Managing Quality, Safety, and Risk

Managing Quality, Safety, And Risk in Health Care Systems

Quality healthcare has been the subject of various political, humanitarian and academic debates. In this pare we present an analysis of quality health care with specific focus on its components as well as a discussion of the relative benefits and drawbacks of the checking and trusting system in healthcare. This is in an effort to manage the quality, safety as well as risks in the various existing and future health care systems

The health care industry is one that demand a lot of attention as it makes a very fundamental sector in ensuring the health of the citizens. There is therefore an increase in pressure regarding the need of evidence of controls of quality as well as the improvement of the quality of services provided (Wadhwa,2002). This is due to the fact that there is evidence to suggest that the level and quality of service delivery is correlated to the outcomes of various aspects of health care delivery. The quality of health care has been shown to have a very profound influence on the level of patient perception. The ability of a health care facility to satisfy the demand of patients in terms of convenience and availability of information is also noted to be part of quality health care delivery. The development of various health care policies must therefore involve the work of both the management of the hospital, staff as well as patients themselves.

According to Merrian Webster's dictionary, Health care is the restoration and maintaining of health by prevention and treatment of diseases especially by licensed and trained professionals such as public health workers, clinical psychology, dentistry, and in medicine (Webster,2010).

Quality healthcare is the achievement of optimal mental and physical health through accessible, and cost effective care that is based on best evidence, is responsive to the preferences and needs of populations and patients, and is respectful of one's (patient) personal, families values and beliefs. (AAF,2010)

Everyone deserves quality health care. You can make sure you get the best health care when you are sick or hurt hence quality health care is obtaining the best attention that makes the body function normally without any disorders or unrelated abnormalities. This can be either scientifically or traditionally. In scientific health care, this is done by continuous checkups by advanced machines and by a well trained health person. In traditional method, this can be both looking at the abnormal symptoms that one can feel, see or touch and visiting local medical personnel who either relies on the information the patients gives or what they think that may be the problem. The relied method to ensure quality health care is by visiting a well trained health personnel such as nurses. Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient care-not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also with community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need to know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes and this is by either using their advanced knowledge in quality health care or by implying the use of the machines.

Quality health care is not only relying on the trained personnel to come to your rescue, but it basically relies on one's ability to know and apply all the necessary efforts to ensure that his/her life is well taken care of and there are no short comes that may lead to one becoming hurt, sick or ill. But can all have the ability to overcome all these? This is why may lives are insured and most have personal and private doctors to help in advancing the situation of one's health. This leads to the invention and provision of Health IT (the use of computers and computer programs to store, protect, retrieve, and transfer clinical, administrative, and financial information electronically within health care setting) this helps to store health records electronically instead of paper records, provide secures electronic networks to deliver up-to-date records whenever and wherever the patient or clinician may need them, ensure fast and efficient electronic transmittal of medical tests to speed and streamline processing of those results by heath care providers, ensure reliable electronic prescribing of medications, treatments and tests to help avoid medical errors, Provides decision support systems to provide clinicians up-to-date on best practices and treatment options. The limitation of Health IT is that it is accessible in the traditional health care where not scientific equipment is used but simple and not well reliable tools are used and the health personnel are either literate or semi-illiterate in that, they may not have the advanced knowledge that may be used in health care.

Quality health care can be basically done by an individual and this does not basically be to rely on the doctors and nurses but by ensuring ones health is to the standards required. The doctors cannot be involved in every situation and step in ensuring ones health is maintained, but they have to be informed at every situation that one feels uncomfortable with his/her health. Doctors have to prescribe all the medicines and treatments one has to go through. This is brought about by manufacturing medicines that people use at home and generally giving simple prescriptions that are easy to understand. The public can be involved in ensuring quality health care to the people by providing continuing opportunities for public input, including listening sessions, and invitations for comments from public and private sectors on priority lists and questions, as well as formats for and dissemination of the reports (Mannion,2008).

