Research, Evaluation, Measurement & Audit in Health Care

Research, Evaluation, Measurement & Audit in Health Care

Introduction

This paper intends to discuss the significance of evaluation, measurement and research in managing quality and safety in healthcare sector. It remains extremely important to analyze that constant research within the field of healthcare remains the most important factor for the purpose of improving the quality standards and the health of and safety of patients. Moreover, various quality improvement projects are always essential to further enhance the standards of healthcare organizations. The concept of audit within the field of healthcare is also important. This paper will also discuss the concept of medication reconciliation in order to make the reader aware about the significance of this concept. The purpose of this paper is to spread awareness regarding the underlying concepts of healthcare sector.

Discussion

Evaluation, Measurement and Research in Managing Quality and Safety in Healthcare

The healthcare service is highly related to the well being of patients as the customers, who make the outcome is less predictable. Patient's safety should then be the foremost concern for healthcare organizations. Patient's safety is accomplished by both minimizing errors and adverse effects and enhancing medication processes. Sitcom (2005) described healthcare as a labor-intensive sector where by the work process is more cognitive than physical. This process, which involves patients together with patient families, medical professions and administrative personnel, creates a complex, a highly structured and quite a heterogeneous culture. Therefore, Sitcom (2005) argued that ICT tends to disrupt existing social structure as well as established clinical practice and core work process by reengineering the cognitive process and the social structure of the healthcare profession. This problem will lead to dissatisfaction and resistance. An example of resistance occurring in a university medical centre was presented by Lorenz et al. (1997). The new technology encountered challenges as it disturbed and forced changes to established processes and practice routines. That is, medical staff sees the technology as the enforcement of will and value by the management.

The healthcare sector is considered a complex and a multi-stakeholder environment with a split decision-making organization. Lorenz et al. (1997) mentioned several reasons why healthcare is a complex service organization. Based on Mint berg's type of organizations, they argued that the healthcare organization is a combination of a federal structure (i.e. homogenous with regional unit), a machine bureaucracy (i.e. top formal process controlled), a professional bureaucracy (i.e. autonomously professional activities with professional value and culture controlled), and a networked organization (i.e. independent individuals and sub-organizations that link each other for a certain objective or task) (see also South on et al, 1999).

The healthcare sector is also encouraged to share knowledge due to the knowledge intensive characteristic of the organization. The knowledge sharing in a knowledge intensive environment will support better decision making among medical professions in one organization and between organizations in the healthcare sector. Evaluating healthcare information system through an enterprise perspective will encounter difficulties in this multi-stakeholder environment (Connell and Young, ...