S-P-O Model of Healthcare Quality / Week 1 Discussion

Donabedian's structure-process-outcome (S-P-O) model

Textbook’s Reference

Kelly, P.L.S.D. L. (2017). Applying Quality Management in Healthcare. [South University]. Retrieved from https://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu/#/books/9781567938821/

What Are Quality and Safety? A widely accepted definition of quality as given by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) is this: “The degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge” (Lohr 1990, 21). To further clarify the concept of quality, the IOM (2001) identified the key components of quality care: safe, effective, patient centered, timely, efficient, and equitable. Patient safety, a key component of quality care, is defined as, “freedom from accidental or preventable injuries produced by medical care” (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ] 2016b). The way managers in health services organizations define and prioritize quality in the context of their daily responsibilities is often influenced by their own background and experiences. For example, a physician manager may emphasize the importance of achieving optimal patient outcomes through implementation of evidence-based medicine. A nurse manager or pharmacist may stress the importance of interpersonal skills, teamwork, and patient-centered care. A manager with public health credentials may take a population-based approach to improving healthcare quality. Likewise, the educational focus of nonclinical managers may influence the preferred quality definition and priorities. A manager educated in a business school may emphasize operations management, whereas someone trained as an accountant may focus on how quality affects the financial bottom line. A manager with a health services administration background may stress the importance of organizational structures and stakeholder relationships. These examples illustrate the assortment of perspectives and preferences about health services quality and the numerous ways quality concerns may be expressed in healthcare organizations. The multifaceted nature of quality poses several additional questions and challenges for healthcare managers: What is quality in healthcare? Which approach is best? How are the approaches related? Since the early 1970s, Avedis Donabedian’s work has influenced the prevailing medical paradigm for defining and measuring quality. In his early (Page 5)

writings, Donabedian (1980) introduced the two essential components—the technical and the interpersonal—that comprise quality medical care. He also identified three ways to measure quality (structure, process, outcome) and the relationships among them. Donabedian (1980, 79, 81–83) described the measures in the following way: I have called the “process” of care . . . a set of activities that go on within and between practitioners and patients. . . . Elements of the process of care do not signify quality until their relationship to desirable health status has been established. By “structure” I mean the relatively stable characteristics of the providers of care, of the tools and resources they have at their disposal, and of the physical and organizational settings in which they work. . . . Structure, therefore, is relevant to quality in that it increases or decreases the probability of good performance. . . . I shall use “outcome” to mean a change in a patient’s current and future health status that can be attributed to antecedent healthcare. The fundamental functional relationships among the three elements are shown schematically as follows: Structure → Process → Outcome. For example, in a family medicine group practice, the number and credentials of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants, nurses, medical technicians, and office staff are considered structure measures. The percentage of elderly patients who appropriately receive an influenza vaccine is considered a process measure, and the percentage of elderly patients who are diagnosed and treated for influenza is considered an outcome measure for this practice. The staff members in the office (structure) influence the ability of the practice to appropriately identify patients for whom the vaccine is indicated and to correctly administer the vaccine (process), which in turn affects the number of patients developing influenza (outcome). If a process measure has a clearly demonstrated link to an outcome, the process measure may be used as a proxy measure for an outcome (Parast et al. 2015) When the IOM recognized patient-centered care as a key component of twenty-first-century healthcare quality in 2001, the Donabedian model for measuring quality expanded to include patient experience. Patient experience measures are a subcategory of outcomes that represent the voice of patients— their “report of observations of and participation in health care, or assessment of any resulting change in their health” (AHRQ 2016a). For example, a family practice clinic may have a good process for identifying patients needing an influenza vaccine and qualified staff to correctly administer the vaccine, yet patients may report their experience to be unsatisfactory if caregivers do not listen to their concerns and adequately answer questions about the vaccination. (Page 6)

quality “the degree to which health services for indi- viduals and popu- lations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current profess- ional knowledge” (Lohr 1990, 21) key components of quality care quality care is safe, effective, patient centered, timely, efficient, and equi- table (IOM 2001) patient safety “freedom from accidental or pre- ventable injuries produced by medi- cal care” (AHRQ 2016b)

process of care “a set of activities that go on within and between practitioners and patients” (Donabedian 1980, 79) structure “the relatively sta- ble characteristics of the providers of care, of the tools and resources they have at their disposal, and of the physical and organizational set- tings in which they work” (Donabe- dian 1980, 81) outcome “a change in a patient’s current and future health status that can be attributed to antecedent health- care” (Donabedian 1980, 83) patient experience a patient’s “report of observations of and participation in health care, or assessment of any resulting change in their health” (AHRQ 2016a)

