Health, Medicine, Nursing Essay: Measuring Healthcare Practice

Measuring Healthcare Practice
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1 Approaches used to measure healthcare practice
Healthcare is a very vital sector in any economy. It is a sector that should be handled with utmost because it deals with saving human life (Valentine et al., 2015). It is the reason that prompts healthcare practice. Approaches of measuring healthcare are many and are always universal to all countries in the world, although some can be specific to other countries depending on their beliefs. Provost (2018) says that the US spends up to 18 percent of its GDP in streamlining the healthcare sector, yet around 14 percent of the total spending is wasted. Applying quality improvement approaches will reduce these wastes and make the best out of the sector. Some of the approaches include accreditation, quality improvement frameworks, clinical audits, performance indicators, safety care, and patient experience.
Accreditation
Accreditation is very crucial in measuring healthcare services. There are standards used to ensure that a health center qualifies to provide healthcare services. These standards and criteria show how the preparedness to save a life before a country issues a license of operation once it is satisfied. Jha (2018), however, notes that corruption is rampant in many countries, making some clinics acquire licenses through evil ways, thus, lowering down the standards of healthcare. Jha (2018) concludes that accreditation does not fully work in many countries. It makes it hard to measure the healthcare practice because all clinics cannot be differentiated.
It needs more effort to counter the malpractice of corruption in the health sector. Governments need to take regular audits in hospitals to assess the equipment and expertise of clinical officers. Owners of clinics found licensed yet do not meet the set standards and criteria should be prosecuted, and their clinics permanently shut down (Jha, 2018). Healthcare is a sector that should not be gambled with, and governments need to lay down the strict measure for accreditation.
Continued evaluation of healthcare centers shows ensures that standards are always followed. Accredited healthcare centers provide quality services that adhere to evidence-based measures. The importance of accreditation is evident in the hiring of healthcare workers in hospitals. Most unaccredited hospitals hire unqualified doctors because they demand less pay compared to accredited hospitals. Healthcare services in the unaccredited hospital, therefore, are likely to be of low quality and compromised. Thus, accreditation is another approach that helps in measuring healthcare practice, but it should be followed closely to ensure that only the hospitals that meed the accreditation criteria are licensed.
Quality improvement frameworks
Perfect quality means excellent healthcare practice. Quality in healthcare mainly relies on the expertise of clinical officers (Provost, 2018). However, systems overlook quality standards, while medical practitioners continue giving their best on patient care. In order to deliver fully, some principles should be adhered to, including defining quality and getting an agreement, measuring improvement as opposed to ac...