Assignment task:
Discussion Board; Please respond to this, and provide evidence based references to support your response.
High quality healthcare is influenced by a multitude of factors that greatly impact patient outcomes. The patient-provider relationship is a large portion of quality healthcare. Patients want to feel as if they are respected, listened to, and nurtured accordingly by their providers. While this relationship is important, it must be recognized that many other factors can impact and influence how a patient feels about the care they are receiving. The quality of healthcare often determines the patient's level of satisfaction, and can greatly affect a healthcare organization's profits and general wellbeing (Mosadeghrad, 2014). This is what makes ensuring high quality care one of the most important priorities in the healthcare system.
High quality healthcare looks slightly different for each consumer, as it is prominently a subjective finding (Mosadeghrad, 2014). However, some research suggests that quality care can be measured by a variety of aspects, such as the patient's experience during care, the availability of providers, and proper management of the healthcare organization (Hanefeld et al., 2017). While these factors are measurable, they also provide an overall basis for the understanding of what creates quality care. Quality care can be defined by good patient experience, having providers who are responsive and attentive, and by receiving healthcare from well organized systems.
Other factors that influence the quality of healthcare include the cost of care, the timeliness of receiving care, and the facilities where the care is delivered (Mosadeghrad, 2014). Healthcare is extremely expensive, and not all Americans have healthcare coverage. When the cost of the service is high, patients may feel overwhelmed or anxious, which may negatively impact their patient experience. Beyond that, it is not uncommon for patients to expect a wait while at the doctor's office, emergency room, urgent care, or specialty clinics. While this aspect is understandable for those who work in healthcare, it still can impact the quality-of-care patients can receive. If a provider is low on time, it may impact how much time is spent with their patient, which again would likely provide a negative impact on the patient's perception of care.
References:
Mosadeghrad, A.M. (2014). Factors Affecting Medical Service Quality. Iran J Public Health. Pages 210-220. Factors Affecting Medical Service Quality - PMC (nih.gov)
Hanefeld, J., Powell-Jackson, T., & Balabanova, D. (2017) Understanding and measuring quality of care: dealing with complexity. Bull World Health Organ. Pages 368-374. doi: 10.2471/BLT.16.179309.