Structure is the key focal point for quality improvements. The availability of reliable facilities and equipment alongside qualified doctors and nurses constitute paramount aspects that lead to the provision of the high-quality care. Apart from structure, outcomes and customer satisfaction makes the patients feel respected, cared for and treated with dignity (Elizabeth, Williams, Gakhal, Caley, & Cooke, 2012). Customer safety, which is part of quality healthcare services, is of major concern. Until now, the Broad Road Healthcare system makes use of written-on-paper charts and transfers the notes to the computer later. The use of paperwork may create errors during the process of medication. In addition, transfer of information to the computer is time-consuming. When someone has an adverse reaction to treatment due to medication error, it results in an unexpected outcome that potentially ruins the reputation of on a facility.
The major purpose of the urgent care is to ensure accessibility to immediate healthcare for people with urgent matters. Currently, the health unit aims at calling every patient from the waiting room within 20 minutes after they sign in. This approach instills confidence and enhances efficiency of the service delivery system. The undermining factor to this goal is that the doctors and the nurses do not always hit those 20 minutes, and if they do, the patients have to wait in the waiting room for long since no exam room is free. Previously, the healthcare unit used to close at midnight, but they shifted the time to 10 p.m. This reduction in time seems to have upset many patients. Also, the patients who visit the healthcare are not given correct information (communication) while they are being treated; yet, this information is required when making informed decisions about their continued care after leaving the healthcare unit. The patients are usually forced to undergo medical treatment plans that they do not understand. This coercion makes them feel pressured. Another thing is that the system is not meeting the HIPPA’s 2004 requirement, which dictates that patient’s medical records should be accessible at any time during their visits to aid in making informed decisions (Youngberg, 2013).
Current quality improvement data
Creating more exam rooms and increasing the number of the staffs attending to the patients will reduce the waiting time. Each nurse will have more time to spend with each patient; hence will listen better, show more concern, and boast of the patients’ satisfaction. Some of the exam rooms, currently under use, occupy large spaces that should be partitioned to create more exam rooms. The working hours should be shifted back to midnight to enhance accessibility. Adopting electronic medical record systems will provide more time for the doctors and the nurses to attend to the patients and enhance efficiency. The staff should undergo more training on how to manage time and provide excellent interpersonal care to the patients. The efficiency of the doctors and the quality of treatment can be improved by adopting national guidelines clearing-house (NGC), a huge database that is available online and is constantly updated. Youngberg (2013) suggests that this database will promote health workers’ access to evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. The nurses should be given more time and accountability so that they can bring out tremendous results rather than putting the patients’ health in the hands of technology.
Improving the patients’ records system by adopting an electronic medical record system will reduce the paperwork and ensure that fewer errors are made when dispensing the medicine to the patients. Streaming the patients’ information only once, digitally, will give the patients more of what they need at the end, which is time. Adopting digitization will enhance efficiency by enabling the direct transfer of patients’ information to the system for review and analysis. Subsequently, patients will easily access their records.
References
Elizabeth E. A., Williams, S. J., Gakhal, S., Caley, L., & Cooke, M. W. (2012). Healthcare quality improvement-policy implications and practicalities. International journal of health care quality assurance, 25(7), 565-581.
Youngberg, B. J. (2013). Patient safety handbook. Sudbury, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning.