Quality While lowering costs Flashcards
(8 cards)
What are the learning objectives of the course?
Understand the different types of healthcare efficiency
* Understand the leading causes of inefficiency
* Understand how to increase efficiency in healthcare
These objectives guide the overall learning and application in healthcare contexts.
Why is it important to improve quality in healthcare?
Ethics: Upholding ethical standards in care
* Cost Savings: Reducing costs associated with poor care, including hidden costs
* Client Attraction: Attracting more clients through improved program efficiency leading to economies of scale
* Efficiency: Lowering costs while improving quality embodies efficiency
Improving quality ensures better patient outcomes and satisfaction.
What is efficiency in healthcare?
Measures whether healthcare resources are used to achieve the best value for money
* Concerned with the relationship between resource inputs and health outcomes
* Focuses on maximizing health outcomes from allocated resources
Efficiency is a critical aspect of healthcare management.
What are the types of efficiency in healthcare?
Technical Efficiency: Producing maximum output with given resources
* Productive Efficiency: Maximizing health outcomes for a given cost or minimizing costs for a given outcome
* Allocative Efficiency: Allocating resources to maximize community welfare
Each type of efficiency addresses different aspects of resource utilization.
How are the types of efficiency related?
Productive efficiency presupposes technical efficiency
* Allocative efficiency presupposes productive efficiency
* Productive efficiency can eliminate some technically efficient resource combinations
* Allocative efficiency can eliminate some productively efficient resource allocations
Understanding these relationships is crucial for effective healthcare management.
What are some fictional examples of efficiency interventions?
Reducing staffing levels while maintaining patient numbers
* Circumcision preventing more HIV transmissions per dollar than risk reduction campaigns
* Using 150 mg of ASA to prevent IHD as effectively as 300 mg
* Scaling up measles immunization through NIDs is more resource-efficient than building a new health facility
These examples illustrate potential strategies for improving efficiency.
What are the leading causes of inefficiency in healthcare?
Human Resources: Inappropriate staff, costly staff mix, underutilization, and lack of motivation
* Medicines: Underuse of generics, high prices, sub-standard medicines, and inappropriate use
* Health System Factors: Waste, corruption, fraud, and payment systems encouraging over-servicing
* Health Care Services: Long waiting times, inappropriate facility size, admissions, length of stay, overuse of equipment, and medical errors
* Client Factors: Ignoring client preferences and failing to cater to client satisfaction
Identifying these causes is essential for targeted interventions.
How can efficiency be increased in healthcare?
Human Resources: Training, flexible contracts, performance-based pay, task-shifting, and changing staff composition
* Medicines: Enforcing manufacturing standards, product testing, procurement systems, regulating promotions, prescribing guidance, and incentivizing generic substitution
* Health Care Services: Improving clinic settings, developing clinical guidelines, providing alternatives to admission, enhancing hygiene standards, conducting clinical audits, integrating services, and eliminating unnecessary services
* Health System Leakages: Regulation, promoting codes of conduct, and controlling over-servicing in payment systems
* Health Interventions: Conducting economic evaluations and catering to client needs
Implementing these strategies can lead to significant improvements in healthcare efficiency.
