Qualified Professionals
Mismanagement
Lack of training
Limited professionals
Lack of continued training
Management
Financial alignment
Financial mismanagement
Limited finances
Research
Lack of implementation of research findings
Limited research
Quality improvement
According to the World Health Organization (2006) quality in health care means that health care is effective, efficient, accessible, patient-centered or acceptable, safe and equitable. Even as the organizations identify the existence of varied definitions of the concept as is dependent on the specific environment, WHO recommends that quality health care is one that is characterized by the concepts mentioned above. My current organization identifies quality healthcare as the level to which provided health care services produce desired results and is further guided by professional guidelines and standards. For the organization, the well-being of patients is often the priority and the level to which services provided ensure such well-being is what determines quality health care. It means that if professional practices and service provided do not result in the welfare of patients, then, there lacks quality healthcare. Even with this definition of healthcare there exist six dimensions that are often applicable in defining quality healthcare.
The six dimensions of quality health care are those identified by the World Health Organization. These are that quality health care is one that is efficient, patient-centered, safe, timely, effective and equitable (Alshammary, 2017). Quality health care is efficient when it maximizes available resources for the provision of services while reducing wastage. Quality healthcare needs to be accessible which means that it needs to be timely, geographically available and in a setting where the skills applied are appropriate for the medical needs of the given setting. It is quality health care when it is effective meaning that is remains adherent to the available evidence and leads to improved health outcomes for patients and communities according to their medical needs. It should be patient-centered in that it considers individual health care needs, preferences and aspirations of patients while incorporating their cultures. It needs to be safe where harm and risks to its users are minimal or absent. Quality health care is equitable where quality is maintained across, race, gender, socio-economic status, geographical location and ethnicity (Huber et al., 2016).
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The current organization’s definition of quality healthcare supports the dimensions of quality health care being patient-centered and effective. Even so, there are various deficiencies in the organization that limit the maximum provision of quality health care in the organization. Management is one of the problems in the organization. Often, effective management will result in a well-organized facility operating to the required standards. However, the current organization experiences mismanagement of personnel and resources resulting from inadequate training for those in management positions. Lack of effective management means that the organization does not operate as required resulting in reduced quality services. Research represents another problem in the organization where there are limited instances of research and the lack of implementation of the recommendations made from the few cases of research that occur. Without frequent research, the hospital is not aware of the areas that need to be improved.
Financial alignment lacks in the organization where deficiencies in the management result in the misuse of funds in a facility where these resources are limited. It disables the organization thus preventing effective care for patients. Further, the hospital has limited qualified professionals who would ensure quality health care and these professionals rarely engage in instances of training and development. These problems specifically affect the profession of quality health care for patients and in adverse ways.
The lack of effective management means that the organization cannot work smoothly. It also means that there is no appropriate guidance placing the facility at the brink of chaos. Such a situation means that the organization lacks a practical guideline towards the provision of quality health care making it almost impossible for patients to access it (Nica, 2015). Leadership is the backbone of any organization, and unstable management means that employees lack the appropriate foundation on which to base their behavior and provision of services which reduces the quality of these services significantly.
Research as a problem present in the organization affects the quality of care that can reach patients. Research in health care often helps organizations look at issues from a broader perspective while gaining the necessary knowledge for caring for patients. However, the absence of such research efforts and the lack of implementation of recommendations from the minimal research efforts mean that the facility is often blindsided on what quality health care means for its patients and how to provide it for them. Qualified professionals represent a critical part of the organization.
Without qualified professionals, an organization cannot operate as is expected, and in some instances, it may not operate at all. Qualified professionals provide the necessary services that ensure the well-being of patients. Without these individuals, a hospital becomes disabled and cannot operate as expected. It means that even the provision of quality services will be limited preventing every patient from accessing them. The lack of training for these professionals also means that they cannot keep up with the evolving health care world and will not maintain their services at par with the ever-changing standards. Finances determine the smooth running of the organization as they enable and facilitate smooth operations in the organization. In the instances that these resources are limited and misused, the provision of quality care becomes impossible. The professional will lack the necessary resources availed by financial alignment making it hard for them to provide quality health care.
Overall, one can identify that quality health care is a universal concept necessary for every health care institution. It needs to be effective, efficient, safe, patient-centered, equitable and accessible. Despite the customized definition of quality health care in my organization and the continued effort to achieve the desired levels of quality healthcare, the organization encounters various problems that hinder the provision of quality care, and these are present in its management, in the limited qualified professionals, financial constraints and limited efforts towards research. It is necessary that these problems are addressed to help improve the quality of care that patients can access.
References
Alshammary, W. A. (2017). Perceived dimensions of quality in healthcare (Doctoral dissertation, Wichita State University).
Huber, M., van Vliet, M., Giezenberg, M., Winkens, B., Heerkens, Y., Dagnelie, P. C., & Knottnerus, J. A. (2016). Towards a ‘patient-centred’operationalisation of the new dynamic concept of health: a mixed methods study. BMJ open , 6 (1), e010091.
Nica, E. (2015). Moral leadership in health care organizations. American Journal of Medical Research , 2 (2), 118.
World Health Organization. (2006). Quality of care: a process for making strategic choices in health systems.
