Editorial

Citation

Downey Ennis, K. (2010), "Editorial", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 23 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2010.06223baa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Volume 23, Issue 2

It is with pleasure that I bring to the readers of the IJHCQA this issue which contains many innovative methods to use to improve the overall quality of care for patients and new ways to improve and evaluate the overall healthcare system.

Gomes and colleagues inform the readers of a rather novel approach namely healthcare operational effectiveness (HOE), which they utilised to measure, track and improve quality, availability and efficiency of the healthcare operational system. The approach uses an adaptation of the tried and tested PDSA cycle and is underpinned by three indicators availability, quality and efficiency. Clearly any organisation will see the usefulness of these indicators as a means of improving performance for patients and users of the service.

Judith Lancaster and colleagues set out to examine the benefits (if any) which are associated with accreditation.. The findings indicate that there are several benefits to be accrued from participating as a surveyor within an accreditation survey. Exposure to different approaches to quality in different insitutions provided the surveyors with unexpected benfits such as having exposure to new methods and innovation, engaing in ongoing learning opportunities, gaining expertise to enhance quality within their own base organisations. The findings serve as a reference point for understanding the value of surveying and can provide organisations with the means to better understand the nature of the specialized skills housed in the health care professionals they have on staff who also operate as external surveyors.

The voice of the customer (VOC) was the topic studied by Aghlmand and colleagues in Iran where they sought to identify aspects of maternity care. The findings from this study indicate that the most important aspect of maternity care for women in Iran is the well being of mother and baby, however the overall satisfaction of women was low to moderate. The authors suggest that the methodology studied while successfully applied in the study hospital requires to be further evaluated in other settings. The findings of the study provide a useful method to identify important patient needs and requirements in the maternity care setting within Iran with the results forming a solid basis for achieving improvement in the processes of care for both mothers and babies within Iran.

Narang undertook a study in India utilising an instrument, which was used in other developing nations but which was adjusted the instrument for the Indian context. Specifically the instrument sought to understand the perception of patients towards health personnel and practices, adequacy of resources and services, health care delivery system; and access to services. The findings indicated that the instrument under test was a reliable tool, which truly reflected the ability to discern the impact of various demographic and socio-economic variables such as age, sex, education and income on the perception of the patients related to quality in different health care centres and provides an insight for hospital management to take on board to improve the patient experience within India.

The case study presented by Udechukwu and colleagues present the findings of a practice oriented research to elucidate key parameters in a number of focused area stemming from the introduction of an IS/IT system for medical referrals known as Choose and Book. They argue that the implementation of such a system can fail primarily due to the inability of the project sponsors to appreciate the complex and far reaching softer implications of the implementation in a complex organizational structure where there are multifarious stakeholders. Despite the obstacles identified lessons have emerged which are important to the future development of IS/IT systems specifically the importance of taking into account the political and cultural factors which may impact the outcome of any such adoption.

Vinagre’s research investigated the contributions of emotional factors on satisfaction based on perceived justice. Results confirm that satisfaction results of a complex process of mechanisms that are both cognitive and affective, however apart form the theoretical implications that have been referred, the results obtained have a fundamental importance at two levels: Firstly from a management perspective organizations such as the health centres need to clarify norms and adopt procedures that consider the patients’ interests and needs and secondly from a competence of health professionals perspective, especially doctors should consider their profession beyond mere procedure.

A new theoretical and methodological approach in respect of quality of care and patient satisfaction is presented by Larrson and colleagues which is as a result of a study which had a twofold aim, firstly to develop a care-context adapted version of the Emotional Stress Reaction Questionnaire (ESRQ) and secondly using the instrument to explore the relationship between quality of care from a patient perspective and patient satisfaction taking key antecedent conditions into account. Several conclusions have been drawn from the study.

Borowski and colleagues give the readers insight into the results of a clinical audit of the management of patients requiring laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The authors conclude that a large proportion of patients admitted with symptomatic biliary disease could have been referred earlier and electively. Such referral practice could improve the quality of care and reduce cost for the NHS both in primary and secondary care.

I do hope that the readers of this issue find some new and interesting methods to transfer to their own healthcare organisations in an effort to improve the overall service delivery process.

Kay Downey EnnisCo-Editor