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Improving Midwifery Practice: The American College of Nurse‐Midwives' Benchmarking Project
Author(s) -
CollinsFulea Cathy,
Mohr Julie J.,
Tillett Jackie
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of midwifery and women's health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.543
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1542-2011
pISSN - 1526-9523
DOI - 10.1016/j.jmwh.2005.06.007
Subject(s) - benchmarking , quality management , quality (philosophy) , health care , best practice , process (computing) , process management , nursing , total quality management , identification (biology) , customer satisfaction , medicine , business , computer science , operations management , engineering , management system , marketing , political science , philosophy , botany , epistemology , lean manufacturing , law , biology , operating system
Quality management in clinical practice involves the use of numerous techniques that monitor the quality of care clinicians provide. Quality improvement is an approach to quality management that emphasizes system and processes, rather than a focus on individual performance. Quality improvement examines objective data to improve these processes, even when high standards of performance appear to have been met. Benchmarking measures one's processes and outcomes against “best in class” and is a part of a quality improvement program. By using benchmarking to provide goals for realistic process improvement and identification of the most efficient and effective methods of meeting all of their customer's needs, health care providers can document their effectiveness in terms of cost, quality, and satisfaction. This article details the American College of Nurse‐Midwives' benchmarking project and presents benchmarks for obstetric practice from the year 2004.