Quality Assurance in Healthcare PDF

Quality Assurance in Health Care Dr. Ayat Gamal El-Din Saied Dr. Saied Lecturer at Department of Neuromuscular disorders and its surgery. OBJECTIVES Revision of quality definition. Know the quality elements and components. Know Perspect...

Quality Assurance in Health Care Dr. Ayat Gamal El-Din Saied Dr. Saied Lecturer at Department of Neuromuscular disorders and its surgery. OBJECTIVES Revision of quality definition. Know the quality elements and components. Know Perspectives of Quality: Know Benefits of Quality Assurance Know Standard meaning Quality definition: Quality of health care is: Doing the right things (what) to the right people (to whom) at the right time (when) and doing things right first time  Quality of health care is: how much the increase in healthy lives by the available health services and linking them with a well detailed data base and how to measure health care; to get further more enhancement health care services. Quality Approaches Difference between quality control, quality assurance and quality management The Elements of Quality: Seven measurable characteristics of health services that increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge The Elements of Quality: Poor quality is costly “Wasteful care is either directly harmful to health or is harmful by displacing more useful care”. Costs of poor quality that are obvious include: Wrong diagnosis. Wrong treatment. Repeated visits to the outpatient department. Prolonged illness. Death. Costs that are hidden include: Wasted time to both patient and health worker. Unnecessary treatment, wasted drugs. Patients not complying with treatment. Unnecessary laboratory tests. Wasted reagents. Frustrated patients. Low staff morale **Increasing effectiveness naturally leads to  an increase in efficiency.** Quality Components in Health System: Technical Quality: on which, usually service providers (doctors, nurses & para-medical staff) are more concerned and has a bearing on outcome or end-result of services delivered. Service Quality: pertains to those aspects of facility-based care and services, which patients are often more concerned, and has bearing on patient satisfaction. Perspectives of Quality:  The Patient/Client want services that: Are delivered on time by friendly and respectful staff. Are safe, produce positive result and that they can afford. Provide them with adequate information about their condition and treatment. Provide them with all the drugs they need. Give privacy. Are within their reach (distance) and given in a language they can understand.  The Health Staff Provider can provide quality care if he/she has: Adequate knowledge and skills. Enough resources- staff, drugs, supplies, equipment and transport. Safe and clean workplace. Opportunity to regularly improve himself/ herself. Is well paid and rewarded for good work.  The Health Care Manager Managing efficiently the resources of the health facility. Health staff achieving set targets. Health staff being regularly supported and supervised. Having adequate and competent staff to provide care. Staff being disciplined. Providing enough resources for work. Society’s: At the broader societal level, quality of care reflects concern of cost effectiveness, equal access and equity in service delivery, transparency and extent of out-of-pocket expenditure. Society also perceives quality in terms of protection of health rights specialty of marginalized and vulnerable populations. Governments/Administrators : An administrator perceives quality in terms of optimal and rational utilization of resources, maximum satisfaction by the users of health facility, delivery of all components under the health programs, compliance to treatment guidelines & clinical protocols, and improvement in the health status of population. Benefits of Quality Assurance: Benefits to the Clients: Good health outcomes. Client satisfaction. Value for money. Benefits to Health Providers: Health staff become more satisfied with their work. Health workers understand patients better. Information flow among staff is improved. Health staff who perform well are rewarded. Benefits to the Health Institution: Patients become more satisfied with the services. More patients may use our services. The environment will become clean and beautiful. The facility will have a good reputation. Principles of QA Remember Could Quality be measured?? No, there is no absolute measure of quality (there are no “quals”, “kiloquals” or even “microquals” that can be counted). But that does not mean that quality cannot be measured. “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.” Peter Drucker Standards Quality Standards are derived from high quality evidence, accompanied by measurable indicators, and developed in consultation with relevant local groups. It states clearly the inputs required to deliver a service, how things should be done (process) and what the output or outcome should be. **Comparing??  Key principles of Quality Standards: - They are derived from the best available evidence, for example clinical guidelines such as WHO guidelines. - They are produced collaboratively with all the interested parties (for example government, clinicians and professional organizations) and service users (patients and careers) - They are developed through a transparent process - They are reviewed regularly.  Quality Standards do not: - Review or re-assess the underlying evidence base. - Provide specific details about how a service is organized or operates. PDCA cycle: Thank you 