Essay Assignment: Quality Initiatives and Improvement in Healthcare

Objective:

Identify and assess the essential elements of quality control and quality improvement initiatives in the healthcare fields.

Introduction:

Quality is critical in the healthcare fields because of the significant risk to humans from errors. Not only must the highest degree of quality be managed and maintained, but quality must also continuously be monitored and improved. Regulatory agencies and nongovernmental organizations provide standards and best practices relating to quality and healthcare consumers provide additional information that impact quality management. Basic quality management methods such as Continuous Quality Improvement are often used in healthcare. Data can be collected and analyzed to support quality initiatives and identify areas where quality improvement is needed.

Deliverable:

The essay for this lesson is required to be a minimum of 750 words that clearly demonstrate your understanding of the activity. Essays should have a clear introduction, thesis statement and conclusion, written in APA format (APAstyle.org). A minimum of three sources must be cited in-text and in the Reference list.

Activity Details

Step 1: Read the following questions and use what you have learned about this lesson's objective to summarize your responses.

• -How can a healthcare facility use each of the concepts of Continuous Quality Improvement in managing quality? Provide an example that illustrates each concept.

• -What role do state governments play in regulating healthcare delivery?

• -What role does The Joint Commission play in quality management?

• -In what ways do consumers impact quality management in healthcare? In your answer, include the role of the "healthcare report card."