THE PURPOSE OF QUALITY IN HEALTH CARE IS TO MEET AND EXCEED THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE EXPECTATIONS OFFERED, AND WHEN THE LEVEL OF QUALITY IS BELOW THE EXPECTATIONS RESULT IN POOR PERFORMANCE PUTTING THE PATIENT SAFETY ON RISK, AND BRAND OF THE HEALTH CARE INSTITUTION, ITS IMAGE, POSITION AND REPUTATION IN THE INDUSTRY WILL BE SEVERELY AFFECTED.

The purpose of quality in health care is to meet and exceed the product or service expectations offered, and when the level of quality is below the expectations result in poor performance putting the patient safety on risk, and brand of the health care institution, its image, position and reputation in the industry will be severely affected. Quality in a health care organization, does not mean to have best physicians, quality implies the whole organization, Pharmacy, Laboratory, Radiology, Nurses, Medical Clerks, Housekeeping, Safety officers, Informational Technology, Management, and all allied medical professionals.  The responsibility of quality in the health care is responsibility of all staff members, and management is responsible to finding ways of how to organize and accomplish those expectations, and ensure quality and safe outcomes for patients, employees, customers, and stakeholders.  The most important objective of quality of health care is the patient safety that is defined as the “freedom from accidental or preventable injuries produced by medical care” (AHRQ 2010b). The measure of quality is fundamental for the health care organization success because now with the new way of reimbursement from private payers, and government agencies like Medicare and Medical, the reimbursement method is no longer pay-for-service; it is through evidence-based medicine method, now reimbursement is based in the quality of service provided, so health care organizations need to be aligned to the new requirements in order to be reimbursed. Aside from the billing purposes measuring the quality, diagnose deficiencies, and open opportunities of improvement, toward to best health care delivery.

Healthcare management in all types of health care facilities within the U.S. focuses on reducing cost of health benefits that patients receive while improving the quality of health care services provided.  As a result, health care organizations establish competitive strategies within the health care industry.  As this competition increases among health care establishments, patient satisfaction, quality, and efficient resource management are other components  set up for measuring patient, health care providers, and health care organizations outcomes as related to these components.  With the emphasis on quality outcomes, it is critical for health care organizations to develop and implement effective strategies for providing quality and effective care that is appealing to patients as well as focus on controlling costs.  Healthcare as a whole focuses on the challenges of attracting and talented employees while delivering consistently effective and efficient care.  However, with the advancement in technology, advancements in medications, as well as improved health care practices, other areas regarding quality are measured other than patient and clinical outcomes of the health care organization.  Areas such as patient satisfaction are becoming an important dimension because the notion of consumer driven health care increasingly applies to patient choice within the health care industry.  Providing patient choice provides patients an opportunity to obtain ownership of their health care choices and encourages the patient to be involved in the plan of care and with the decision making process related to their health care.  This too is all rolled into the whole quality of care concept as well as patient satisfaction.  With all of the changes in the health care industry, including pressure to reduce costs, improve the quality of care, and meet the set guidelines and requirements, has focused health care organizations as well as clinicians to really evaluate their performance.  Healthcare organizations need to look beyond financial measures when looking at performance.  Financials are important, but many other components also come into play with measuring quality.  Healthcare organizations have adopted and implemented quality concepts in an effort to improve their performance measurement systems for quality care delivered to the patients they served.

Quality care helps improve patient safety; therefore, it is important for medical personnel to provide the best of care possible. When employees fail to work at a 100% they jeopardize the safety and well-being of the patient. Mistakes in the workplace can become catastrophic and create more problems. Lawsuits are a big threat to the health care industry and by reducing this problem; we have improved the quality of care provided to the patients. One example of the relationship between quality and patient safety is hospital cleanliness. Patients seek treatment because he or she is ill and need help. Well these illnesses can potentially spread to other patients and staff, if employees fail to properly sanitize patient’s rooms or waiting areas they jeopardize the safety of others. The quality of work can endanger others if not properly executed the first time; therefore, the spreading of infections can be reduced if it was properly sanitized from the beginning. Nursing homes are major contributor to this problem and The Center for Patient Safety is implementing quality measures for nursing homes to help reduce this problem. The implementation of survey inspections, quarterly electronic reporting system, and Five-Star Quality Rating System are just a few changes expected for nursing homes to implement in 2015 (Miller, 2014). If a health care facility does not implement quality measure than they can potentially risk a patient’s safety.

Patient safety is an essential and vital component of quality nursing care. However, the nation’s health care system is prone to errors, and can be detrimental to safe patient care, as a result of basic systems flaws. A variety of stakeholders (society in general; patients; individual nurses; nursing educators, administrators, and researchers; physicians; governments and legislative bodies; professional associations; and accrediting agencies) are responsible for ensuring that patient care is safely delivered and that no harm occurs to patients. The responsibility of these stakeholders in addressing patient safety in the context of a nursing shortage is discussed, along with specific actions they have taken, and can continue to take, to promote safe care. According to (Hughes, 2008)  Many patient safety practices examples are,  use of simulators, bar coding, computerized physician order entry, and crew resource management, have been considered as possible strategies to avoid patient safety errors and improve health care processes; research has been exploring these areas, but their remains innumerable opportunities for further research.