Healthcare Quality Improvement and Cultural Competence

Week 4: Healthcare Quality Improvement and Cultural Competence
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Stakeholder’s view of healthcare quality
Patients, payers, providers, employers and the government are the main healthcare stakeholders. Patients normally believe that the medical care is adequate, while expecting healthcare to be customized to their needs. Clinicians provide health information to patients, and are concerned with maintaining confidentiality of the patient information. Employers prefer lower costs and lifestyle modification among patients. The providers prefer providing the best service available using the best treatments available and may desire to provide preventive care not provided by the payers. Physicians and nurses rely on evidence-based practice to improve the quality of care and health outcomes. In the case of payers, they are most interested in systems that improve quality of care using evidence-based plans, but their goals may be in conflict with those of providers. The government in turn seeks equitable and accessible quality of care to diverse populations.
The Baldrige criteria and interaction with Six Sigma
The Baldrige criteria are used when organizations are awarded for recognition for achievements in improving quality and raising awareness about quality. The six sigma approach focuses on eliminating defects while improving processes, and the organization analyze the processes to determ...