STANDARDS AND EVALUATION OF HEALTHCARE QUALITY, SAFETY, AND PERSON-CENTERED CARE

Course overview

THE FUNCTION OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT (QM) IN GENERAL (OR OF HEALTHCARE QUALITY MANAGEMENT (HQM) IN PARTICULAR) IS TO IMPROVE QUALITY, AS DEFINED HEREIN, THROUGH DATA ANALYSIS AND THE IDENTIFICATION OF ROOT CAUSES (INDEPENDENT VARIABLES) OF EVENTS. HEALTHCARE IS A SERVICE OFFERED TO PERSONS WHO ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY PATIENTS IN A TRADITIONAL SENSE AND CUSTOMERS IN A MODERN SENSE. THIS ARTICLE FOCUSES ON THE DELIVERY OF HEALTH SERVICES AND PRODUCTS IN BOTH SENSES. ALTHOUGH SOME PERSONS TOUT AMERICAN HEALTHCARE AS HAVING THE HIGHEST QUALITY, THERE IS MUCH DATA TO INDICATE, ON THE CONTRARY, THAT AMERICAN HCPS HAVE MUCH ROOM TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THEIR SERVICES. NATIONAL STANDARDS IN THE US ARE DETERMINED BY THE FEDERAL LEGISLATURE, THE FEDERAL COURTS, THE PRESIDENT, AND THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT REPORT TO THESE ENTITIES. THE ARTICLE DISCUSSES THE REGULATION OF QUALITY, TOOLS FOR ANALYZING QUALITY RETROSPECTIVELY AND IN REAL-TIME, AND STRATEGIES FOR USING INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAMS TO DELIVER QUALITY HEALTHCARE.