While a health services manager can easily become overwhelmed by the complexity and extensive range of views on the topic of healthcare quality, she may also consider this array of perspectives as a vast pool from which to draw quality-related knowledge and lessons. Creating a Common Understanding of Quality Methods As with most elements of management, the subject of quality in healthcare organizations has been the object of numerous trends, fads, and attempts at quick fixes. Because departments and professionals with “quality” responsibilities may change their job titles with the latest trend, managers must understand what is behind the label; in other words, they must understand the philosophy and actions used to promote quality in an organization. The first step for managers is to develop a common understanding of quality terminology. Definitions of frequently used terms to describe quality are provided here. Quality control. Mostly used in the manufacturing setting, quality control (QC) encompasses “the operational techniques and activities used to fulfill requirements for quality” (American Society for Quality [ASQ] 2016). In health services, quality control activities usually refer to equipment maintenance and calibration, such as for point-of-care and laboratory testing, imaging machines, and sterilization procedures. Quality assurance. A quality assurance (QA) approach is focused on the outputs of a process. Products are inspected after they are produced, and imperfect products are discarded. In some cases, the defect may not be readily noticeable and is replaced at a later time, as with a new automobile warranty. In service organizations fields such as healthcare, defects refer to unsatisfactory or defective outputs from a received service. The quality of the service is inspected after it is received and, if not acceptable, the customer may ask for the service to be repeated. For example, when the customer discovers that a retail pharmacy includes only half the number of tablets in a prescription refill, he asks for the refill to be corrected. Sometimes the service defect is not readily noticeable, as in the case of a surgical sponge left in a patient after an operation. As the patient’s condition deteriorates, tests are performed to identify causes of the defective output. The patient must return to surgery for the defect to be corrected. Hearing QA and QC used interchangeably when “referring to the actions performed to ensure the quality of a product, service or process” is not uncommon (ASQ 2016). Quality improvement. A quality improvement (QI) approach, also referred to as continuous quality improvement (CQI), is focused on the ongoing improvement of processes as a way to improve the quality of the outputs (i.e., (page 7)

reduce the number of defective outputs). Preoperative checklists, sponge counts, and team briefings are examples of operating room process improvements designed to prevent defective outputs or surgical complications. By implementing incremental and breakthrough improvements, QI seeks to produce defect-free outputs and provide consistent high-quality services. Total quality. The term total quality (TQ), also referred to as total quality management or TQM, is often used interchangeably with “QI” and “CQI.” This tendency can cause students and managers to be confused by the two related but different concepts. Total quality is “a philosophy or an approach to management that can be characterized by its principles, practices, and techniques. Its three principles are customer focus, continuous improvement, and teamwork . . . each principle is implemented through a set of practices . . . the practices are, in turn, supported by a wide array of techniques (i.e., specific step-by-step methods intended to make the practices effective)” (Dean and Bowen 2000, 4–5). As shown by this definition, TQ is a strategic concept, whereas CQI is one of three principles that support a TQ strategy. Numerous techniques— including performance management, Six Sigma, and Lean—are available for managers in implementing the principles of CQI on a tactical level and an operational level. A brief description of these techniques is provided in the following section with more detail in subsequent chapters. Performance management. The business literature defines performance management as “an umbrella term that describes the methodologies, metrics, processes and systems used to monitor and manage the business performance of an enterprise” (Buytendijk and Rayner 2002). Performance management is also referred to as enterprise performance management (EPM), corporate performance management (CPM), and business performance management (BPM). Six Sigma. Six Sigma is a rigorous and disciplined approach using process improvement tools, methods, and statistical analysis. Its precepts are based on the philosophy “that views all work as processes that can be defined, measured, analyzed, improved and controlled” (Muralidharan 2015, 528). Six sigma is a statistical term referring to the goal of achieving zero defects or failures. Six Sigma quality is considered a “rate of less than 3.4 defects per million opportunities, which translates to a process that is 99.99966 percent defect free” (Spath 2013, 125). Although the technique originated in manufacturing, the use of Six Sigma is being encouraged in health services organizations as a way of achieving high reliability (Chassin and Loeb 2013). Lean. Sometimes called Lean thinking, Lean “is about finding and eliminating waste in all processes” (Black 2016, 6). This quality philosophy and set of tools, which also originated in manufacturing, is used to remove wasted effort from healthcare processes without compromising quality (Chassin and Loeb 2013). Lean techniques have helped health services organizations (page 8)

