Assignment 6.1: Governance for Quality and Safety

Assignment 6.1: Governance for Quality and Safety Student’s Name Institution Course Code: Course Name Professor’s Name Submission Date Assignment 6.1: Governance for Quality and Safety Healthcare is a necessity in human life, and elected leaders strive to ensure that these services are affordable. However, healthcare disparities exist between populations and regions. Moreover, there are challenges in guaranteeing quality and safety when providing healthcare services. Governing bodies at the national level are tasked with overseeing the healthcare system to ensure diversity, equity, and quality. Internally, there are quality and safety committees that oversee the daily operations of a healthcare facility. This paper discusses macro and micro roles for the governance of safety and quality and the impact of governing bodies on population health, quality and safety, social determinants of health, and health equity. Micro Roles for Governance of Quality and Safety Healthcare is a sensitive area at the national and international levels, and it requires the provision of evidence-based and personalized care. National and regional entities spearhead quality and safety in healthcare facilities. National governments and health departments are pivotal in developing regulations that define quality and safety benchmarks. In the United States, many national and state organizations oversee healthcare operations and prioritize quality service provision. Agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) set standards for care delivery, implement quality improvement initiatives, and enforce compliance (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, 2024). At the same time, there are organizations tasked with accreditation and certification. This type of recognition will require constant adherence to healthcare quality metrics. The Joint Commission or the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) assesses healthcare institutions against established standards (Young & Smith, 2022). Accreditation serves as both a motivator and a measure of compliance for healthcare organizations. Macro-level governance significantly influences quality and safety through funding and reimbursement models. Healthcare facilities are gauged against specific healthcare quality metrics. There are value-based care systems whose payment incentives are tied to patient outcomes and adherence to safety protocols. Healthcare facilities that perform well in quality and get good quality audit feedback will be reimbursed well (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, 2024). For example, the CMS has instituted payment readjustment programs that encourage hospitals to reduce readmission rates and nosocomial infections. Moreover, Organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collect and disseminate data on hospital performance, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions while motivating providers to improve outcomes. These programs allow for national benchmarking while encouraging a culture of accountability and competition. Micro Roles for Governance of Quality and Safety National governance on healthcare quality needs to be complemented by individual efforts from healthcare facilities. At the organizational level, governance of quality and safety is primarily overseen by the board of directors (BOD). Hospital management is tasked with implementing quality standards authorized by reputable national agencies. BOD plays different roles in ensuring health quality and safety. First, it develops board-level policies regarding quality and oversees strategic quality goals. This includes setting clear, measurable goals that align with broader national frameworks while addressing the unique needs of their patient populations (Nash et al., 2019). All the operations in the healthcare facility must prioritize quality and safety. The overall strategic goals of the hospital must demonstrate commitment to quality objectives (Drew & Pandit, 2020). Second, the BOD is tasked with regularly reviewing key performance indicators related to quality and safety, which enables the hospital to identify trends in noncompliance, address gaps, and benchmark performance against nat...