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Quality Measurement and Improvement
Certainly a key element in quality health care is to assure that the three elements are in place -- that the structure of the system is strong and that clinicians are able to know what to do and are able to do it with skill and expertise. We also need to measure how well we do in the structure and process of care, to measure the outcomes we achieve, and to identify areas where there is an opportunity for improvement. We need to develop more methods, and better methods, for measuring quality. We also need to communicate the results in useful, understandable formats that help improve health care decision making. And, it is critically important that this information is available in the public domain.
We have been successful in doing this in the automobile industry. For instance, if I am buying a car, I know that I can find data on the safety, efficiency, and reliability of different car models. This data is based on accepted measurements, such as crash tests, service records, and fuel efficiency.
Like the automobile industry, we must make it the goal for our health care system to provide similar information on the quality of health care services. To that end, we must strive to develop accepted measures and instruments used to gauge and improve the quality of health care services.
Last Friday, the Secretary of Health and Human Services announced the release of AHCPR's Consumer Assessments of Health Plans Survey (CAHPS), a series of questionnaires designed to be used by public- and private-sector health plans, employers, and other organizations to survey their members and employees. The information from CAHPS questionnaires, presented in the CAHPS report formats can help consumers and group purchasers compare health plans and make more informed choices based on quality. Both the questionnaires and report formats have been tested widely in demonstration sites around the country.
We know that consumers select health plans based on the recommendations
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