Despite two decades spent homing in on care processes, outcomes and the value of care, healthcare operators still are working to close the gap between quality and cost, according to a special issue of the Journal for Healthcare Quality, the peer-reviewed journal of the National Association for Healthcare Quality. It’s time, the editors say, for a new approach focusing on healthcare quality as a business strategy.
“For the past 20 years, the healthcare industry has improved and innovated, but it hasn’t come far enough or fast enough,” NAHQ CEO Stephanie Mercado, CAE, said. The issue discusses six novel approaches to help operators focus on quality as a way to improve their bottom line:
- Vertical integration in skilled nursing facilities;
- Assessing costs of pressure injury;
- Bundled payments for joint replacement;
- Improving documentation for stroke patients;
- Reducing unnecessary phlebotomy; and
- Embracing a value transformation framework.
“As a leader in healthcare quality, I know first-hand the value of leveraging quality as a business strategy,” said Carole Guinane, RN, BA, MBA, CPHQ, president of the NAHQ Board of Directors. “I’ve worked with countless individuals, and together we’ve made patient care better and saved millions of dollars. There is no question, a vital component of leveraging quality as a business strategy is the healthcare workforce that is ready to deliver on value.”
