The quality of care delivered in every healthcare organization is determined by a number of factors including leadership, availability of resources, availability of qualified staff, how services are organized, and how monitoring is conducted (Baker et al., 2010). St. Mary’s Health Care System in Athens, Georgia is community hospital that strives to meet all the health needs of patients. With the rising rates of HIV infections in the community, St. Mary’s Heath Care System needs to improve the quality of healthcare delivery for HIV patients. The quality improvement needs to focus on those processes that are important to HIV patients in the community. In addition, this community must ensure that its healthcare delivery system conforms to the national quality standards set by the World Health Organization (Newbold, 2011).
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The specific quality improvement objectives include; to ensure that all patients are effectively screened for HIV; to ensure that all HIV positive patients are put on drugs at the right time; to reduce the number of HIV positive patients who fail to attend clinic as required; and to reduce death rates in the community that occur as a result of HIV. This quality improvement is important because it will make the hospital to meet the national requirements for HIV care delivery (Baker et al., 2010). In the process, the quality of patients care will be improved because all HIV positive patients within Athens will be able to obtain all the care they need to maintain a good health as required by the World Health Organization. The Chief Executive Officer will be assisted by the team manager to implement the quality improvement. Other stakeholders who will assist with the implementation of the quality improvement are the employees, HIV positive patients in the community, and professional doctors in the hospital (Baker et al., 2010).
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Steps necessary for implementing the quality improvement
Step 1: Setting priorities to identify specific areas for improvement
- The Chief Executive Officer should use the available data to identify gaps that should be addressed
- The CEO needs to obtain additional information from members of staff and patients
- He or she should then prioritize opportunities for improvement
Step 2: Definition of a performance measurement method for the improvement
- The Chief Executive Officer should define a specific period for the measure, define the population to involve, and establish a specific measure
Step 3: Establishment of an improvement team
- The team manager should identify employees who have adequate knowledge to assist with the improvement
- Form a strong team to work on the improvement area
Step 4: Understanding the processes of the underlying system of care
- The team manager should provide a list of all tasks that need to be performed to facilitate the improvement
- The team manager should involve employees and patients in identifying the potential barriers to improvement
Step 5: Making changes to improve care and measuring whether the changes have resulted into the desired improvements.
- The Chief Executive Officer should test the changes and measure them to see whether there are any changes in the quality of care delivered to HIV patients
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