Healthcare has experienced exemplary changes in the last few years, and 2020 is no exception. Major programs stemming from the Affordable Care Act and Patient Protection are underway. However, many quality issues are flowing into the healthcare domain, making healthcare quality remain in the spotlight for providers. One of these quality issues in major healthcare facilities is misdiagnosis. According to a Houston Veterans Affairs and Baylor College of Medicine report, about 5% of outpatients would receive an inaccurate diagnosis (Mannion & Davies, 2018, P. 363). These diagnoses would need quality improvement methods because the research indicated that they might result in severe patient harm, such as missed cancer treatment opportunities at an earlier stage.
The two most effective quality improvement methods include PDSA and RCC. The former refers to a four-stage problem-solving model used to improve a process and carry out a change (Zerwekh & Garneau, 2017). The latter refers to a quality improvement technique that identifies measures and implements changes to improve a process (Brandrud et al., 2017). PDSA has been chosen as a quality improvement method because it encourages continuous improvement among clinicians. Also, it creates a culture of cohesive learning and change. Likewise, RCC also provides clinicians with a structure for continuous improvement. For example, these quality improvement methods will help the organization overcome resistance to the quality diagnosis of adverse disorders by making it a daily part of their work (Kaisey et al., 2019). Despite this, the organization has not implemented one of these quality improvement methods.
The current method used in the organization is quality assurance, which does not provide an effective quality improvement structure for misdiagnoses. Since misdiagnoses have become one of the quality issues in the organization, it is recommended that the organization implement PDSA and RCC. Despite the organization currently using quality assurance, the two methods are effective because they will help the organization overcome resistance to the quality diagnosis of adverse disorders.
References
Brandrud, A. S., Nyen, B., Hjortdahl, P., Sandvik, L., Haldorsen, G. S. H., Bergli, M.,… & Bretthauer, M. (2017). Domains associated with successful quality improvement in healthcare–A nationwide case study. BMC Health Services Research, 17(1), 1-9.
Kaisey, M., Solomon, A. J., Luu, M., Giesser, B. S., & Sicotte, N. L. (2019). Incidence of multiple sclerosis misdiagnosis in referrals to two academic centers. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 30, 51-56.
Mannion, R., & Davies, H. (2018). Understanding organizational culture for healthcare quality improvement. BMJ, 363.
Zerwekh, J., & Garneau, A. (2017). Nursing Today-E-Book: Transition and Trends. Elsevier Health Sciences. 1-704. Web.