Not too long ago the greatest harm to a person was from disease itself. Today patients find themselves in a less than ideal situation where vulnerability now has two fronts. Sick patients now encounter a new battle front where they not only fight the disease they accumulate but also the care giving system they have place their trust (and their lives) within. Unfortunately for us all, quality of care is not a new epidemic, but is merely a continually growing issue that needs a cure. Medical practice and delivery methods have encountered increased concerns for areas of improvement in the designed safeguards that protect patients. Medical graduates are ill prepared to appropriately address the health care system shortcomings that place patients at risk, which results in overuse, underuse, and misuse of medical care. The objective at hand is eliminating preventable errors and even death in some cases.
The ever revolving, and ever changing world is continually developing and implementing new practices and regulations in health care delivery, as health care givers and physicians continually meet and implement new expectations of care within their practices. Performance and quality remain the key focal point and aspect of care giving. Results, health outcomes, and physician accountability have steadily become the norm in the heath care setting. In order to create these wanted and vital outcomes in health care delivery, initial investments must be considered and ultimately placed into action. External factors will stimulate and effectively turn the once promising up rise of quality care that declined in a quick fashion back into the promised land of much needed quality. “New incentive structures need to be developed at the hospitals and physician levels to guide managerial and clinical quality efforts”. (Glickman, et. al., 2007.) Revamping educational information cannot be the only tool used to improve health care quality. Pay for performance incentives also cannot be the only answer to see quality of care rise in this industry. Monetary incentives will drive up quality performances in health care workers; however, the human spirit (compassion) is still a much-needed asset in ranking and evaluation of service rendered. There is a human element that money cannot buy and is vital to health care facilities across the globe. However, arguably, performance incentives create a drive within health workers that spark a new found passion in their work(s) knowing that their services are important and vital to the organizations overall success. It should also be worth noting that in order to promote successful integration of quality health services that education cannot teach, giving newly graduated students competent and respected role models within their respective fields should be the upmost priority. In health care facilities real life situations of health factors hanging within the balance and vital decision-making is key to successful patient outcomes, students do not always have a pocket guidebook to turn to, to help them effectively and correctly make the right medical decisions. Creating a supportive work environment where new health workers can have source of knowledgeable experience and methods will bring many positive attributes not only to the staff, but also to the overall success of health organizations. The better the quality of care delivered, the foundation of trust and respect is established. This much needed institutional trust will drive neighboring communities to seek treatments and services at their particular location(s).
In addition, one of the most commonly used methods of businesses to provide corporate structure and strategy is the “balanced scorecard”. This method provides a staff with the framework of desired corporate-level goals and strategies to deliver wanted outcomes and create new capabilities within the
