SYNDICATED WORKSHOPS

Syndicated Workshops

Abstract

QA activities are an important part of management and may occasionally be reformulated into a total quality management system. In general, however, QA efforts will focus more narrowly on three critical management systems: supervision, training, and management information systems. Special effort should be made to strengthen these systems as a QA program develops. Organizations should develop supervision systems that not only evaluate and manage activities, but also support health workers through a process of professional growth. In the long term, this approach can lead to self-managed, self-directed individual and collective work. While this may seem difficult, it is necessary since many health providers in developing countries work at the periphery without daily supervision. Supervisors can take the lead in QA efforts by providing an example of participatory leadership and problem-solving skills; over time, health workers can initiate quality improvement activities. Methods for self-management and concurrent QA such as health worker and supervisor self-assessments and other job aids can be introduced by the supervisor to improve performance.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

1.0 Introduction1

2.0 The key points that went wrong1

2.1 Technical issues1

2.2 Managerial issues2

3.0 The Organigram2

4.0 Allocation of responsibility3

5.0 Impact of the Clothier Report on the modern practice of QA (Quality Assurance)4

6.0 Conclusions6

References7

Syndicated Workshops

1.0 Introduction

Evans Medical Group was one of the first groups to use Centricity EMR, in its very first version. The 1996 program was not as flexible and didn't have as much clinical content as it does today, so Dr. Lamberts and his group paid for some custom data-entry forms and looked for creative ways to do the things he envisioned. Without computers in the exam rooms, they had to create paper templates that doctors could use during exams; handwritten notes and dictation were typed in later.

2.0 The key points that went wrong

2.1 Technical issues

The introduction of purchasing authorities, whose role is to place contracts for health care services from a range of providers, has brought into sharper relief the need for clear specification of work programmes and measurement of outcomes. (Field, 2010: 8)Health promotion practitioners now need to define and assess their activities as rigorously as practitioners in other fields of health. However, the diversity and longterm impacts of health promotion activity have meant that progress in developing appropriate evaluation tools and methods has been `painfully slow'. Despite the growing interest within the field in more effective evaluation of both the process and outcome of health promotion activity, there has not been adequate attention paid to providing guidance to practitioners on methods of assuring quality and demonstrating effectiveness.

2.2 Managerial issues

There is a looming crisis in clinical care in the United Kingdom. The ageing population, rising patient expectations and a culture of consumerism2 are increasing the demand on clinical services. At the same time, several factors are reducing whole-career service provision of the frontline medical workforce. These include demographic factors, such as the increase in the proportion of female medical graduates to almost 60%; issues of balancing work and other aspects of life, leading to earlier retirement; and ...