OHCA Spring Summer 2017

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The Oregon Caregiver Spring/Summer 2017 12
QUALITY
T he term “quality” is used every day
in hospitals, clinics, and the long
term care supports and services
sector. Quality is vital to the provision
of care in any setting though it means a
lot of things to a lot of different people
and becomes more complex when you
consider the related concepts such as
quality assurance, quality improvement,
quality initiatives, and quality measures.
Yet, of critical importance with quality,
is the ability to measure it. To measure
quality, it is imperative that appropriate
metrics are established and implemented
to measure the results and outcomes of
the care and services delivered.
Data is the cornerstone of quality
improvement. It is used to describe
how well current systems are working
and what happens when changes are
applied, and good data documents
successful performance and outcomes.
Using data separates what is thought
to be happening using subjective or
Measuring “Quality”
with Quality Data
By Linda Kirschbaum, Oregon Health Care Association
Careworkers learn how to analyze clinical data in a training on care planning and measurement.