The Status of Quality Improvement Movement in Healthcare
Learn More From This Brochure
Traditionally healthcare has been a heavily regulated industry, subject to
numerous Federal and State requirements, healthcare quality certifications and
various accreditations
There are various quality improvement initiatives in place within most
healthcare organizations, however, it’s often fragmented and typically doesn’t
yield the desired, sustainable benefits. Due to the critical nature of the
products and services being delivered, identifying and addressing related errors
is essential.
For example, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimates that medical errors cost
the nation approximately $37.6 billion per year. Approximately $17 billion of
that amount are associated with preventable errors. Additionally, more than
44,000 deaths occur annually due to error, which could make medical errors the
8th leading cause of death. At an estimated 90,000 deaths per year, hospital
acquired infections kill as many people in the U.S. as Aids, breast cancer, and
car accidents combined.
Healthcare Quality Management
It is proven that most mistakes and errors occur during the “hand-offs” of
information, requests, requirements, etc. Currently, most organizations have in
place documented healthcare quality management systems that address requirements
and responsibilities at the department or functional level; however, the quality
system doesn’t speak to the “hand-offs”/transfers/or process breakdowns that
occur between the functions and/or departments.
A healthcare quality management system needs to identify the potential system
breakdowns and address them through proactive, defined, assigned
responsibilities. These documented responsibilities then need to be verified on
a regular basis. This type of system is called a comprehensive quality
management system (QMS) in that it accounts for the interactions of the
processes. By implementing a comprehensive healthcare quality management system,
healthcare organizations and their patients will benefit greatly.
|
Choose SQA
as your ISO 9000 for Healthcare Registrar today.
|
|
A representative from SQA would like to discuss your certification needs.
