Organized Quality Improvement Story - Research Paper Example

? Organized QI story A quality improvement story is a step by step guide used in an organization for solvingproblems or improvements in processes. It is named a quality improvement story because the work done by a team is organized in form of a story that is told. The story involves telling who the team is, when and why they formed the team as well as the place and work done and the problem solving method used. In a quality improvement story the communication is standardized since the technique used is the same. This is in a bid to enable a clear idea transfer between teams departments, and even organizations. A training framework for employees in the application of the basic quality control tools is also created through this process (Tara, 2012). A storyboard is a visual display of the Quality Improvement story and normally it is mounted on a board in the area where the problem is occurring. This is because everyone can be able to see the problem and the progress made in solving process. A QI story has several uses: first, a team is able to organize, gather and analyze the data in a logical manner. Secondly, the progress of the team is also monitored (Tara, 2012). Third, the story facilitates the non members understanding of the process and the improvement. Lastly, the story makes it possible for presentations to be made to the management become standardized since everyone is familiar with the processes. The quality improvement story is a process that has several standard steps to be followed: 1. The problem area is identified 2. The causes of the problem are identified 3. The root causes of the problem are analyzed, identified and verified 4. The prevention action is planned and implemented 5. The effectiveness of the chosen action is checked 6. The process improvement is standardized 7. Future actions are determined Wellington hospital: Quality improvement story The wellington hospital conducted a quality improvement project which involved designing, developing, and implementing a quality improvement project that is based on accreditation. Team: 5 members Venue: wellington hospital building Team members: John smith Nelson Pulaski Dr. Theresa brown Rebecca Anderson Plan: to identify and plan for improvement in service delivery (http://www.thewellingtonhospital.com/) Identifying the problem area The areas for improvement were identified through the efforts of the team members and collaborations of the hospital’s departments. According to a survey conducted on all the hospitals in the state by EPIC sponsored by the association for public health institutions. In 2011, 58% of the residents in the state knew very little about the services and products offered at wellington hospital. A review of the data also revealed that the people had little awareness and the knowledge of the quality of professionals in the institution (http://www.thewellingtonhospital.com/, 2012). Schedule of the plan A committee of staff committed to the process improvement comprising of administrators as well as top level managers. The team members also include the members who contribute to the quality assurance process as well as contributing to the project conclusion. A matrix diagram was created to document and understand the approach to be adopted. A time phased schedule was also created for the completion of the project (Hitoshi, (1985), Understanding the chance AIM statement Capacity Breakdown of the capacity Levels of learning Increasing awareness of the services in the public health services Relationship with the media Find the contacts to the media Learn the pricing for the advertisements Past relationships Writing capacity Increasing the capability of the staff Developing the writing process Learn the standard formats in article writing John will write releases for the press The minimal writing process Public health topics Research and findings on the issues in the public health The issues which the hospital is currently facing Information to be released to the media Basic knowledge from Theresa Evaluation Measures and evaluation methods Tools to be used for survey Measures of success Define benchmarks The root causes of the problem are analyzed, identified and verified. The project has considered all the root causes of the problem the hospital is facing with reduced awareness. An assessment of the wellington hospital quality service delivery, it is committed to several things. First, the culture of continuous quality improvement whereby the patient needs is considered first. Secondly, the commitment to the creation of a positive patient experience and delivering a high quality health services provision. The hospital staffs are also to be responsive and accountable to the needs of the public. The services offered are also to be of high quality as well as that they should be understood to uphold high levels of accountability. However an assessment reveals that the hospital has current issues with patients being fully aware of its offerings. Currently, the hospital has minimal awareness by the public. The press releases are also released occasionally as well as advertisement on the media. The team that liaises with the media has reported a dwindling performance. The funding and the public support are also lacking. The implementation of the marketing plan has also not been in course. The above problems are attributed to several factors. The negative forces in effect prevent a positive growth of the hospital. Firstly, there is no time for the project. The media liaise team also has a tendency to fear writing. The community in which the hospital is established also has no community newspaper. The staffs handling the public awareness are professionals in other public health sectors and they have no experience whatsoever in such matters. The results of this project are expected to be experienced in a long time. The target population is also difficult to identify within the state (http://www.thewellingtonhospital.com/). The