Healthcare Systems and Quality Outcomes

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Every patient would like to walk into a facility where they are sure of the reputation and the quality of healthcare. Thus, healthcare facilities should ensure that there is this sense of safety for all patients who entrust their lives to the facilities they visit. There are various ways in which healthcare facilities can improve the quality of health care and consequently promote safety.

One of these models is the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. The model is quite simple as it involves following the steps mentioned above in their sequence and achieving results. The model promotes continuous improvement as it is usually cyclical. If the first round/cycle fails to work, then the facility can implement it all over again. It begins with the determination of what the sponsors of change would like to achieve. They then develop strategies that would be best in making the set-out goals. Next, there is the ‘doing’ part where they implement the suggestion. Then comes the study where there is an analysis of the results of the plans, which leads to actions to ensure the achievement of desired results (Coury et al., 2017). The method could be useful for problems such as medication errors in healthcare facilities, which is detrimental to the quality of care and safety of the patients. Employees would receive education on the avoidance of such errors after thorough research on the causative agents of the same. There would then be regular checks to determine the workability of the training programs. The hospital should utilize such a model continuously to avoid the repetition of the same errors.

The other model could be the lean six sigma introduced by the Motorola company to aid in the elimination of variations in any process. The model will define the process requiring change, measure the present-day performance, and then determine the weaknesses from that (Yaduvanshi, 2017). There is then the designation of necessary improvements and, lastly, a verification of the success of the corrective actions.

References

Coury, J., Schneider, J., Rivelli, J., Petrik, A., Seibel, E., Agostini, B., & Taplin, S. (2017). Applying the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) approach to a sizeable pragmatic study involving safety net clinics. BMC Health Services Research

Yaduvanshi, D. (2017). Lean Six Sigma in Health Operations: Challenges and Opportunities. Journal of Health Management