Quality Management in Healthcare System - Coursework Example

Quality Management in Healthcare System: Radiology Department. Name Institution Date Abstract Quality improvement processes have been used in various sectors to improve performance and quality of goods and services. The paper will discuss several quality improvement processes as applied in the radiology department in order to improve the provision of services to patients. This was with the view of improving the healthcare system. Introduction The quality of healthcare is a very vital aspect of human health. This is mainly because the human life is mainly dependent on it. Quality healthcare can be defined as the ability of any healthcare system to set standard and meet them promptly. The set standards determine how quick the healthcare facility will act incase of emergencies, the role it plays in saving lives, improving the quality of life and increasing the life expectancy. This includes the acceptable measures of improving the quality and standards. The paper will discuss some of the tools used to improve quality and its application in the radiology department. Quality improvement processes PDCA This quality improvement measure involves a procedure called Plan-Do-Check-Act. It was introduced by Walter Shewhart in the 1920s. This method is a continuous process and it implement in small scale before adopting it in the whole healthcare facility. It involves planning which is basically setting the goals and objectives that need to be realized. It is then implemented in one department to test whether it will achieve the desired results. Assessment is usually done as it is being implemented. This is to determine whether it is working or not. The lessons learned are also noted (McGlynn et al., 2003). This method may include improvements on some areas. Depending on its success, it is then implement in the entire facility. The main advantage of this method is that it provides time for testing it before it is adopted. Ransom et al (2008) noted that after the observation, action is then taken depending on the lesson that was learned. It provides room for making corrections. This method improves productivity, eliminates errors and it saves time once it has been fully adapted. Depending on the results it can be adopted or rejected. However the main disadvantage is that it may end up taking a lot of time before it produces the desired results. In the radiology department this method produces good results in the patient flow process. The process also piles a lot of pressure to the employees. ISO 9000 International organization for standardization was set up in 1947 as a non governmental organization. The 9000 series was issued in 1987. The main purpose of it involves facilitating the development of quality standards in the manufacturing industry. This was through an acceptable methodology that would ensure consistency in terms of the quality of manufactured products. This also includes medical equipment used in the radiology department. Changes were later introduced in 1994 to accommodate other sectors of the economy. To ensure that the quality is improved in all the sectors of the economy, it is mainly focused on eight quality management practices. This includes the following: Customer focus, leadership, involvement of the people, process approach, system approach to management, continuous improvement, factual approach to decision making and mutually beneficial suppliers. ISO is recognized world wide and it is adopted by most organizations in the world. The certification is usually done after the fulfilling the eight management practices above. . Its main advantage is that it enables an organization to improve its services in the process of trying to acquire the certification. The certification also provides room for continuous improvement which is mainly focused in serving the clients. In the radiology department it is quite useful in ensuring that the clients receive better services. It saves time and resources as most of the problems are solved permanently once the process is adopted. This system also helps in the improvement in management and control of resources. Its main disadvantage is that it does not automatically guarantee better services. This is mainly because it shifts its focus to the end results. It also makes the employees perform well only when the audit is about to be done. Its requirements may also put a lot of strains to the employees. Lean methodology This concept was developed in 1987 by Massachusetts institute of technology. It was used to refer to production methods that lead to mass production of tools and equipment. The tools and equipment produced using this method had less defects compared to those produced by the other methods. This method also reduced the time used during the production process and minimized on wastes. This concept defines eight types of wastes that need to be reduced. They include the following: waste of waiting, waste of over production, waste of movement of employees, waste of talent, waste of over processing, waste of transportation, waste of making defective products and waste of inventory. To accomplish this perfection and required quality five steps have to be followed. The first step involves defining the value as required by the customer. This will then be followed by identifying the value stream which involves the actions that is needed to fulfill the concept. A flow system of the whole plan is then developed to coordinate the process. The customers are then allowed to pull the product from the supplier rather than pushing for them. After this has been achieved the process is then perfected (McGlynn et al., 2003). The main advantage of this method is that it leads to elimination of wastes within the department leading to efficiency and cost reduction. Due to the timeframe set while using this method, it ensures that the products are delivered on time. This is important in terms of saving time and increasing production. The main disadvantage of this method is that it focuses more on the production sector rather than management and flow processes which is vital in the healthcare sector (The Institute of Medicine, 2004). The method is dependant on the commitment of the individuals to work for long hours. The method will thus fail if the individuals lack commitment. Six sigma The six sigma is a customer focused quality improvement process. It was developed by Motorola in the 1980s and 1990s. Its main objective is to minimize defects and errors. It aims at improving efficiency to 99.99%. This