Introduction
Quality assurance relates to organizational culture mechanisms of discipline and conduct that aim to promote avoidance of poor service delivery (of goods and services), defects and mistakes on the part of employees. Lack of quality assurance in any organization usually leads to poor overall performance and sometimes the collapse or closure of an organization . Continuous Quality Assurance (CQA) on the other hand refers to the implementation of unremitting efforts of quality assurance in the context of an organization . CQA in the sector also involves the provision of strong and straightforward healthcare services delivery as per the many standards of the industry. In actuality, management organs of given healthcare facilities in a country keep a keen eye on matters of administrative and procedural activities as per the requirements of governing or regulatory agencies (McLaughlin, Johnson, & Sollecito, 2012). This paper discusses matters of Continuous Quality Assurance in the context of medical centers of school clinics. It is vital to note the requirements of COA in the healthcare sector are of much significance since compromised service delivery can easily lead to endangering the lives of people. They are of weighty importance in school clinics since the medical centers often deal with medical cases of underage persons mostly in comparison with the other healthcare facilities that deal with people of all ages like institutions of public health, mental health, and integrate medical centers among others.
It is well understood, and as aforementioned before in this paper that the healthcare sector involves operations of many different kinds of institutions or organizations like hospitals, clinics, school clinics, and mental institutions among others. School clinics are set up for purposes of providing students, scholars, pupils, employees of learning institutions and even members of the community (to some extent) with qualitative healthcare services (Abdelhak, Grostick, & Hanken, 2014). The thought behind the formation of the school clinic is that young adults or persons that are under eighteen years of age in learning institutions have some sensitive and unique needs for the healthcare sector. It is especially well understood that the teenage hood stage of life is characterized by specialized physical and emotional needs of development of people. As such, school clinics require the employment of specialized health workers and managers for delivery of healthcare services to learners. The overall setting of infrastructure and architecture is often customized to suit the needs and minds of young adults in accordance with norms and trends in the society.
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In the school-based medical centers of school clinics, CQA remains a matter of great importance that enables the learning institutions to provide quality healthcare services to students and adhere to pre-set regulations, codes and standards of the healthcare sector. In actuality, keeping up with CQA in school clinics enables learning institutions to achieve a strong sense of eligibility from stakeholders such as parents and organizations that serve to sponsor programs or activities in the schools. Indeed, this is achieved using good service delivery on the part of medical professionals. It is also crucial to note that school clinics need to have tools like ambulances ready to deploy in cases of emergencies or where a learner needs to be moved to a more equipped medical center like a hospital with elements like diagnostic radiology and departments like the ICU. The institutions of school clinics also employ the usage of specialized medical equipment, similar to those in a hospital setting, like x-ray machines, lab apparatuses, and elements of support to persons with disability. However , the school clinics normally employ physicians and other clinicians with qualifying medical credentials as those in hospitals.
Also, CQA in school clinics relate to the quality delivery of services by facilitating and imploring evaluation, audit and review of health services in the clinics from the perspective of the students as patients. Indeed, it makes the healthcare service delivery to be student-oriented as opposed to being determined by management on the basis of involved systems, norms and practices (McLaughlin, Johnson, & Sollecito, 2012). A keen look at the situation also shows that the CQA serve to improve physician-patient relationships in the school setting. The fact that learners are offered the opportunity to offer feedback and opinions regarding the healthcare services received means that the health professionals are compelled to do the best they can in their service.
Indeed , there is a need for good and strong relations between physicians and patients in the setting of school clinics owing to the function of mutual consent between the two parties. Important to note is that the physicians ought to show strong sense of ethical obligations in their practice. They must understand that they have the trust of getting their patients healed even as they respect their preferences and wishes, especially when the parents of guardians of the students are absent. There is also the aspect of facilitating affordable care over and above patient protection with more stringent measures as compared to settings of ordinary hospitals (Kuo, et al., 2011). Special consideration is given to elements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) or The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. The Acts (of 2010) promote the establishment of health insurance exchanges by learning institutions in the country and proscribe denial of healthcare insurance coverage.
Conclusion
Quality assurance involves the establishment of objectives of gaining an outcome of an organization ’s activity based on standards of performance and benchmarks in the given industry. Continuous quality assurance (CQA) is hence a matter of great importance for organizations that seek to be successful and for industries like that of healthcare, which has the lives of people at stake. Within the healthcare sector, CQA is an important factor of consideration in the various health facilities like the school clinics facilities. The quality efforts involved are particularly important in the establishment of meaningful and desirable patient-physician relationships.
References
Abdelhak, M., Grostick, S., & Hanken, M. A. (2014). Health information: management of a strategic resource . Elsevier Health Sciences.
Kuo, G. M., Franzini, L., Swint, J. M., Mikhail, O., & Mullen, P. D. (2011). Costs and quality of medication reconciliation practice in primary care clinics .
McLaughlin, C. P., Johnson, J. K., & Sollecito, W. A. (2012). Implementing continuous quality improvement in health care: A global casebook . Sudbury, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Sollecito, W. A., & Johnson, J. K. (2013). McLaughlin and Kaluzny's continuous quality improvement in health care . Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
