Strategies for Measuring Quality Care in Healthcare Organizations in the United States
Abstract
Abstract
According to members of the Institute of Medicine, about 98,000 hospitalized
patients in the United States die each year because of poor quality care. The problem of
poor healthcare quality may exist in part due to limited information on effective
performance measurement processes. A multiple case study design was used to gain
broad insight into possible solutions to the problems of determining the quality of
healthcare services using performance measurements. Hospital/healthcare organization
leaders in North Carolina who had implemented optimal performance measurements for
quality care were interviewed. The conceptual frameworks that served as a proposition
for the study were Goldratt's theory of constraint, Deming's 14 point model and Lewin's
model of the change process in human systems. The data collection process involved
semistructured interviews of 12 individuals. Data sources and conceptual framework
triangulations were used in the data analysis process(coding approaches, study
dependability, credibility, transferability methods and case study protocol use) . The
themes that emerged from the study were strategies for performance measurement and
strategies to enhance service quality in healthcare organizations etc. Results might
contribute to social change by helping healthcare leaders and patients improve their
knowledge and understanding of optimal performance measurement strategies, which
may effect positive organizational changes.