positive factors that are expected to be established to enable growth in this case include: first, a team that is dedicated to the success of the project and the positive growth of the hospital. Secondly, a support by the grants from the top level management and other people committed in the public heath care sector is needed. A fresh and more competitive marketing plan is to be established and implemented to push the hospital to the next level in its growth and performance. The products and services the hospital should offer are to be of good quality. Experts in the public health care field are required who are also experienced in the public relations sector. In turn the wellington hospital is expected to have a new image in the market and should be able to fight the competition. The future organization should have a public awareness of the services it offers. The articles and brochures as well as other public relation methods should be in place such being printed in the print media. A capacity for a strong media should be established to link with the hospital’s long term goals and be monitored as well. A marketing plan should be already implemented and monitored with regular performance monitoring (http://www.thewellingtonhospital.com/). The prevention action is planned and implemented A prevention program should also be established such as one that improves the public awareness of the existence of the hospital as well as the products and services it is currently offering. The public relations methods and tools in place should also be of higher quality as well as their capacity to reach the targeted people and the attraction they should achieve. The solution involved in awareness of the public should also involve coming to the aid of the community, that is, the hospital as an entity should be involved in answering to the needs of the company. Weekly or monthly press releases may also be integrated to the main public awareness campaign. If the public awareness campaign is to increase the awareness of the community and the state to the services in public health care offered at wellington, then the number of the services and products provided will also increase. This is the improvement development theory to be implemented. A strategy for testing the theory is as follows. Strategy for testing the improvement theory Data/information collection displayed Number of articles and press releases copy and their counts frequencies Number of deadlines met evaluations of the writers and their contacts bar graph Time required for editing editor log out time column chart Number of enquiries by phone tool used for phone collections frequencies Increased level of awareness the interim interview surveys and charts Testing the improvement theory In the case of wellington hospital new articles and other press release libraries were used during the period of the test The problems experienced during this test period include difficulties in the communications and the range of writing abilities amongst the editors and writers. The nature of the papers and media tools used lead to lost articles and also quality of the press releases. The depth, and the ability as well as the creativity of the article writers also vary from one author to the other. The test also revealed some results that were initially unanticipated. Such included other local media and press companies requesting for consideration in the articles released to others. The hospital added the record in the county to the list of articles distributions in the week. Standardization of the improvements theory The results from the data of the survey carried out predicted that the number of articles is 30 and this is on a variety of the issues in the public sector. The data from awareness collected is measured against the data released from prior tests. The results also reveal that most of the locals read at least three health articles. The team members agreed to standardize the theory in several steps: 1. The monitoring of the project performance should be done by a committee from the team members and they should meet on a monthly bass and set the authors of the articles 2. The instructions to the authors should be done on a monthly basis as well as alerts for their delivery date 3. The draft of the articles should be submitted to the contact by the first date they are due 4. The contact then edits the article and the decision is made by the committee whether it is ready for submission if yes the contact submits the article for formatting by the second date it is due. If not the article is sent back to the author with suggested changes 5. The last editor submits it to the hospital publisher by the third day it is due 6. The article is published in the date it is expected which is the fourth date due Establish the future actions All the accomplishments in the improvement project are reported to the hospital board of directors for a review during their meetings. The result from the monthly meetings is reported to concerned individuals and the whole report is published in the weekly hospital newsletter. A final report on this quality improvement project is studied and the report is also sent to the concerned stakeholders of the hospital such as foundations and community awareness programs established. References Tara D., (2012), “How to write a quality improvement report”, retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how_5862528_write-quality-improvement-report.html on 22, April 2012 Quality improvement story board, from http://www.thewellingtonhospital.com/ retrieved on April 23, 2012 FPL, quality improvement program (2012), QI story and techniques, Miami: Florida Power and light company Hitoshi, K, (1985), statistics Methods for quality improvement Japan: the association for overseas technical scholarship, Tokyo Swift A., (1995), introduction to statistical quality control and management, Delray: St Lucie Press Galton, Howard S., & Shelly J., (1990), “telling the Quality Story” Quality progress journal Read More