Quality Improvement Milestones - Essay Example

Quality Improvement Milestones The essay aims to focus on the milestone of the creation of the Joint Commision formerly known as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) with the objective of addressing the following concerns, to wit: (1) to evaluate how this milestone has influenced health care delivery; consider positive outcomes, failures, and unintended consequences; (2) to consider how this milestone relates to the purpose and philosophy of quality improvement; (3) to analyze how this milestone has influenced health care delivery; (4) to explain how this milestone relates to the purpose and philosophy of quality improvement; and finally, (5) to address the proposition that health care quality is currently a national priority.

Quality Improvement Milestones The Joint Commission was reportedly created in 1951 with the objective of accrediting health care institutions based on a set of standards with the aim of “inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value” (The Joint Commission, 2011, par. 3). This milestone has influenced health care delivery through the stipulation of standards that health care institutions must adhere to in order to ensure that high quality of delivery of health services are accorded to clients and stakeholders.

As emphasized in the Right Step website, “accreditation helps to inform and protect health care clients and consumers, educate health care providers, and support overall quality improvement in the behavioral health care organization” (The Right Step, 2011, par. 1). Failures to address risks and manage the continuun of care would result in patient injuries, increase in costs, losses and could drastically affect the performance and success of health care institutions; as well as compromise the health conditions of the population.

The vision of the Joint Commission that “all people always experience the safest, highest quality, best-value health care across all settings” (The Joint Commission, 2011, par. 3) provided the direct link that relates to the purpose and philosophy of quality improvement. Through their creation, the stipulation of health care standards, commitment to safety in patient care, infection control, prevention of medication errors and adherence to an exemplary working environment that focuses on customer satisfaction, the delivery of health care is expected to manifest the utmost excellence in protecting human life.

This milestone relates to the purpose and philosophy of quality improvement through the performance measurement systems, in conjunction with onsite visits to effectively gauge adherence to highest quality standards expected of health care institutions.The US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has appointed an agency to focus on health care quality to validate that it is currently a national priority. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) was tasked to “highlight progress in selected priority areas that are expected to yield the greatest gains in health care quality “(US Department of Health and Human Services, N.D., par. 1). Through the programs, performance measurements and standards of the Joint Commission, the proposition that health care quality is a national priorty is hereby supported and addressed.

ReferencesThe Joint Commission. (2011). About the Joint Commission. Retrieved September 7, 2011, from http://www.jointcommission.org/about_us/about_the_joint_commission_main.aspxThe Joint Commission. (2011, April 20). Facts about The Joint Commission. RetrievedSeptember 7, 2011, from http://www.jointcommission.org/facts_about_the_joint_commission/The Right Step. (2011). The Right Step Has Earned Accreditation by the Joint Commission.Retrieved September 7, 2011, from http://www.rightstep.com/about-us/jcaho-accredited.

phpUS Department of Health and Human Services. (N.D.). Progress Is Uneven With Respect toEight National Priority Areas. Retrieved September 7, 2011, from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhqr10/Key1.htm