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.







Registries for Evaluating Patient Outcomes


Book Description

This User’s Guide is intended to support the design, implementation, analysis, interpretation, and quality evaluation of registries created to increase understanding of patient outcomes. For the purposes of this guide, a patient registry is an organized system that uses observational study methods to collect uniform data (clinical and other) to evaluate specified outcomes for a population defined by a particular disease, condition, or exposure, and that serves one or more predetermined scientific, clinical, or policy purposes. A registry database is a file (or files) derived from the registry. Although registries can serve many purposes, this guide focuses on registries created for one or more of the following purposes: to describe the natural history of disease, to determine clinical effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of health care products and services, to measure or monitor safety and harm, and/or to measure quality of care. Registries are classified according to how their populations are defined. For example, product registries include patients who have been exposed to biopharmaceutical products or medical devices. Health services registries consist of patients who have had a common procedure, clinical encounter, or hospitalization. Disease or condition registries are defined by patients having the same diagnosis, such as cystic fibrosis or heart failure. The User’s Guide was created by researchers affiliated with AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program, particularly those who participated in AHRQ’s DEcIDE (Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions About Effectiveness) program. Chapters were subject to multiple internal and external independent reviews.




Research for Universal Health Coverage


Book Description

"The World Health Report: research for universal health coverage" focuses on the importance of research in advancing progress towards universal health coverage. In addition, it identifies the benefits of increased investment in health research by low- and middle-income countries using case studies from around the world, and proposes ways to further strengthen this type of research.










Handbook of Research on Quality Assurance and Value Management in Higher Education


Book Description

The management of quality and sustainability in higher education institutions ensures that proper standards are maintained. Such enforced standardization allows for the highest caliber of training opportunities for various fields and disciplines. The Handbook of Research on Quality Assurance and Value Management in Higher Education is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on quality management and assurance programs and standards in college-level environments. Highlighting global perspectives on academic and professional learning, this book is ideally designed for researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and professionals actively involved in the field of higher education.




Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement Handbook for Human Research


Book Description

Helping human research protection program professionals create, implement, and evaluate quality assurance/quality improvement programs. Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement Handbook for Human Research is the first comprehensively designed instructional manual aimed at teaching human research protection program (HRPP) professionals how to create, implement, evaluate, and improve QA/QI programs. Geared toward institutions and individuals responsible for establishing new QA/QI programs or functions, the book offers several organizational models for consideration. It also provides practical information for improving and strengthening established programs, both big and small. Written in a conversational style, the book's step-by-step instructions make it easily accessible to those who may not be well versed in QA/QI concepts and fundamentals. Developed by the QA/QI Subcommittee of the Harvard Catalyst Regulatory Foundations, Ethics, and Law Program, which is committed to designing and strengthening QA/QI programs and functions, this volume • includes contributions by fifteen experts with diverse professional experiences from varied organizations • is enhanced with flow charts, examples, sample forms, and templates • incorporates model slide presentations and instructional materials • discusses the respective benefits and challenges of different organizational models • is applicable across many organizational types with a variety of reporting structures and available resources, including academic and medical institutions Perfect for both seasoned personnel and newcomers to the field, Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement Handbook for Human Research is a needed resource for ensuring investigative accountability. Contributors: Hila Bernstein, MS, MPH, Barbara E. Bierer, MD, Elizabeth Bowie, JD, MPH, MSc, Susan Corl, MSW, MPH, CIP, CCRP, Jacquelyn-My Do, MPH, Lisa Gabel, CIP, Alyssa Gateman, MPH, CCRP, Jennifer A. Graf, Nareg D. Grigorian, Leslie M. Howes, MPH, CIP, Jennifer Hutchinson, CIP, CPIA, Cynthia Monahan, MBA, CIP, Eunice Newbert, MPH, Sarah A. White, MPH, CIP, Elizabeth Witte, MFA




Research Outlook


Book Description