How to Apply Quality Management in Health Care

Health care companies including health plans, health management companies, managed care companies and hospitals seek to improve and sustain the quality of their services. Applying a quality management program helps to achieve this. The quality management program aspects may include: a quality plan description document, satisfaction surveys, frequent monitoring reports, establishing a quality committee and holding meetings culminating in accreditation achievement.

Instructions

• 1

  Create an annual quality plan description. This document should contain measurable goals, planned quality improvement activities and direction of your health care company. Explain what each goal and activity means and how you plan to achieve it. Review and revise this document each year.

• 2

  Distribute satisfaction surveys to anyone who has received or used your company's health care services. Send them to patients and ask them to rate your services including the quality of care they received, access to services, staff they worked with and their overall satisfaction with the health care they received.

• 3

  Run quarterly and annual monitoring reports. Reports should include: satisfaction survey results, quality of care ratings, complaints, service measures and description of quality improvement activities. An executive summary should show areas of achievement and recommendations and plans for improvement.

• 4

  Seek accreditation from an applicable accrediting body such as the Joint Commission (JCAHO), the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) or URAC. Achieving accreditation further validates the quality of the health care services that are provided. Accreditation standards may also help shape your company's quality management program.

• 5

  Publish results and hold quality committee meetings. Committees should include both internal employees of the health care organization and external members. Committees should review quarterly and annual reports and discuss the nature of the findings and determine any applicable opportunities for improvement and accompanying action items.