Quality control, quality assurance, quality management, quality systems

Quality quality QUALITY!!! What does “quality” mean and how is it relevant to the laboratory?

Introduction

Quality is one of them most important requirements in the health care system. It helps to ensure that the healthcare services provided to patients help them to achieve positive outcomes. Quality is determined by patients or the clients. Since it is these individuals who receive the health care services, they can provide important insights into the quality of the care. This paper discusses various aspects of quality, including quality control, quality assurance, quality management, and quality systems. The paper also looks at the meaning of the term “quality” and its relevance to the laboratory.

Quality Control

The term quality control is generally used to refer to the act of applying statistical methods in the process of evaluating the quality of various products and services. In the health care system, quality control is used to specifically refer to the activities that are used to monitor the standard of the different elements of care.¹ These include disease test procedures, verification of instruments, and among other procedures. The purpose of quality control is to ensure that high standards of health are met. It is important for any form of treatment to be standardized. This helps to ensure that positive health outcomes are achieved among patients.

In order to promote quality control, various operational techniques are put in place to verify that a given medical service or product actually meets the purpose for which it is meant.  This process begins with the definition of the specific standard a health care service or product has to meet. After this, the extent of quality control actions is then clearly determined. From there, it is important for real-world data to be reported and the findings reported to the management team. The next step involves deciding the most appropriate corrective action which has to be taken.²

In case there are many failures in terms of service delivery and the quality of health care products, it is important to come up with a plan which can help to improve the situation.³ It is also important to note that quality control should be an ongoing process in the health care system. This process helps to ensure that significant corrective measures are put in place in order to produce satisfactory outcomes and reduce the recurrence of trouble.

Quality Assurance

In the health care system, quality assurance is used to refer to the process which ensures that certain standards of excellence are achieved in the course of the delivery of care.⁴ The main function of quality assurance is to promote the accountability of health care providers in the delivery of quality health care services. The process serves as a pledge made by the providers to the public that they will give their best in ensuring that the maximum level of excellence in the provision of health care services is achieved for every patient or client.

Any effective quality control program should take into account the real meaning of the term “quality.” In order for this to be achieved, there must be a reliable and valid method of evaluating the healthcare services provided to patients. This evaluation should operate within the limits of cost-benefit analysis, outcome, and accessibility of care.⁴ Cost-benefit analysis in this case involves the expenditure of time, money and other resources in the health care system. Outcome involves measurable changes or end results in the disease or health status of patients. Accessibility of care involves the availability of health care services or facilities within the reach of people.

Successful implementation of a quality assurance program entails the creation of a suitable criterion which is based on the acceptable standards of the healthcare profession. These standards are developed by various members of the profession who are knowledgeable in the provision of care to specific populations of patients.⁵ The main goal of quality assurance programs in the healthcare sector is to promote the improvement of patient care. In case a deficiency is noted in the status of patients of the process of healthcare, a corrective measure should be put in place.

Quality Management

The term quality management is used in the health care system to refer to a management philosophy which focuses on the processes that help to promote continuous quality improvement (Hitchcock, Schubert & Thomas, 2003).⁶ The purpose of quality management is to provide a suitable framework that can help health care facilities to organize, monitor, communicate, and continuously improve various aspects of the delivery of health care services. This process provides evidence that can help to support an organized system which can help to ensure that high quality care is achieved at a lower cost. Most modern hospitals, clinics, and other health care facilities embrace highly structured quality management programs. Such programs help to ensure that the organizations achieve the main goal of providing quality health care services to patients.

Quality management helps to improve the effectiveness of the healthcare services provided. This in turn helps to increase patient’s level of satisfaction. Quality management is becoming a central area of focus with the rising cost of health care and the aging of the population. It has become necessary for health care organizations to provide quality health care services and ensure that their quality systems are working properly.⁷ In order for these goals to be achieved, it is important for the health care organizations to put in place effective quality management.

Any effective quality management should focus on the needs of patients or clients. This is due to the fact that it is these parties that help to judge the effectiveness and appropriateness of the health care services provided to them. Therefore, quality management should be concerned with the expectations of patients and their progress in terms of health care outcome.⁸ It is also important to note that quality management requires able leadership. This will help to ensure that health care operations are going on well. Additionally, quality management needs to be reliable. This helps to reduce risks and improve the sustainability of processes.

