Over the past 20 years, patient satisfaction surveys have gained increasing attention as meaningful and essential sources of information for identifying gaps and developing an effective action plan for quality improvement in healthcare organizations. However, there are very few published studies reporting of the improvements resulting from feedback information of patient satisfaction surveys, a...

U.S. Healthcare has developed a quality-based compensation model through which its primary care physicians, hospitals, and specialists can earn additional compensation based on the quality and cost-effectiveness of the care they provide to their patients. The model clearly delineates the expectations of U.S. Healthcare, and in contrast with traditional payment models, encourages improvement in ...

One of the roles of a healthcare quality improvement organization (QIO) is to provide tools and support to healthcare organizations and facilities to assist them in their quality improvement efforts. Geographical differences in adherence to clinical guidelines have been demonstrated. The identification of geographical areas of need helps the QIO improve the efficiency of this information delive...

Healthcare Quarterly Vol.17 Special Issue 2014 45 Abstract The author calls for a critical assessment of the impact of investments made in the measurement of quality and safety, and reflects on whether a reorientation of some of this investment is required to realize the healthcare quality and safety improvement the system seeks. This article also reflects on several Canadian initiatives that h...

There are many instances of perceived or real inefficiencies in health service delivery. Both healthcare providers and policy makers need to know the impact and cost of applying strategies to change the behaviour of individuals or organisations. Quality improvement or implementation research is concerned with evaluating the methods of behavioural change. Addressing inefficiencies in healthcare ...

The clinical nurse leader (CNL) role is being rapidly implemented in healthcare settings. A major component of the CNL role is to provide a leader at the center of the microsystem to promote quality outcomes. To examine the impact of CNLs at the Department of Veterans Affairs Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, outcomes from 5 diverse microsystems were evaluated before and after CNL implementat...

BACKGROUND Understanding quality improvement from a patient perspective is important for delivering patient-centred care. Yet the ways patients define quality improvement remains unexplored with patients often excluded from improvement work. We examine how patients construct ideas of 'quality improvement' when collaborating with healthcare professionals in improvement work, and how they use the...

BACKGROUND Previous research has addressed the relationship between customer satisfaction, perceived quality and customer loyalty intentions in consumer markets. In this study, we test and compare three theoretical models of the quality-satisfaction-loyalty relationship in the Chinese healthcare system. METHODS This research focuses on hospital patients as participants in the process of healt...

OBJECTIVE To test the validity, reliability and discriminating capacity of an instrument to assess team climate, the Team Climate Inventory (TCI), in a sample of Dutch hospital teams. The TCI is based on a four-factor theory of team climate for innovation. DESIGN Validation study. SETTING Hospital teams in The Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS 424 healthcare professionals; 355 nurses working in 2...