rate of success is quite high and it will be able to satisfy the clients fully if adopted. This method mainly uses statistics to make improvements on the processed that needs to be improved. To achieve the customer satisfaction, the six sigma has combined five procedures known as DMAIC. This refers to define measure, analyze, improve and control. Defining means to identify and establish a project. The current process is then measured to establish its efficiency. Analysis involves a process of converting the raw data into useful information required to make improvements. This process involves a lot of mathematics and statistics. After obtaining the information, the improvement is done to conform to the required quality. This method is advantageous in the improvement of quality. This is because the procedures followed sets standards which must be attained before moving to the next level (Ransomet al., 2008). After achieving the desired results, the system is then monitored to ensure that no change that may lead to negative effects occurs. The six sigma method has been used widely in the radiology department to improve performance of the staff and to satisfy the customers. Since the process is driven by customer satisfaction, the clients fully benefit from better services. This method is also reliable since it prevents effects leading to saving of time and resources. This increases profitability. The main disadvantage of the method is that it focuses much on improvement and as a result it gives no room for innovation and creativity. The process also requires a lot of skills to implement. This is mainly because the theoretical aspects are difficult to put into reality. It also has minimal ways of checking for the accountability of the process. Donabedian model This model is aimed at reducing the risks that the patients may undergo during treatment. The health care system according to this model is defined according to its main process, structure and outcome. The structure in this case being the physical environment in which the healthcare service is provided. The process on the other hand, is the method by which the healthcare is provided. The consequences of the healthcare provided whether positive or negative is the outcome. This model thus put an emphasis on the structure. The quality of the healthcare sysytem will mainly depend on how good the structure is. This will be important in improving the process and achieve the desired outcome. The radiology department has adopted this model in some areas. The management aims at improving the structure and thus provides quality healthcare services. The major advantage of this method is that it encourages improvements through developing a modern infrastructure. The adoption of modern equipment is the key to improving the structure and makes the process easier. This has seen the quality of the healthcare system improve greatly. Its major disadvantage is that it quite costly to adopt (Mangione-Smith, 2007). This model requires the healthcare administrators to put more emphasis in improvements of the healthcare quality. A case study of Watson clinic Watson clinic handles a large number of patients estimated to be 800,000 every year. Bottleneck was realized in the process of patient flow leading to long queues. This greatly affected the recovery of the patients. An investigation into the problem was conducted and it was found that it took patients a long time to be treated at the imaging section. The process was also started late. This is considering that there were a large number of patients who books for appointments. To improve the process, the department decided to adopt six sigma system. The method ensured that the medics were empowered and brought them closer to the process. The rooms were standardized and reminder scripts were developed. This effectively reduced the waiting time by more than 34% and procedures that took four days initially were reduced to one day. The start time for examination of patients was also improved and 90% started on time. This quality improvement also saw the financial capabilities of the facility rise. The process was thus quite successful (Bansal, 2010). Comparison of the quality improvement processes. Quality processes Cost of implementation Rate of implementation. Level of efficiency in the department Levels of improvement Adoption In the department Involvement of experts during implementation ISO 9000 High Slow High High Fast High Six Sigma Low Slow High High fast High Donabedian model Very high Fast High High Slow Low Lean methodology High Fast Low High Slow Low PCDA Low Slow High High Fast Low The cost is mainly dependant on the process to be undertaken. This therefore means that some processes take time or others require experts to assist in the implementation and also purchase of equipment. This increases costs. Other systems don not require experts and takes a shorter time. This translates into reduced costs. Conclusion In conclusion, it is worth noting that quality management practices are very important in the world today. The healthcare sector plays a major role in the human life and thus the best quality of healthcare should be adopted. The radiology department plays a vital role in saving lives and treating life threatening diseases. As a result of this the radiology department adopted quality management practices. According to the paper various quality management practices exists with some having disadvantages. According to the paper, the radiology department has adopted most of the quality practices to improve its services. When the quality processes are adopted they help improve and control the performance of the department. However the paper places more emphasis on ISO certification which has been used widely to improve the healthcare quality. References Ransom E, et al (2008). The healthcare quality book: Vision, strategy, and tools. 2nd edition. Chicago: Health Administration Press; Chapters 1 and 2. Donabedian A, (2003). An Introduction to Quality Assurance in Health Care. New York: Oxford University Press McGlynn E, et al (2003). The Quality of Health Care Delivered to Adults in the United States. Mangione-Smith R, (2007). The Quality of Ambulatory Care Delivered to Children in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2007;357:1515-23. The Institute of Medicine. (2004). Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century. Washington DC: National Academy press, ARTICLE Bansal M, et al (2010).Removing the Bottlenecks, Improving Flow in Radiology Retrieved on March 8, 2012 from Read More