Quality management qualitative indicators that cannot be • presented as a number (Standard 1, Item 1.6: Establishing an quality management system that monitors and that measure the amount of input indicators • reports on the safety and quality of patient care and resources consumed during the generation of informs changes in practice) the outcome management to activities that that represent the ‘Quality systems’ refer process indicators • organisations use to direct, control and coordinate efficiency or the productivity of the process quality for the purpose of improving the efficiency output indicators that reflect the outcome or • and effectiveness of the clinical organisation’s results of the process activities performance. These activities include: directional indicators specifying whether or • developing an overarching quality • not an organisation is getting better management framework; actionable indicators are sufficiently in an • adopting policies on safety and • control to effect change organisation’s quality systems; financial indicators used in performance • setting quality objectives, planning, assurance • measurement and compared against and improvement; and the budget. setting performance indicators against which • Performance indicators must be measurable and performance can be measured.4 must relate to the inputs and outputs of the The board should and how it wants organisation. Often success is simply the repeated, describe ‘quality’ the organisation to provide quality services to its periodic achievement of some levels of operational consumers through the stated organisation’s goal (for example, zero defects, 10/10 customer mission, vision and goals. This description can satisfaction), and sometimes success is defined in include dimensions such as safety, effectiveness, terms of making progress towards strategic goals. appropriateness, responsiveness, continuity, accessibility and efficiency. Defining what ‘good’ looks like provides the health service organisation with a common language and understanding for the design and monitoring of their quality organisation’s management system. The more simply this can be expressed, the easier it is for staff members and consumers to understand and participate. By setting performance measurements a board can evaluate the success of an organisation or unit through each particular activity in which it engages. Accordingly, choosing the right key performance indicators (KPIs) relies upon a good understanding of what is important to the work of the organisation or unit. KPIs define a set of values against which to measure outputs or outcomes. They can be summarised into the following sub-categories: quantitative indicators that can be presented • with a number
Quality management (Standard 1, Item 1.6: Establishing an quality management system that monitors and reports on the safety and quality of patient care and informs changes in practice) ‘Quality management systems’ refer to activities that organisations use to direct, control and coordinate quality for the purpose of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the organisation’s clinical performance. These activities include: • developing an overarching quality management framework; • adopting policies on safety and quality systems; • setting quality objectives, planning, assurance and improvement; and • setting performance indicators against which performance can be measured.4 The board should describe ‘quality’ and how it wants the organisation to provide quality services to its consumers through the organisation’s stated mission, vision and goals. This description can include dimensions such as safety, effectiveness, appropriateness, responsiveness, continuity, accessibility and efficiency. Defining what ‘good’ looks like provides the health service organisation with a common language and understanding for the design and monitoring of their organisation’s quality management system. The more simply this can be expressed, the easier it is for staff members and consumers to understand and participate. By setting performance measurements a board can evaluate the success of an organisation or unit through each particular activity in which it engages. Accordingly, choosing the right key performance indicators (KPIs) relies upon a good understanding of what is important to the work of the organisation or unit. KPIs define a set of values against which to measure outputs or outcomes. They can be summarised into the following sub-categories: • quantitative indicators that can be presented with a number • qualitative indicators that cannot be presented as a number • input indicators that measure the amount of resources consumed during the generation of the outcome • process indicators that represent the efficiency or the productivity of the process • output indicators that reflect the outcome or results of the process activities • directional indicators specifying whether or not an organisation is getting better • actionable indicators are sufficiently in an organisation’s control to effect change • financial indicators used in performance measurement and compared against the budget. Performance indicators must be measurable and must relate to the inputs and outputs of the organisation. Often success is simply the repeated, periodic achievement of some levels of operational goal (for example, zero defects, 10/10 customer satisfaction), and sometimes success is defined in terms of making progress towards strategic goals.