External Quality Improvement

May 16, 2018

External Quality Improvement

Successful health care organizations recognize that quality assessment and improvement are central to clinical service delivery, and they integrate this perspective into their day-to-day operations. In addition, many of the efforts that drive quality improvement originate from government and other agencies outside of health care settings. External efforts include standards set by various organizations to promote the delivery of safe, high-quality patient care. In addition, the health care consumer plays a pivotal role in quality improvement. As transparency and public reporting are increasingly emphasized, patients’ needs, and expectations will continue to shape improvement efforts.

Quality Guidelines

A variety of organizations are involved in quality and safety efforts in health care. For this Discussion, you will take an in-depth look at some of these organizations.

To prepare for this Discussion, select one of the following organizations to research:

The Joint Commission http://www.jointcommission.org/
National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) http://www.ncqa.org/
Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC) http://www.urac.org/
The Leapfrog Group http://www.leapfroggroup.org/
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) http://www.iso.org/iso/home.html
Baldrige http://www.nist.gov/baldrige/
Magnet http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Magnet.aspx
National Quality Forum (NQF) http://www.qualityforum.org/
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety http://www.ahrq.gov/
Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)http://www.ihi.org/ihi

View the organization’s Web site and conduct additional research to investigate the role that this organization plays with regard to quality and safety. Find and evaluate the guidelines proposed by this organization, and pay particular attention to the strengths and limitations of these guidelines.

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