increase patient staff satisfaction, create more efficient processes, lower expenses, reduce patient wait times, improve capacity management, and make many other value-added, customer-focused enhancements (Black 2016). The Toyota Production System (TPS) is a common method of applying Lean in health services organizations. Organizational effectiveness. Several models or definitions of effectiveness in management literature exist, and the meanings are derived from the values and preferences of evaluators (Cameron 2015). From the perspective of TQ, organizational effectiveness means accomplishing goals. Change management. Whether quality improvement is aimed at reducing defects, removing wasteful process steps, or achieving better patient outcomes, the work people do in the organization will be modified in minor and sometimes major ways. Change management is a “systematic approach that prepares an organization to accept, implement, and sustain the improved processes” (Chassin and Loeb 2013, 481). A structure for managing the changes that result from quality improvement efforts is essential for ensuring that quality does not deteriorate as time passes, staff turnover occurs, and new priorities emerge. Components of this strategy can include human resources planning, financial and resource management, and implementation of a control system that involves measurement and oversight of performance results (McLaughlin and Olson 2012). A phrase often associated with change management is “sustain the gains.” Exhibit 1.1 provides a summary of the quality-related terms described in this section and the influence these concepts have on the actions of healthcare managers. Quality management. Continuously improving products and services to achieve better performance is often referred to as quality management. In this book, the term quality management is used to describe the manager’s role and contribution to organizational effectiveness. Quality management, for our purposes, refers to how managers working in various types of health services organizations and settings understand, explain, and continuously improve their organizations to allow them to deliver quality and safe patient care, promote quality patient and organizational outcomes, and improve health in their communities. Three Principles of Total Quality Total quality is based on three principles: customer focus, continuous improvement, and teamwork. While these topics are explored in depth in later chapters, a brief introduction to these principles is provided in this section. (page 9)

quality control (QC) “the operational techniques and activities used to fulfill requirements for quality” (ASQ 2016) quality assurance (QA) actions performed to eliminate defective outputs quality improvement (QI) “ongoing improve- ment of products, services or processes through incremental and breakthrough improvements” (ASQ 2016)

total quality (TQ) “a philosophy or an approach to management that can be char-acterized by its principles, practices, and techniques. Its three principles are customer focus, con- tinuous improvement, and teamwork . . . each principle is imple- mented through a set of practices . . . the practices are, in turn, supported by a wide array of techniques (i.e., specific step-by- step methods intended to make the practices effective)” (Dean and Bowen 2000, 4–5) performance management “an umbrella term that describes the methodologies, metrics, processes and systems used to monitor and manage the business performance of an enterprise” (Buytendijk and Rayner 2002) Six Sigma a rigorous and dis- ciplined process improvement approach using defined tools, methods, and statisti- cal analysis with the goal of improving the outcome of a process by reducing the fre- quency of defects or failures Lean (or Lean thinking) an improvement phi- losophy and set of tools that “is about finding and eliminating waste in all processes” (Black 2016, 6)

