What can we do to assure that both quality care and cost-effective programs are in place?

/in /by

PROVIDE A RESPONSE AND REMARKS TO THIS STUDENTS DISCUSSION POST
BELOW:
One of the primary arguments for a QA Program is that there is a
concern for ensuring that health services are both cost-effective
and responsive to public needs. However, other health care
professionals believe that QA Programs are necessary to protect
patients while under care in a health facility.
Which of the two statements above do you believe is the most
important for patients?
What can we do to assure that both quality care and
cost-effective programs are in place?
Which of the two statements above do you believe is the
most important for patients?
In my mind there is no argument concerning cost effectiveness
versus protecting patients and their safety. Sure, bed alarms are
going to cost money, but what if a patient fell out of bed trying
to get up and received a head bleed. Now this patient will have
additional radiology exams, additional length of stay, and possibly
surgery. We all want health care to be cost-effective, but things
that are going to keep a patient safe during their stay are a
priority in my mind.
What can we do to assure that both quality care and
cost-effective programs are in place?
Internally- Since hospitals know that quality assurance programs
keep patients safe and save money, they implement continuous
process improvement (CPI) measures to develop high quality patient
care. These teams continually monitor patient safety goals (like
fall risk) and ensure healthcare workers are doing as much as
possible to prevent serious safety events. When safety events do
happen, healthcare workers are encouraged to speak up and identify
areas of improvement on what went wrong in order to prevent these
events from happening again. Peer reviews are another tools to
ensure quality and cost. If a nurse doesn’t chart that she got her
EKG within 10 mins of arrival for her chest pain patient then the
she didn’t meet quality standards. 10 mins is national standard
time. Also if she didn’t chart the EKG at all, then the coders may
not bill for it. Peer reviews let healthcare workers know that
someone is looking at what they chart, and on the other hand let
them know what their co-workers are charting to keep up
standards.
Externally- Hospitals are regulated by the Joint Comission to
keep their quality measures up or they will loose their
accreditation. Also, in 2008 Medicare and Medicaid stated they
wouldn’t reimburse for poor quality care such as catheter
associated urinary tract infections caused during that stay.