Quality Improvement Projects as a Solid Organizational Intervention Process: Response to the Professor

Overall, I see some benefit in Quality Improvement projects; however, I do not agree with the entire notion that the benefits in Quality Improvement projects serve as a solid organizational intervention process. Health care organizations are continuously seeking new quality and safety improvement initiatives in health care. Quality health care is characterized by the “degree to which health care services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge” (Hughes, 2008). I am reluctant that Quality Improvement projects are a solid organizational intervention process as the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on the changes needed for the future of nursing reveals that a majority of medical errors are a mere result of faculty systems and processes, not individuals (Hughes, 2008). The complexity of health care is attributed to inefficient and variable processes such as changing case mix of patients, differences in the educational level and experience of health care providers and systems, and health care insurance (Hughes, 2008).

Today’s health care industry functions at a much lower level than it should and is capable of due to the errors caused by system and process failures. It is therefore imperative for health care organizations to adopt a set of process improvement techniques geared toward identifying inefficiencies, administering ineffective care, and preventing errors that tend to influence changes with the organizational invention process (Hughes, 2008). The ultimate goal of measuring the health care quality is to “determine the effects of health care on desired outcomes and to assess the degree to which health care adheres to processes based on scientific evidence or agreed to by professional consensus and is consistent with patient preferences” (Hughes, 2008). Therefore, I do not see the benefit in Quality Improvement projects as a solid organizational intervention process.

Feasibility of Focus Groups with Staff

I definitely see the feasibility to use focus groups with staff in addition to training and testing policies that need to be established prior to the study. In an article entitled “Focus on communication: Increasing the opportunity for successful staff-patient interactions,” a pilot was performed to assess the feasibility of a patient-centered communication intervention (Boscart et al., 2011, p.14). The study aimed at examining the “implementation of the communication care plans; identifying staff perceptions of the intervention; exploring changes in patients’ perceptions of care and psychological functioning; and exploring changes in nurses’ knowledge of and attitude towards communication with patients” (Boscart et al., 2011, p.14). Since patients suffer from various debilitating diseases, illnesses, and medical conditions, patients often have speech and language impairments which can impede their ability to effectively communicate with nurses and other health care professionals. The purpose of the focus group sessions was to find ways for nurses and other health care professionals to effectively communicate with their patients based on the severity of their impairment or impediment.

Focus group sessions were utilized to develop an intervention consisting of attending workshops and training sessions, developing individualized communication plans, and implementing a system to effectively and efficiently support nurses when using the plans developed (Boscart et al., 2011, p.15). The focus groups with staff in addition to training and testing policies established prior to the study were proven to be quite feasible as there was an exceptional response rate and nurses definitely adhered to the interventions discussed within the focus group session (Boscart et al., 2011, p.14). Once it is proven to be feasible the interventional plan can be implemented and utilized for a larger-scale study.

Reference

Boscart, V., Fox, M., McGilton, K., Rochon, E., Sidani, S., Sorin-Peters, R. (2011). Focus on communication: Increasing the opportunity for successful staff-patient interactions. International Journal of Older People Nursing, 6(1), 13-24.

Hughes, Rhonda G. (2008). Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.