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will also work closely with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and will meet regularly with a Department of Health and Human Services steering committee. This will ensure that all the people receive the medical attention in all the health institutions available. The Department of Health and Human Services steering Committee will ensure effective Heath care program which focuses on the Comparative effectiveness of different treatments and clinical practices, as authorized in the Medical Prescription Drug. Improvement m and Modernization Act (MMA). The program emphasizes a transparent process with public input and uses three approaches. The first will be to review and synthesize published and unpublished scientific evidence. Evidence-based practice centers (EPCs) which will perform systematic appraisals of existing scientific evidence on topics related to the priority conditions. The second will be to compile the findings and translate then into a variety of useful formats for stakeholders. This is a critical step to making complex scientific findings understandable for everyone. The third will be to promote and generate new scientific evidence and tools that are analytic in a faster way and a format that is practical. A net work of research centers, in some topics, are capable of performing a faster research are to conduct a variety of practical studies designed to answer the questions that do not require or that cannot be addressed by large rigorous randomized clinical trials (Mannion,2005).

The quality health care can also be provided by effective health care program. According to Agency for Healthcare and Research and Quality (AHRQ), they funds individuals research centers, and the academic organizations to work together with them to produce effective and comparative effectiveness research for policymakers, clinicians and consumers. The effective Healthcare program is to compile research findings that are synthesized and translates them into useful formats for various audiences and also generate evidence that are scientific and tools that are analytic. All these are to ensure quality health care (AHRQ,2010).

The need for patient involvement in the improvement of health care services

Patients are an important factor in the process of improving the level of service provision in various health care services. This is because the patients are privileged observers/witnesses to various events that occur in the health care facilities. This is both in the sense of the fact that they are at the center of the many treatment processes not unlike the other hospital staff members are part of almost the entire process of health care provision (Koutanjc, 2005)

Quality health care is getting the best care for your health at any given time not only in a hospital set up but also in your area of residence. This leads us to the question how can one know that they have quality health care. Many organizations have come together to ensure the best health care for everyone regardless of race, color, income, age, gender and status.We are on the verge of realizing that we can all access the best health. We have the best health when we can access medical attention readily the moment we become ill or hurt. Illnesses vary from one person to the other and some illnesses are infectious and temporary whereas others are contagious and terminal.For all cases one is entitled to get the best health possible. One dealing with a terminal illness should have a personal doctor who visits him or her from time to time. He or she is also entitled to proper medication to deal with the disease.

It's not just the responsibility of medics to offer health care but the family members of the sick too play a very important role in caring about health. By accompanying the sick person to hospital and administering the prescribed medicine at home. As well, family members offer support by praying and giving the sick member company. Did you know that even loneliness is a health hazard.

Quality health care is individual responsibility. Every individual is supposed to make sure they have the best health always. Contagious diseases should be avoided at all costs, however, should we contact them then we should care for ourselves. A sick person should maintain bodily cleanliness and eat the right foods. Ones health should not also cause harm to neighbors at home and in public. Global concerns are also rising quickly to manage health conditions caused by global changes. For example airborne diseases which have cropped up at alarming rates such as the recent swine flu was dealt with the moment it was discovered. However, some which are contagious have taken millions of lives.

Quality health is ensuring that every individual gets the best medication through advanced scientific methods of discovering the illness and good medicines for patients. The discovery of ARVs for HIV positive persons shows that the world is achieving greatly in its quest to meet the needs of patients globally. Research is on and stubborn diseases such as cancer will soon have medicine to deal with them.Quality health care are giving every one the benefit of advanced treatment for all illnesses. Medical practitioners who are qualified should be employed in both urban and rural hospitals. If one must undergo surgery then a surgeon is available even in the middle of the night to carry out the operation. Quality medicines should be readily available to suit needs of patients. Equipment should be enhanced in all hospitals to maximize health care. Everyone needs a clean environment to live in. A Residential apartment which is well spaced and cleaned offers fresh air for life. A mosquito free environment, a well slashed compound, good sewage systems and clean water -- all these offer quality health.

Discussion of the relative benefits and drawbacks of "checking" versus and "trusting" in health care provision

The health care system must be appropriately managed in order to ensure that there is high quality in the level of services that are provided to the patients. There are certain benefits of checking and trusting in the health care system. In order to ensure that the quality of health provided at the health care facilities match the standards that are required while improving the bar through the incorporation of new technology, it is important to ensure that the system is checked for any errors and deficiencies.

The checking of the health care system requires the use of various strategies such as the primary health care approach (WHO,1978). This involves the nomination of community participation as one aspect of it. This is because the approach involves the use of a social-environment model that encourages the various participants to be involved in a collective action for the sake of improvement of the health care services (Labonte, 1992).This in view of the fat that individuals can only participate fully in programs that involve research on programs and services that have a direct influence on their lives/health if their opinions are considered and taken into due account.