Improving Quality while Lowering Costs Flashcards
(18 cards)
What is the main purpose of improving quality in healthcare?
To save costs associated with poor care, attract more clients, and embody efficiency by lowering costs while improving quality.
Define efficiency in healthcare.
Efficiency measures whether healthcare resources are being used to get the best value for money.
What are the three types of healthcare efficiency?
- Technical efficiency
- Productive efficiency
- Allocative efficiency
What does technical efficiency refer to?
Producing maximum output with given resources.
What is productive efficiency?
Maximization of health outcome for a given cost, or minimization of cost for a given outcome.
What is allocative efficiency?
Achieved when resources are allocated to maximize the welfare of the community.
What does productive efficiency presuppose?
Technical efficiency.
What does allocative efficiency presuppose?
Productive efficiency.
Identify a cause of inefficiency related to human resources.
- Inappropriate staff mix
- Underutilized staff
- Unmotivated staff
List some causes of inefficiency related to medicines.
- Underuse of generics
- Higher than necessary prices
- Sub-standard and counterfeit medicines
- Inappropriate and ineffective use
What health system factors contribute to inefficiency?
- Waste
- Corruption
- Fraud
- Payment systems encouraging over-servicing
What are some client factors that can lead to inefficiency?
- Ignoring client preferences
- Failure to cater to client satisfaction
How can human resources be improved to increase efficiency?
- Training
- Flexible contracts
- Performance-based pay
- Task-shifting
- Changing staff composition
What measures can be taken to improve the quality of medicines?
- Enforcing manufacturing standards
- Product testing
- Regulating promotion activities
- Providing prescribing guidance
- Incentives for generic substitution
Fill in the blank: Productive efficiency will eliminate as ‘inefficient’ some _______ resource input combinations.
technically efficient
What strategies can improve healthcare services?
- Improving clinic setting and client flow
- Developing clinical guidelines
- Providing care alternatives to admission
- Improving hygiene standards
- Conducting clinical audits
What is a way to address health system leakages?
- Regulation and guidance
- Promoting codes of conduct
- Controls against over-servicing
True or False: Non cost-effective interventions can contribute to inefficiency.
True
