Quality Improvement Projects in Health Care

Problem Solving in the Workplace

Eleanor Gilpatrick

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 1998
• Print ISBN:
  9780761911678
  9780761911661
• eBook ISBN:
  9781452251257
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Medical Theory, Practice & Reference

In the current atmosphere of closer scrutiny of healthcare practices and procedures, front-line managers and health care providers must investigate potential problems in their work environment, whether at the behest of upper management, in order to meet Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) standards, or through their own sense that "weÆre doing something wrong." For the investigator with limited previous experience in evaluation or research, the prospect of undertaking this kind of investigation can appear daunting, to say the least. Quality Improvement Projects in Health Care was written just for this individual. Author Eleanor Gilpatrick, a seasoned investigator and professor of health services administration, provides a review of the basic terminology and guidelines for carrying out "nuts-and-bolts" quality improvement research. She then demonstrates how such a research project can be implemented through 14 case studies involving actual health care situations. Altogether, the cases speak to a broad array of issues and potential pitfalls for the unwary investigatorùand they show that progress can be made in even the most difficult circumstances. Quality Improvement Projects in Health Care will be of interest to students and professionals in health sciences administration, nursing, allied health, and public health.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Part I - Basic Concepts and Manual
• Chapter 1 - Basic Concepts
• Chapter 2 - Does the Problem Really Exist?
• Chapter 3 - Finding and Verifying Causes
• Chapter 4 - Finding Solutions
• Chapter 5 - Implementing Solutions and Making Them Operational
• Part II - Cases
• Case 1 - Getting Nursing Home Residents Into Physical Therapy in a Timely Fashion
• Case 2 - Patients Waiting for Radiation During Scheduled Visits
• Case 3 - Late Notification of Critical Values by a Hospital Laboratory
• Case 4 - Time Spent in Rehabilitation by Amputation Patients in a Municipal Hospital
• Case 5 - Incomplete Laboratory Referrals in an HMO Center
• Case 6 - HMO Patients' Problems With Crutches and Canes
• Case 7 - Dealing With Hemolyzed Blood Samples in a Hospital Laboratory
• Case 8 - Errors in Filling Prescriptions in a Hospital Pharmacy
• Case 9 - A Labor-Management Health and Safety Committee
• Case 10 - Nurse Attendance at Mandated Classes in an Outpatient Department
• Case 11 - Compliance With Discussions and Documentation of Advance Directives in a Home Care Agency
• Case 12 - Use of a Reminder Letter to Encourage Follow-Up Visits
• Case 13 - Use of an Internal Audit in an Intermediate Care Facility
• Case 14 - Use of Data on Unusual Occurrences in an Emergency Medical Service
• Appendix 1 - Outline for the Written Project Plan of Work
• Appendix 2 - Detailed Tables and Practice Exercises
• Background Reading Related to the Cases
• Index
• About the Author