The Joint Commission contributed a viewpoint to an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on calling for a new approach to quality and safety improvement.
Here are five key thoughts from the article:
1. Medicine's record of self-governance isn't great, and problematic behavior is tolerated in several healthcare organizations. Pressing needs include:
• Poor quality of care and safety
• Lack of healthcare access
• High cost of care
2. There are accrediting and certification bodies to help regulate healthcare organization quality, including The Joint Commission's programs for Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation and Focused Professional Practice Evaluation.
3. Physicians are looking to lead health system efforts for care improvement, but they'll need new skills and responsibilities around quality improvement and safety. Many medical societies are touting improved quality as part of physician professionalism. But traditional approaches to comparing performance standards and assessing physician and facility performance are flawed.
4. Lean, Six Sigma and other change management tools can help physicians and healthcare organizations improve quality and efficiency. But the process must be implemented and sustained.
5. Certification organizations need new programs and activities to foster and then publicly recognize excellence.
"Physicians should demand and lead new efforts to eradicate patient harms and produce consistent excellence across the full continuum of care," noted the article's authors. "This strategy is the best way to ensure society will continue to entrust self-governance to the medical profession."