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Integrated quality improvement program in patient care
Author(s) -
Navuluri Ramesh B.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
nursing and health sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.563
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1442-2018
pISSN - 1441-0745
DOI - 10.1046/j.1442-2018.1999.00028.x
Subject(s) - multidisciplinary approach , quality (philosophy) , government (linguistics) , quality management , nursing , institution , health care , patient care , documentation , patient satisfaction , control (management) , medicine , medical emergency , psychology , operations management , computer science , management system , engineering , social science , linguistics , philosophy , epistemology , artificial intelligence , sociology , political science , law , economics , programming language , economic growth
Quality improvement in nursing is paramount among the factors contributing to an institution’s survival and growth. The demand by patients, families, insurance payers, and health professionals for quality in patient care is ever increasing. A review of the literature revealed that existing programs that ensure and monitor quality of care are group‐specific based on diagnosis‐related groups, time‐specific as in care maps and critical pathways, focused on outcomes only, or are not comprehensive by ignoring ‘little things’. Hence, there is a need for a comprehensive, continuous, individual patient‐specific, multidisciplinary quality improvement program. To fulfill the need, an integrated quality improvement program (IQIP) is formulated, and a quality monitor format (QMF) is devised. The QMF is planned by the staff nurses for each patient, and includes patient care standards, patient care by other departments, and ‘little things’ like ice water and noise control which have a significance to patients and families. The QMF is maintained from admission to discharge of each patient, non‐conformances are analyzed, and problem solving to improve quality is made continually at unit and institution levels. Committed implementation of IQIP ensures delivery of quality care, enhances satisfaction of patients and families, satisfies government regulations, and provides meaning to the efforts of nurses, education, management, and research.