Quality Improvement Flashcards
What is Quality?
The degree in which healthcare services for individuals and populations increase the probability of desired health outcomes, that are aligned with current professional knowledge.
What is Quality Improvement?
The framework used to systemically improve care and seeks to standardize processes and structure to reduce variation, achieve predictable results, and improve outcomes for patients, and healthcare organizations.
What are “processes”
knowledge capital (standard operating procedures) and human capital (education and training)
What are “structures”
things like technology, culture, leadership, and physical capital
What is benchmarking?
The process of measuring key clinical metrics and practices and comparing them with other healthcare organizations to understand how and where the organization needs to change in order to improve performance. The areas of focus are:
- High impact areas that safeguard patient care and public health.
- Measures that are patient-centered and meaningful to patients
- Outcome-based measures
- Fulfilling governmental requirements
- Identifying opportunities for improvement
- Addressing needs for population-based payment
What are the four types of benchmarking?
- Internal
- External
- Performance
- Practice
What is internal benchmarking?
Internal benchmarking compares metrics and/or practices from different units, product lines, departments, programs, geographies, etc within an organization.
What is external benchmarking?
External benchmarking compares metrics/practices of one organization to one or or many others. You may need a third party to facilitate data collection.
What is performance benchmarking?
Gathering and comparing quantitative data (measures or key performance indicators.) The result is data that informs decision making
What is practice benchmarking?
Gathering and comparing qualitative information about how an activity is conducted through people, processes and technology. It provides insight into where and how performance gaps occur, and best practices that the organization can apply to other areas.
What is Quality improvement?
Making health care safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable.
What is a national benchmark of performance?
When your organization reports numbers to a national agency and that national agency compares the numbers for your organization to the other organizations in the country. National benchmarks come from an outside organization that sets the standards for the industry (best practice) and are used to compare the performance of the organization.
