what do you think you could do to improve the quality of care that you give?

• Periodical List
• Community Center Health
• v.15(41); 2002
• PMC1705904

Community Eye Health. 2002; xv(41): 1–3.

HOW CAN WE Ameliorate PATIENT Intendance?

Monitoring Editor: Gullapalli N Rao, MD

Gullapalli Northward Rao, L V Prasad Eye Plant, Hyderabad – 500 034, India;

Improving patient intendance has become a priority for all health care providers with the overall objective of achieving a loftier degree of patient satisfaction. Greater awareness amongst the public, increasing demand for better care, keener competition, more health care regulation, the rise in medical malpractice litigation, and concern almost poor outcomes are factors that contribute to this change.

The quality of patient care is substantially determined by the quality of infrastructure, quality of training, competence of personnel and efficiency of operational systems. The key requirement is the adoption of a organization that is 'patient orientated'. Existing problems in health care chronicle to both medical and non-medical factors and a comprehensive system that improves both aspects must exist implemented. Wellness intendance systems in developing countries face up an even greater claiming since quality and cost recovery must be balanced with equal opportunities in patient care.

Non-medical Aspects

The fact that the patient is the most important person in a medical care organisation must be recognised by all those who work in the system. This unmarried gene makes a significant departure to the patient intendance in any infirmary. In developing countries financial constraints ofttimes lead to compromised quality of care. This tin can be corrected by the introduction of direction systems that emphasise cost recovery. Our feel shows that a system should first exist developed to attract patients who tin afford to pay for high quality services and such a organisation should so be extended to non-paying patients. This system has the advantages of loftier quality care and skilful cost recovery. Some of the issues that need to exist addressed to improve patient care are listed beneath.

An Afghan mother and child wait for eye care in Kabul, Afghanistan

1. Access. Accessibility and availability of both the hospital and the doc should be assured to all those who require health care.

2. Waiting. Waiting times for all services should be minimised. In most developing countries, the high demand for services oftentimes makes this a huge problem. Nevertheless, information technology has to exist addressed effectively through continual review of patient responses and other information and using this feedback to make the necessary changes in systems.

3. Information. Patient information and educational activity almost all procedures, both medical and administrative, should be made very clear. Well trained patient counsellors course an constructive link between the patient and the hospital staff and make the patient's experience better and the physicians' task much easier.

4. Assistants. Check-in and check-out procedures should exist 'patient friendly'. For example, for in-patients, we accept instituted a system of discharging patients in their rooms, eliminating the need for the patient or the family to get to another office or counter in the hospital and waiting in that location for a long time. This has been favourably received by patients.

5. Communication. Communicating with the patient and the family unit about possible delays is a factor that tin avoid a lot of frustration and feet. The creation of a special 'Patient Care Department' with a full fourth dimension Ambassador has helped our institution significantly and has enhanced our interactions with patients and their families.

6. Ancillary Services. Other services such as communication, food, etc. should exist accessible both to patients and to attending families.

Medical Aspects

The medical aspects of patient care are much better understood by most health care providers. This is dependent on the quality of medical and technical expertise, and the equipment and quality assurance systems in practice. The following factors contribute to the improvement of patient care.

1. Trained Personnel. A well-trained 'Centre Care Squad' is critical to providing high quality care with desirable outcomes. Lack of adequate personnel and lack of acceptable training facilities for the available personnel are major problems. The temptation to recruit untrained or poorly trained people should exist resisted. The number of preparation programmes must be increased, and the existing programmes must exist improved. Making a uniform basic curriculum bachelor for all grooming institutions/programmes should assistance bring about standardisation.

2. Quality Center Care. There is significant business organization nearly the outcomes of cataract surgery, and other common surgical procedures. Incorporation of quality assurance systems in every aspect of patient intendance is disquisitional. For example, adherence to asepsis in the operating rooms will aid reduce post-operative morbidity and proper training of ophthalmologists in diagnostic techniques will aid achieve ameliorate control of sight-threatening diseases.

3. Equipment. All the necessary equipment must exist in place and properly maintained. This is vital to the operation of the medical system and contributes significantly to improve results. Heart-care equipment of acceptable standards is now available at reasonable prices, and this must be accompanied past advisable maintenance systems.

4. Use of Proper Instruments. Expert quality instruments are at present available at lower costs. With the development of proper inventory control systems for a given functioning, the costs can be lowered.

5. Use of Appropriate Medications. Access to low cost medicines is an absolute necessity for advisable care.

6. Utilise of Newer Technologies. It is important to continually utilise newer technologies that amend the quality of care. Of grade, this must be done with reference to cost-efficiencies.

Improvement of patient care is a dynamic process and should be uppermost in the minds of medical care personnel. Development and sustenance of a patient-sensitive system is most critical to achieving this objective. It is important to pay attention to quality in every aspect of patient intendance, both medical and not-medical.

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Articles from Community Eye Health are provided here courtesy of International Center for Eye Wellness

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Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1705904/

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