Journal for healthcare quality : official publication of the National Association for Healthcare Quality
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This article was written specifically to encourage hospitals that are initiating total quality management to include physicians at the beginning stages of the process. Including physicians from the outset can benefit the entire organization. Physicians, by the nature of their profession, have an important role in the quality of the patient care process.
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Quality management professionals confront the challenge of motivating others to participate in the improvement of patient care. Producing this motivation frequently proves problematic. ⋯ A process model is used to demonstrate that satisfaction of the higher-level needs of esteem and self-actualization is required to produce true motivation. By understanding the process of motivation, we may become more effective in improving patient care.
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An inappropriate patient transfer from the emergency room results in less-than-quality care, cost concerns, and patient and staff dissatisfaction. The emergency room physicians at a 162-bed community hospital reported that patients were being transferred needlessly from the emergency room to other acute care facilities. An investigation of the issue documented lost revenues and concerns about the quality of patient care. Based on the findings of the investigation, specific recommendations were proposed to monitor and evaluate the quality of patient care provided in the emergency room.
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Accurate and complete medical record documentation is essential in any healthcare setting. In addition to communicating vital patient care information, the medical record provides documentation of appropriate evaluation, treatment, and services. It also is used to evaluate practitioner performance, to monitor resource use, and to determine reimbursement. In this article, Carol Ann Martin describes the efforts of one hospital to revise and upgrade its medical record documentation by means of continuous quality improvement strategies.