Improving the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes


Book Description

As more people live longer, the need for quality long-term care for the elderly will increase dramatically. This volume examines the current system of nursing home regulations, and proposes an overhaul to better provide for those confined to such facilities. It determines the need for regulations, and concludes that the present regulatory system is inadequate, stating that what is needed is not more regulation, but better regulation. This long-anticipated study provides a wealth of useful background information, in-depth study, and discussion for nursing home administrators, students, and teachers in the health care field; professionals involved in caring for the elderly; and geriatric specialists.




Improving the Quality of Long-Term Care


Book Description

Among the issues confronting America is long-term care for frail, older persons and others with chronic conditions and functional limitations that limit their ability to care for themselves. Improving the Quality of Long-Term Care takes a comprehensive look at the quality of care and quality of life in long-term care, including nursing homes, home health agencies, residential care facilities, family members and a variety of others. This book describes the current state of long-term care, identifying problem areas and offering recommendations for federal and state policymakers. Who uses long-term care? How have the characteristics of this population changed over time? What paths do people follow in long term care? The committee provides the latest information on these and other key questions. This book explores strengths and limitations of available data and research literature especially for settings other than nursing homes, on methods to measure, oversee, and improve the quality of long-term care. The committee makes recommendations on setting and enforcing standards of care, strengthening the caregiving workforce, reimbursement issues, and expanding the knowledge base to guide organizational and individual caregivers in improving the quality of care.




An Introduction to Quality Assurance in Health Care


Book Description

Avedis Donabedian's name is synonymous with quality of medical care. He unraveled the mystery behind the concept by defining it in clear operational terms and provided detailed blueprints for both its measurement(known as quality assessment) and its improvement(known as quality assurance). Many before him claimed that quality couldn't be defined in concrete objective terms. He demonstrated that quality is an attribte of a system which he called structure, a set of organized activities whihc he called process, and an outcome which results from both. In this book Donabedian tells the full story of quality assessment and assurance in simple, clear terms. He defines the meaning of quality, explicates its components, and provides clear and systematic guides to its assessment and enhancement. His style is lucid, succinct, systematic and yet personal, almost conversational.




Medicare


Book Description

Health care for the elderly American is among our nation's more pressing social issues. Our society wishes to ensure quality health care for all older people, but there is growing concern about our ability to maintain and improve quality in the face of efforts to contain health care costs. Medicare: A Strategy for Quality Assurance answers the U.S. Congress' call for the Institute of Medicine to design a strategic plan for assessing and assuring the quality of medical care for the elderly. This book presents a proposed strategic plan for improving quality assurance in the Medicare program, along with steps and timetables for implementing the plan by the year 2000 and the 10 recommendations for action by Congress. The book explores quality of careâ€"how it is defined, measured, and improvedâ€"and reviews different types of quality problems. Major issues that affect approaches to assessing and assuring quality are examined. Medicare: A Strategy for Quality Assurance will be immediately useful to a wide audience, including policymakers, health administrators, individual providers, specialists in issues of the older American, researchers, educators, and students.







Regulating Long-Term Care Quality


Book Description

An international survey of different approaches to the provision and regulation of long-term care for the elderly.




Nursing Staff in Hospitals and Nursing Homes


Book Description

Hospitals and nursing homes are responding to changes in the health care system by modifying staffing levels and the mix of nursing personnel. But do these changes endanger the quality of patient care? Do nursing staff suffer increased rates of injury, illness, or stress because of changing workplace demands? These questions are addressed in Nursing Staff in Hospitals and Nursing Homes, a thorough and authoritative look at today's health care system that also takes a long-term view of staffing needs for nursing as the nation moves into the next century. The committee draws fundamental conclusions about the evolving role of nurses in hospitals and nursing homes and presents recommendations about staffing decisions, nursing training, measurement of quality, reimbursement, and other areas. The volume also discusses work-related injuries, violence toward and abuse of nursing staffs, and stress among nursing personnelâ€"and examines whether these problems are related to staffing levels. Included is a readable overview of the underlying trends in health care that have given rise to urgent questions about nurse staffing: population changes, budget pressures, and the introduction of new technologies. Nursing Staff in Hospitals and Nursing Homes provides a straightforward examination of complex and sensitive issues surround the role and value of nursing on our health care system.




Managing the Long-Term Care Facility


Book Description

Practical approaches to the operation of long-term care facilities Managing the Long-Term Care Facility provides a comprehensive introduction to the growing field of long-term care. Taking a continuum-of-care approach, the text covers every aspect of long-term care. Readers will develop a robust knowledge of the issues faced by people experiencing physical and or mental changes. Topics covered include the biological and psychosocial implications of ageing, marketing long-term care, facility operations, and information technology for health care, among many others. By integrating all aspects of long-term care, the book is an invaluable resource that will aid students and professionals in preparing for career advancement and licensure exams. The book is also is designed to help students prepare for the National Nursing Home Administrator exam. Pedagogical elements help guide readers through the content, and summaries and discussion questions to drive home lessons learned. Builds expert knowledge of all aspects of long-term care management, including operations, human resources, patient advocacy, and information systems Emphasizes the latest understandings of the long-term care continuum and patient-centered care for diverse populations Delivers practical approaches to providing quality care to individuals and making a positive impact on community wellbeing Prepares readers for and National Nursing Home Administrator's licensure exam Managing the Long-Term Care Facility: Practical Approaches to Providing Quality Care provides real-world guidance for students in healthcare administration, health and human services, gerontology, nursing, business and medical programs, in both domestic and international markets. Nursing home administrators, administrators-in-training and preceptors will find this book an effective training tool in the nursing facility setting.




Long-Term Care


Book Description

Long-Term Care: Managing Across the Continuum, Third Edition is an ideal introduction to management in this dynamic industry. Concise, yet complete, it defines the various segments of the system, describes how the system developed to its current state, compares it to an ideal system, and projects future trends. Adopted as a reference for the national licensing examination prepared by the National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB), this book covers the full continuum of long-term care. The Third Edition is a comprehensive revision reflecting the changes in regulations, financing methods, forms of service delivery, and management methods in this dynamic field. The increasingly important topics of the aging of American society, the impact of the baby-boomers, consumer choice, and the growing diversity in long-term care are covered extensively and from a variety of perspectives. The final chapters address the future of long-term care and include recommendations for dealing with it proactively.