Quality Improvement Program for Cedar Healthcare
Introduction
The purpose of the Quality Improvement Program in Cedar Healthcare is to continuously monitor and assess the quality of patient care, administrative services by pursuing opportunities towards improve their care; resolution of the identified problems, and allocation of responsibility to suitable persons. This will be achieved through the provision of an objective system for service delivery evaluation to the patients by development of methods meant to improve patients’ health outcomes (Besterfield, 2013). Further, the organizational interest is to provide and control the highest quality healthcare to the communities that we serve which will be attained by ensuring that we provide excellence in all fronts. The organization is committed towards regular data analysis in order to ensure continuous evaluation of performance, issue and barrier identification hindering the attainment of the set goals.
In relation to the data needed in monitoring improvements, the organization has considerable information attained from sources, such as clinical records, management systems, surveys, as well as the external health assessments (Chao, 2007). A disciplined focus on this data provided will allow our organization to evaluate the current system, seek to recognize opportunities for improvement, and most importantly monitor our performance improvement over a period time. This is important because the organizational scope will include care and services members from clinical and non- clinical fields. Cedar Healthcare further recognizes the recent public health goals and their relevance to members and therefore encourages preventive care while at the same time promoting outreach programs for immunizations, breast cancer awareness and screening.
Organizational system
Cedar Healthcare consists of an executive committee that guides the establishment of other committees whether medical and administrative. These multi-disciplinary committees monitor patient’s care quality and also issues related to support survives. With powers to participate in Quality improvement activities, they are mandated with powers to appoint the Vice President of Medical Management whose mandate is to oversee the quality improvement activities that are developed and implemented by the Quality Improvement Council. The objective of the quality improvement program is majorly to quality of patients’ care quality of behavioral health care improvements and more importantly separation between medical services, fiscal and administrative management. The Council is composed of 13 members and requires a majority of 3 physicians with voting posers to have a quorum.
With regard to communication, Cedar Healthcare make notification of information about the Quality Improvement project and the achievements realized to its members through various communication platforms such as newsletters, official website and an executive summary and provide additional understandable materials its members relating to the care and service of the member. In order to track progress of goal and the completion timeline the organizational yearly work plan to be completed by February 15th of each year is to include quality improvement of goals, and quality of service, monitoring of identified issues, including tracking issues over and the use of quality improvement evaluation findings in developing the following years plan. Other reporting requirement includes semi-annual report and annual program evaluation.
Tools of data collection
While addressing methods of data collection, quantitative methods entails the use of frequencies and numbers resulting in measurable data. Quantitative method of research is particularistic and deductive a characteristic that makes it to be based upon formulation of research hypotheses and consequently verify them empirically using a specific set of data. Apart from stating research questions in very specific terms, quantitative methods achieve very high reliability levels of data the gathered due to controlled observations leading to minimized subjectivity of the finding. While qualitative methods on the other hand, collects data containing expressive characteristics as opposed to numeric values that draw statistical conclusion. This form of data is observable but not measurable providing significant information on patterns.
Whether it is either quantitative or qualitative methods, there are various types of tools that are used in collecting data and among them are focus groups and surveys which are similarly based on questions or discussions. Focus group involves group interviewing in which recording method, information analysis and collection of unbiased information have made focus group to gain reliability as accurate. This method is qualitative as that the data being measured is descriptive. Surveys, on the other hand, differ from focus groups because they are deeper while at the same time rely on a larger sample size in order to have a more reliable conclusion from the collected data. This method is considered more quantitative and is can be replicated and can be used in research with statistical techniques. With these two methods, there is certainly a difference in the economics and logistics of the two. These two types of tools share similarities making them applicable to research and analysis performed by leaders in business. Both starts with a question or problem that ought to be answered which forms the foundation of the whole process of research. Similarly, both tools require research plans and that the data collected by the use of either tool requires in-depth knowledge that will enable the researcher to identify themes generating insights into the posed research questions hence leading to a conclusion. Focus groups have strength of allowing probing and exploring of ideas. However, the use of this tool is expensive and results to very low measurement validity. Surveys tool on the other hand is characterized as being cheap, high representativeness leading to precise results. This notwithstanding, it has some weaknesses that they have inflexible design and therefore cannot be used on conversational issues.
Quality improvement tools
Examples of quality improvement tools are flowcharts and fishbone diagrams.
Flowcharts are an easy way to picture the process hence easier to understand and improve. A flowchart demonstrates sequential the steps of any process and can be used to illustrating sequence of activities. In comparison, a fishbone diagram helps investigate the process and it is mostly used together with the flowchart to sort out the group of factors involved in a given process. This diagram is commonly known as a cause and effect diagram as it identifies possible causes for a particular problem. The use of fishbone diagram as a quality improvement tool has the advantage of easy to implementation and applies simple representation of causes and needs (Stecher et al, 2004). As a weakness, the tool’s simplicity makes it hard to embody the true interrelated nature of problems and causes as well.
In summary, Quality Improvement is a process and collection, analyzing and data interpretation continues throughout the project duration. At the end of the project, the Quality Improvement Councils should consult with the other leaders such as the Vice President and decide on whether to continue with it or not.
References
Besterfield, D. H. (2013). Quality improvement. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice
Hall.
Institute of Medicine (U.S.)., & Chao, S. (2007). Advancing quality improvement
research: Challenges and opportunities – workshop summary. Washington, D.C: National Academies Press.
Stecher, B. M., Kirby, S. N., & Rand Education (Institute). (2004). Organizational
improvement and accountability: Lessons for education from other sectors. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corp.
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