Quality Systems

A quality system broadly refers to the entire system of operations that encompasses quality management, resources, procedures, and division of responsibilities. In the health care system, the term quality system is used to refer to the way the health care operations, activities, and responsibilities are organized.⁹ In order for positive health outcomes to be achieved among patients, it is important for the health care sector to have effective quality systems in place. An effective quality system is one which meets the standards of high quality, has clearly defined processes, and has a strong framework for verification of various healthcare processes and procedures.

Quality systems play important roles in the healthcare system. To begin with, the systems direct various health care operations and they support the implementation of new health care strategies. Quality systems promote the development of a quality culture in health care organizations.¹⁰ They create a suitable environment for health care workers to work together as a team. Quality systems help to ensure that important health car data is collected and safely stored for use by various stakeholders in the health care system. It is also important to note that quality systems help to communication the quality of health care operations and they help in the identification of inadequate quality.

Proper implementation and regular maintenance is necessary for quality management systems in the healthcare system. This helps to ensure that the health care sector is committed to its goal of providing quality services to patients.¹⁰ Therefore, it is important for each part of the system to be regularly monitored in order to prevent any problem from arising. Having an effective quality system is important for health care organizations. It gives them a competitive advantage.  Therefore, it is important for the management team of every health care organization to ensure that it puts in place the most effective quality system.

What does “quality” mean?

The above explanations give important insights into the meaning of the term “quality.” However, giving a definite definition of quality in the health care system is not a simple task. This is due to the fact that quality as used in the health care system is still evolving.¹¹ What it means today is not what it will mean in the next decade. Therefore, it is difficult to come up with a universal and an all-encompassing definition of the term quality.

Despite the above situation, various definitions of the term quality as it applies to health care have been proposed. The most comprehensive definition is the one provided by the Institute of Medicine. According to this organization, quality refers to the extent to which various health care services for individuals or populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with the current professional knowledge.¹² This definition implies that quality aims at meeting the expectations of patients or clients. Since it is patients who receive health care services, they are the ones who are at a better position to determine the quality of care.

Quality is measured in terms of the outcome of health care services. The positive the outcome, the higher the quality of the services provided to patients or clients. The negative the outcome, the lower the quality of the services received.¹² In order to improve quality, health care organizations have found it necessary to put in place valid technical measures that can be used to evaluate various therapeutic and diagnostic clinical procedures.

Relevance to the Laboratory

Maintaining quality is important in the laboratory. It helps to ensure that all laboratory tests and procedures meet the standard level of quality that is required for positive outcomes. The issue of quality has led to what is known as laboratory quality control. This control helps to identity, reduce and rectify deficiencies in the internal analysis processes of laboratories before the results are released.¹³ Quality control in this case involves a measure of precision. In other words, it is concerned with the issue of how the quality measurement system leads to the same results all the time in different operational conditions. It is important to note that laboratory quality control has got nothing to do with laboratory safety procedures, such as wearing gloves and clothing appropriately.¹⁴

Any good laboratory practice should ensure that the standards of quality are met and maintained. In order for this goal to be achieved, laboratory assistants should put in place important quality control systems that can help to ensure the consistency, uniformity, reproducibility and reliability of various chemical tests.¹⁵ This will help to ensure that all the processes and procedures in the laboratory meet the required standard. Consequently, quality control can lead to the provision of services of high quality that can help to promote positive health outcome among patients. Therefore, one way of improving the quality of care in healthcare organizations is through the introduction of laboratory quality control measures. These measures help to ensure that all laboratory procedures are based on the acceptable standards of quality.

Conclusion

Quality is an important concept in the health care system. It helps to ensure that high standards of care are observed by various health care professionals. This leads to the provision of quality services and the subsequent achievement of positive health outcomes. Therefore, in order for health care organizations or facilities to achieve and maintain quality, it is important for them to ensure that they meet the standards of quality control, quality assurance, quality management, and quality system. Quality generally refers to the extent to which the health care services provided are able to promote positive heath outcomes. Quality control is also applicable in the laboratory. It helps to ensure that laboratory procedures and processes meet the required standards.

Reference List:

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