, a healthcare quality management framework is developed using combined quality function deployment (QFD) and logical framework approach (LFA). Third, the proposed framework is applied to a Maltese hospital to demonstrate its effectiveness. The proposed framework has six steps, commencing with identifying patients’ requirements and concluding with implementing improvement projects. All the steps have been undertaken with the involvement of the concerned stakeholders in the A & E unit of the hospital. Findings – The major and related problems being faced by the hospital under study were overcrowding at A & E and shortage of beds, respectively. The combined framework ensures better A & E services and patient flow. QFD identifies and analyses the issues and challenges of A & E and LFA helps develop project plans for healthcare quality improvement. The important outcomes of implementing the proposed quality improvement programme are fewer hospital admissions, faster patient flow, expert triage and shorter waiting times at the A & E unit. Increased emergency consultant cover and faster first significant medical encounter were required to start addressing the problems effectively. Overall, the combined QFD and LFA method is effective to address quality of care in A & E unit. Practical/implications – The proposed framework can be easily integrated within any healthcare unit, as well as within entire healthcare systems, due to its flexible and user-friendly approach. It could be part of Six Sigma and other quality initiatives. Originality/value – Although QFD has been extensively deployed in healthcare setup to improve quality of care, very little has been researched on combining QFD and LFA in order to identify issues, prioritise them, derive improvement measures and implement improvement projects. Additionally, there is no research on QFD application in A & E. This paper bridges these gaps. Moreover, very little has been written on the Maltese health care system. Therefore, this study contributes demonstration of quality of emergency care in Malta.

Satisfaction May Not Suffice!: A Commentary on ‘a Patient's Perspective’

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Cleary
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Cognitive Interviewing ◽  
Health Plans ◽  
Quality Of Medical Care ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Consumer Assessment ◽  
Quality Assessment And Improvement

AbstractThere are inherent limitations in using assessments of patient satisfaction to make inferences about the quality of medical care. Such evaluations tend to be subjective, subject to reporting biases, and difficult to interpret when they are being used to motivate and guide quality improvement efforts. Newer methods of eliciting both reports and ratings from consumers, such as the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans (CAHPS) project, can provide reliable, valid, interpretable, and actionable data about selected aspects of health care. The use of these methods and continued use of new qualitative methods, such as cognitive interviewing, should allow us to continue increasing the prominence of consumer-based information in quality assessment and improvement efforts.

scholarly journals Quality Assurance for Interventional Pain Management Procedures in Private Practice

2008 ◽  
Vol 1;11 (1;1) ◽  
pp. 43-55
Author(s):  
YiLi Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Pain Management ◽  
Pain Relief ◽  
Private Practice ◽  
Complication Rates ◽  
Large Joint ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
Interventional Pain Management

Background: A recent study has indicated that quality assurance for interventional pain management procedures (IPMPs) can be achieved in university pain clinics. However, the issue of quality assurance for IPMPs in private practice has not yet been addressed. Objective: This study was designed to monitor the quality of IPMPs in a private pain practice in north Florida. Methods: From November 2005 to July 2006, we monitored the quality of IPMPs in a private pain practice in north Florida. Questionnaires regarding degree of pain relief, patient satisfaction, and complications were handed to patients immediately after the completion of each IPMP. Follow-up phone calls were also made to patients 1 day after the IPMPs. Results: A total of 771 (male: 249, female: 522) patients with a mean age of 58.1 years participated in the study. Office-based IPMPs included lumbar and cervical epidural steroid injections, lumbar and cervical facet joint blocks, selective nerve root blocks, lumbar and cervical sympathetic nerve blocks, sacroiliac joint injection, and large joint injections. Seven-hundred patients (90.8%) reported various degrees of pain relief immediately following IPMPs. Average pain score decreased by 4.3 on a 0 to 10 scale (p=<0.001). Number needed to be treated (NNT) to reach 50% or more pain relief immediately after IPMPs was 1.4. Six-hundred ninety-two (89.7%) patients were satisfied or very satisfied with the results of IPMPs. sixty-two patients (8%) developed headaches after IPMPs, which lasted from 30 minutes to 4 days. None of these patients required a blood patch. Five patients developed moderate vasovagal responses during IPMPs, in which their heart rates decreased to <45/min, BP <90/60mmHg. The IPMPs were aborted immediately. All of these patients recovered uneventfully within a few minutes. No other serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions: The results of the current study suggest that high quality private interventional pain programs with high efficacy, high patient satisfaction, and low complication rates can be achieved through appropriate staff training, proper monitoring of patients during IPMPs, and adequate handling of patients after the IPMPs. Key words: Interventional pain management procedures, quality assurance, efficacy, patient satisfaction

scholarly journals Development and Progress of a Collaborative Learning Model for Quality Improvement in the Field of Palliative Care in India

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 189-196
Author(s):  
Nandini Vallath ◽  
Michelle De Natale ◽  
Karl A Lorenz ◽  
Sushma Bhatnagar ◽  
Jake Mickelsen
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Symptom Control ◽  
Healthcare Quality ◽  
Quality Of Services ◽  
Care Approach ◽  
Spiritual Connectedness ◽  
Individual Service ◽  
Quality Evidence

Quality is central to healthcare and even more so in the field of palliative care. Palliative care approach is centered around discovering facets of care crucial to improving the quality of life of the patient; be it symptom control, emotional concerns, impact on social roles or reviving the sense of spiritual connectedness. Although there are essential and desirable standards for quality of services, the journey taken by a service, toward quality improvement (QI), is often complex and uncharted. It is up to individual service units to strive toward improvement and reach higher levels of quality. Evidence suggests using a structured methodology for successful improvement in healthcare quality, as most problems are complex and multifaceted. This article introduces the concept and application of QI methodology in the field of palliative care in India and provides an overview of the first cohort of QI projects, facilitated through an international collaborative. The sequence of training, the tools, and the key ingredients for success are enumerated.

The Social Role of Technology in Healthcare Quality Improvement

2012 ◽  
pp. 178-186
Author(s):  
Anastasia K. Kadda
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Healthcare Quality ◽  
Health Technology ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Healthcare Quality Improvement ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
The Social

The aim of this study is to describe the social role of technology in healthcare quality improvement. Methodologically, the study was based on a review of the relevant literature, Greek and foreign, as well as Internet sources related to the social role of technology in healthcare quality improvement. The main conclusions drawn were the following: a) The development of new technologies in the field of health and their involvement within the social context is today a fast accelerating process; b) The presentday expansion of health-oriented technology is of vital importance because of current trends in the field of healthcare and of the social evolution on healthcare services; c) Information technology is capable of profoundly contributing to the improvement of the quality of health, and thus to the wellbeing of the citizens in a society; d) By the use of health technology, more efficient and productive financial management is achieved with numerous benefits for the economy; e) Electronic health can improve the quality of healthcare thereby facilitating the work of health professionals; f) Greek society is being increasingly influenced by both international and domestic scientific and technological advances in health technology despite the existence of significant legal barriers; g) Current trends in the European Union as far as health technology is concerned are intimately connected with expanding citizen participation in the electronic revolution and their increasing access to the Information Society.

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