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Improving the Quality of Healthcare
Although the quality of healthcare in the USA has improved considerably over the decades, there is still a lot more that needs improvement. Some of the areas that need improvement include the cost of healthcare, insurance cover, and promptness of service. The areas that need improvement may vary from one organization to another, depending on the organizational structure. Improving the quality of services in any organization would require the joint effort of the stakeholders operating within the organization. Even then, the organization will have to come up with a solid plan to implement the improvements. This essay describes three major ways through which an organization can improve the quality of services it offers. The paper also comments on the methods proposed for quality improvement.
Increasing the opportunities for improving healthcare
The organization can identify opportunities for improvement. One way of identifying such opportunities is through registries that enable care providers to assess their performance (McCellan, 2013). The registries can also assess how the patients are doing and their levels of satisfaction. It so happens that sometimes organization can fail to detect areas that need improvement until they are pointed out by patients.
The underside for this solution is that an organization cannot rely on patients alone to point out the areas that need improvement. Third parties cannot point out poor performance in areas such as coordination and administration. It is in this regard that I propose the use of quality assessment to improve the quality of services. The standard quality assessment tool will place the organization in a strategic position in comparison with the quality of services offered by other organizations.
Policy Reforms to support better healthcare
An organization will need a complete overhaul of its system, starting from the policy level, in order to improve the quality of services it offers. Creating policies that will increase the resources available to the caregivers will go a long way in improving the services offered by the organization. Other positive policies include providing better working conditions for the employees, increasing accountability and transparency, and performance appraisal.
The primary problem with the use of policy reforms to improve the quality of healthcare is the lack of implementation. Prior experience has shown that the implementation stage of a policy is the hardest part. In addition, implementing such policies could lead to unprecedented problems, which will further impair the quality of services. This misgiving can be averted if the policymakers ensure that the policies are implemented in their entirety. Regarding the unprecedented problems, the policymakers can allow room for amendment.
Human Resource Development
The dynamic nature of the healthcare environment demands that the employees are constantly updated on emerging issues. A healthcare organization can improve the quality of services by training its employees on the newest technology (Dussalt & Dubois, 2003). Some of the employees in an organization went to college when the technology was very primitive. With the new technological advancements in equipment and system of governance, such employees will require a refresher course.
The downside to this proposal is the expense and the risk of poaching. It is worth noting that there are cheaper methods of human resource development including seminars and conferences. About poaching, the organization can create a favorable working environment that will motivate the employees to turn down the advances of poachers.
References
Dussault, G., & Dubois, C. A. (2003). Human resources for health policies: a critical component in health policies. Human resources for health, 1 (1), 1.
McClellan, M., (2013). Improving Health Care Quality: The Path Forward. Brookings. Retrieved from < http://www.brookings.edu/research/testimony/2013/06/26-improving-health-care-quality-mcclellan> accessed June 4, 2016.