Defining Quality
Quality in the field of healthcare means something completely different from other quality experiences in life. We encourage you to understand the difference for the health and well being of you and your family.
- Quality
"Quality" is a buzzword in our country. No matter where you go, you get the promise of quality, whether you are buying tires, clothes or groceries. But when we talk about quality healthcare, it's something entirely different.
The stakes are higher.
The difference between good quality and poor quality in healthcare can literally be the difference between life and death.
- What is quality healthcare?
Quality healthcare is what we do at OhioHealth, how we do it and what your outcome is when it's all said and done.
It's also about the number of times we do something because there is a direct relationship between quality and quantity when it comes to healthcare.
The more times we do a procedure, the better we do it. So when you look at the data for any hospital or medical procedure, be sure you look how often the procedure is done.- How do we measure if patient needs are met?
One way we continuously monitor our patients' needs is through patient satisfaction surveys. The feedback we obtain through these surveys helps us learn what we are doing well and the areas we need to improve upon.
Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medical Services developed a set of questions, known as HCAHPS*, which hospitals across the nation can use to gauge how well they meeting their patients' needs.
OhioHealth voluntarily adds these questions to our existing patient satisfaction survey, and results from two of these measures are available to you on this website. Results from all measures are available on the Hospital Compare website.
*HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) was designed to give hospitals across the nation an opportunity to view their care from the patient's perspective.
- What can you do to make sure you're getting quality care?
Quality in the healthcare arena is objective and can be measured, both good and bad. So if a hospital tells you it has quality healthcare, there should be data to prove it.
When you're making a decision about healthcare, it's important to do your research. Some key steps to take include:
- Research quality data reports and indicators
- Find out how often the data is prepared
- Read HCAHPS patient satisfaction results