Local Public Health Departments are frequently presented with the challenge of assuring elected officials of the value and benefit of annual taxpayer investments in protecting the public's health. Quality Assessment and Quality Improvement (QA/QI) initiatives have been commonplace in clinical practice and managed care for over ten years. Common examples have included: standard reporting and report cards; evaluation methods; technology assessment; specialty care access; survey of best practices and benchmarking for quality improvement. Public health agencies have tended to define the quality of their public health service with type and amount of service provided and the process in which the service is delivered. This session will explore using QA/QI tools to objectively measure the quality of clinical, family health, environmental and administrative services provided by local public health agencies. The session will present: Background information on QA/QI and how it can be adapted to measure public health value; The process and tools used by one public health agency for QA/QI; Process and public health indicators to measure QA/QI; Findings from the QA/QI process and its impact on public accountability. Implementing the QA/QI program in a local public health agency has resulted in the increased interest and support of policy makers; increased interdisciplinary team building; improved service coordination; improved data collection/analysis; and "real time" results of public health interventions.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant (learner) will be able to: 1. Describe a rationale for implementing a Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement (QA/QI)Program in a Public Health Agency. 2. Identify resources on Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement for use in a Public Health Agency. 3. List at least one program/service where the Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement process could be applied in their Public Health Agency. Teaching Objectives: 1. During this session, faculty will provide an overview of the Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement (QA/QI) initiatives common in the private health care sector. 2. During this session, faculty will articulate the advantages of the Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement methodology for interdisciplinary team building, performance measurement and data systems development from the perspective of a local public health agency. 3. During this session, faculty will describe the several Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement models, indicators and audit processes used in a local public health agency. 4. During this session, faculty will demonstrate tools used in the Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement initiatives in Anoka County, Minnesota and provide a resource list for public health agencies interested in implementing a QA/QI program
Keywords: Quality Assurance, Quality Improvement
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.