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Quality and Performance Improvement
This area deals with the development, implementation, and evaluation of organizational accountability including TQM/CQI programs, quality assessment and assurance philosophies, policies, programs, and procedures.
September 2009
Wednesday September 30, 2009
Posted by: Steve Kramer at 12:21PM EST on September 30, 2009
With any improvement initiative, there needs to be a thorough understanding of the reason for the initiative, the outcomes desired, and the commitment of the organization to achieving the stated goals. Without leadership from the executive level, as well as buy in and involvement from the staff level, no quality improvement program will succeed. There are many types of methods being utilized to implement quality improvement within hospitals. I will address the pros and cons of a few of them. The first is CQI. The primary benefit of CQI is that it creates an ongoing stream of process improvement. The staff drives the improvements involved in the quality improvement initiative, which leads to buy-in. For CQI to be successful, however, there must be strong executive leadership, a commitment to change in the organization, and a strategic focus in the organization’s culture. Another popular improvement method is Six Sigma. This method has several advantages. A key advantage is the systematic analysis of systems and the ability to effectively improve processes as a result. Implementing six- sigma, however, is a time consuming and difficult task, which requires a firm commitment by the leadership of the organization, a cultural change within the facility, and a large sum of financial resources for training, education, and implementation of the process. The final method I would like to mention is reengineering. This process relies on rapid wholesale changes being implemented to improve quality. While the advantage of speed is its primary attraction, reengineering is prone for failure due to the sheer amount of change that it requires. The resistance to change is what increases the risk of this approach. I believe the largest barriers to improving care are staff and finance related. With the hectic pace of the healthcare environment, and frequent staffing shortages, finding the time to devote to process analysis and improvement is difficult. In addition to a lack of staff, there is also a high amount of turnover amongst the employee ranks. This also increases the difficulty of quality improvement. Having to train, re-train, and orientate staff to the improved processes becomes increasingly difficult when staff turnover exists. Another staff factor relates to employee involvement and buy-in. If the facility does not provide clear direction and commitment to quality, and hold staff accountable to this, motivating employees to be committed to quality improvement can prove to be challenging. From a financial perspective, quality improvement requires a financial investment. There is an investment of staff time, as well as a commitment to take the steps necessary to improve quality based on an initiative’s findings. Unfortunately, some facilities find it difficult to operate from day to day, yet alone invest in quality improvement measures. This is of course a catch 22, because failing to be committed to quality improvement and making an investment in this, will lead an organization further towards failure.
Posted by: Cheryl Painter at 11:10AM EST on September 30, 2009
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a popular approach to the management of organizations to enhance quality. The term total quality management (TQM) denotes a total, company-wide effort that includes all employees, suppliers, and customers, and that seeks continuously to improve the quality of products and processes to meet the needs and expectations of customers. While TQM has been applied in many ways, there are four common characteristics: 1) customer focus, 2) strategic planning, 3) continuous improvement, and 4) empowerment / teamwork. The most important facet of TQM is customer focus. It is the customer that is at the core of all businesses, and it is the customer that keeps the company alive. It is imperative for everyone within the business to understand the importance of the customer and to provide the quality necessary to keep the customer. This can be accomplished through Customer Focus: The customer is the judge of quality. Quality systems must address all product and service attributes that provide value to the customer and lead to customer satisfaction and loyalty. TQM requires constant attention to changing customer and market requirements and to the measurement of factors that influence customer satisfaction.
Posted by: Cheryl Painter at 11:09AM EST on September 30, 2009
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a popular approach to the management of organizations to enhance quality. The term total quality management (TQM) denotes a total, company-wide effort that includes all employees, suppliers, and customers, and that seeks continuously to improve the quality of products and processes to meet the needs and expectations of customers. While TQM has been applied in many ways, there are four common characteristics: 1) customer focus, 2) strategic planning, 3) continuous improvement, and 4) empowerment / teamwork. The most important facet of TQM is customer focus. It is the customer that is at the core of all businesses, and it is the customer that keeps the company alive. It is imperative for everyone within the business to understand the importance of the customer and to provide the quality necessary to keep the customer. This can be accomplished through Customer Focus: The customer is the judge of quality. Quality systems must address all product and service attributes that provide value to the customer and lead to customer satisfaction and loyalty. TQM requires constant attention to changing customer and market requirements and to the measurement of factors that influence customer satisfaction. Tuesday September 29, 2009
Posted by: Mahnaz Sarachi at 3:42PM EST on September 29, 2009
Total quality defined as" a philosophy or an approach to management that can be characterized by its principles,practices,and techniques.which of the followingi s not one of the three priniciples of total quality: A- Management behavior B-Teamwork C-Customer focus D-Continuous improvement Answer A. Source : On line packet Three Principles of Total quality Chapter 2 |
