Hire a consultant for healthcare quality assurance to evaluate your facility

An independent consultant has up-to-date information about quality assurance issues and accreditation requirements. The QA assessment they conduct includes an evaluation of the quality of care and a plan for improving weak points.

I recommend: Zynx Health provides concise summaries of relevant performance. The company also measures performance once a facility completes recommendations. Thomson Reuters can help you look at relevant information about patient safety, delivery of care and patient flow. They provide a view of clinical performance to help your team detect inefficiencies, prioritize opportunities and set improvement goals. Bryant Statistical Consulting offers healthcare facilities quality improvement tools such as Six Sigma and Lean.

Employ the right methods to improve quality assurance in healthcare

In many cases, increasing resources doesn't necessarily ensure quality or efficiency, but improving the processes themselves can create better outcomes and reduce costs. Consultants for quality assurance in healthcare can propose a plan for corrective steps, implement improvements and conduct a follow-up monitoring. Still, you may want to supplement that effort.

I recommend: Brown-Spath Associates offers training programs on performance improvement topics for health care facilities. The American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians, Inc. (ABQAURP) provides valuable health care programs and education for health care professionals. Provide senior heath care workers with continuing medical education with programs like those offered at The International Council for Quality Care, Inc.

Help meet Joint Commission standards by hiring a consultant for healthcare accreditation

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have given authority to The Joint Commission as an accrediting body. There are other US-based alternatives to the Joint Commission including: Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP), DNV, Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), The Compliance Team, Inc. and Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation (HQAA). You may want to hire a healthcare accreditation consultant or a healthcare compliance consultant to assure that your facility meets requirements.

I recommend: The Joint Commission standards can be purchased from Joint Commission Resources. Healthcare Compliance Strategies (HCCS) provides online compliance training and healthcare quality assurance training to hospitals, teaching facilities and other health care entities. Their online courses provide real-life scenarios and interactive questions and answers. DecisionHealth also offers tools for accreditation, compliance and safety/security.