Quiz 17: Managing Quality and Safety

Quality is a term, which does not have any proper definition. It is often defined relative to other objects and it varies from person to person. In terms of health, it is defined as any activity or object, which improves the health of the client. It includes the health services, which result in better health of a person. Quality assurance is the maintenance of established levels of quality in delivering a service or a product. Every stage of the development is supervised by the person responsible for maintenance of the quality level. Quality assurance is related to the quality improvement. Quality improvement is a guarantee by the provider of the service or the product to meet the set standards of the quality. Quality assurance defines the set parameters to be achieved. In public health services, the activities, which aim to meet the needs of the community, are included in the process of quality improvement. It is a continuous process, which aims at the set standards.

Quality in terms of health is defined as any activity or object, which improves the health of the client. Quality assurance is the maintenance of established levels of quality in delivering a service or a product. Quality improvement is the process of implementing the activities, which help to reach the defined quality standards. There are various approaches to the same. General approaches include credentialing and licensure. Credentialing is defined as the process of recognition of an agency, which has been able to reach the established standards of quality. The procedure of health care services and their outcomes are examined carefully. Licensure is defined as a process of providing formal permission to a provider to practice a particular service. The specific approaches to quality improvement include the measurement of effectiveness and safety. Effectiveness is the measure of the benefit of the service to the client. Safety includes the avoidance of injuries to the clients from the healthcare services.

Quality assurance is an organized procedure with the expected outcomes. Quality assurance is defined as the maintenance of established levels of quality in delivering a service or a product. Every stage of the development is supervised by the person responsible for maintenance of the quality level. The basic components of a model quality program are the structure, process, and outcomes. The structure of a quality program deals with the identification of the values and the philosophy of the client. The process of a quality assurance program deals with the identification of the process standards and the criteria. The professional nursing standards are applied and the nursing care procedures are defined. It also includes evaluation of the personnel performance. The outcomes of a quality assurance program include the identification of the standards and the criteria to measure the outcome. It results in the change in the health status of the client, the safety of the client, satisfaction of the client, documentation, and the effectiveness of the services.