Quality Improvement Strategies IV

I think that I was expecting to learn more about quality improvement strategies and how they apply specifically to the patient and their role in improving quality.  I wanted to learn more about ways to engage the patient and ways that they help to improve quality.  Last week we learned about HCAHPS and I wanted to see how that would play a role in the quality improvement strategies of the hospital.  I learned quite a bit about the role that the patient plays in quality and have learned that their role is much bigger than I expected, but I am glad to see that the hospitals and other health care units are looking to see what the patient wants and expects instead of telling the patient what they need and should expect.

The discussion was a really good one on the types of indicators and benchmarks that could be used in a OR setting.  This was a real world problem that could exist or possibly does in certain situations.  I also really liked the Case Study and Critical thinking assignments.  They helped to see how I would react in certain situations that probably occur on a regular basis.  As more and more money is being regulated by the quality of care instead of the quantity of care, which is where the importance should lie, the quality of care will continue to improve and it is up to each employee to push the safety and quality envelope forward.

As I am a member of my hospital's "Patient Care Council" specifically in the safety and quality council, I am able to take what I am learning in these lessons to them and help to push forward on certain things that need to be changed in the hospital.  Also, I am an instructor for the new zero harm initiative that the hospital is pushing out with called "Safety First."  I really enjoy learning more about the ways that quality and safety are used in health care.