Fundamentals of Quality & Safety in Healthcare

Fundamentals of Quality & Safety in Healthcare

• Quality healthcare depends on human and financial resources, professional standards, and available structural attributes like equipment and technology.
• Patient safety is a key criterion for evaluating healthcare systems' performance.
• Quality care begins with ensuring safe care.
• Quality interventions should be conducted correctly, according to established standards, maximizing results without unnecessary costs or risks.

Quality in General

• Doing the right things (what) to the right people (to whom) at the right time (when).
• Doing things correctly the first time, for the right client, in the right way, to achieve the best possible results.
• Customers include patients, family, and others outside the organization receiving services.
• Internal customers are those who work within the organization, dependent on others.

Quality Health Services

• Effective care, provided correctly based on current knowledge and evidence-based guidelines.
• Safe care, minimizing risks to patients and others.
• Patient-centered care, respectful and responsive to individual needs, values, and preferences.
• Timely care, procedures and services provided as quickly as possible without delay.
• Equitable care, not varying based on personal characteristics like gender, race, etc.
• Integrated care, coordinated across facilities and providers.

Quality of Care Goals

• Reduce harm to patients.
• Improve the effectiveness of health services.
• Engage and empower patients, families, and communities.

Quality Indicators

• Measures used to assess quality of care.
• Allow performance review.
• Include examples like pain assessment, nursing turnover, and nosocomial infections.
• Should be relevant, appropriate, common/routine or uncommon/rare, and simple to complex.

Quality Improvement Activities

• Continuous improvement in performance.
• Using data-driven methods for decision-making.
• Improvement in quality and safety of patient care.

Quality Indicators Development

• Establish measurement framework, criteria, and development approach.
• Evaluation of proposed indicators.
• Maintenance and implementation plan development.

Quality Indicators - Examples

• Medication errors, prescription errors, and transcription errors.
• Administration errors and percentage of admissions with adverse drug reactions.
• Compliance rate to prescription in capitals, patient reaction to medications, and the development of adverse drug events.
• Contrast allergic reactions.

Quality Control in Healthcare

• Activities that evaluate, monitor, or regulate services.
• The process involved typically has eight steps.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

• Continuous improvement in all areas of operations.
• Focusing on human and capital resources.
• Reducing the cost of poor quality.

Structure Process Outcome Model

• Evaluating quality by examining inputs, processes, and outcomes.
  • Inputs (patients, resources).
  • Processes (procedures, interventions).
  • Outcomes (physiological parameters, functional status, and satisfaction).

Prevention Quality Indicators (PQI) and Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQI)

• Identifying issues with access to care and inpatient care.
• Focused on prevention and improvement.

Barriers to Staff Empowerment

• Lack of senior leader support.
• Resource limitations.
• Poor teamwork and support.

Explore the key principles of quality and safety in healthcare. This quiz covers the importance of human resources, professional standards, and patient safety in evaluating healthcare systems. Gain insights into delivering quality care effectively and efficiently.