Customer. A customer is defined as a user (or potential user) of services or programs. Patients are customers, as are referring healthcare providers, as well as payers such as patients’ family members and health plans (Baldrige Performance Excellence Program [BPEP] 2015). External customers are the parties outside the organization, and the primary external customers for health services providers are patients, families and partners, clients, insurers and other third-party payers, and communities. An internal customer is a user inside of the organization. Internal customers have been described as “someone whose inbox is your outbox.” For example, in a hospital, when patient care is handed off from one provider to another at shift change, the incoming provider is considered the internal customer of the outgoing provider. Completing the requisite shift responsibilities in a timely manner, communicating relevant information, and leaving a tidy work space demonstrate one’s recognition of coworkers as internal customers. The contemporary view of quality management expands the concept of “customer” to include stakeholders and markets in which the organization operates. The term stakeholder is used to refer to “all groups that are or might be affected by an organization’s services, actions or success” (BPEP 2015, 53). In healthcare organizations, key stakeholders may include “customers, the community, employers, health care providers, patient advocacy groups, (page 10)

departments of health, students, the workforce, partners, collaborators, governing boards, stockholders, donors, suppliers, taxpayers, regulatory bodies, policy makers, funders, and local and professional communities” (BPEP 2015, 53). Customer-focused quality means that key patient and other customer requirements and expectations are identified and drive improvement efforts (BPEP 2015). Defining customers and stakeholders is a prerequisite to determining their requirements and, in turn, to designing organizational processes that meet these requirements. Continuous improvement. When the manager of an environmental services department in a large hospital picks up something from the hallway floor and throws it away in the nearest trash can, her action exemplifies the principle of continuous improvement. While other hospital employees might walk past the trash, the environmental services manager realizes the importance of being committed to continuous improvement for her department and for the hospital; if at any time the manager sees something that needs fixing, improving, or correcting, she takes the initiative. If managers want to achieve continuous improvement in their organizations, they must demonstrate continuous improvement through their everyday actions. The principle of continuous improvement may also be expressed through managers’ execution of their managerial functions. Managing by fact and depending on performance data to inform decisions is requisite to this principle. Though they might vary according to the nature of the work and the scope of management responsibility, performance data may be reported at various time intervals. For example, a shift supervisor for the patient transportation service in an 800-bed academic medical center watches the electronic dispatch system that displays a minute-by-minute update on transportation requests, indicators of patients en route to their destinations, and the number of patients in the queue. By monitoring the system, the supervisor is immediately aware when a problem occurs and, as a result, is able to take action quickly to resolve the problem. If the number of requests unexpectedly increases, the supervisor can reassign staff breaks to maximize staff availability and minimize response times. Each day, the supervisor posts the total number of transports performed the previous day, along with the average response times. This way, the patient transporters are aware of the department’s statistics and their own individual statistics, which helps the transporters take pride in a job that is typically underappreciated by others in the organization. The daily performance data also enable the supervisor to quickly identify documented complaints and to address them within 24 hours, which in turn increases employee accountability and improves customer relations. On a monthly basis, the department manager and the shift supervisors review the volume of requests by hour of the day to determine whether employees are scheduled appropriately to meet demand. (page 11)

The manager also reviews the statistics sorted by patient unit (e.g., nursing unit, radiology department) to identify any issues that need to be explored directly, manager to manager. The manager reviews the monthly statistics with his administrator, and the annual statistics are used in the budgeting process. A performance management system such as this promotes continuous improvement, which is defined as steady, incremental improvement in the organization’s overall performance. Teamwork. When the terms teamwork and quality are used together, management is usually referring to cross functional or interdisciplinary project teams. Healthcare organizations seeking to make changes in complex processes or activities that involve more than one discipline or work area often use a team approach. Quality improvement is fundamentally a team process in which significant and lasting improvements rely on the “knowledge, skills, experience, and perspectives of different individuals” (Health Resources and Services Administration 2011, 3). In relation to quality management, managers should also consider teamwork when they carry out functions inherent in the managerial role—in particular, organizational design, resource allocation, and communication. Designing and implementing decision-making, documentation, and communication processes (which ensure individuals and teams have the information they need, when they need it, to make effective and timely clinical and organizational decisions) reflect a manager’s understanding of the quality management principles. For example, in one hospital, the manager of the materials management department negotiates with a supplier to obtain surgical gloves at a discounted rate compared with the rate of the current supplier. The decision is made based on vendor and financial input. The first time the new gloves are used, however, the surgeon rips out the fingers of the gloves while inserting his hand. Had the manager embraced the concept of teamwork in her approach to decision making, she would have sought out information and input from the patient care team—the people who actually use the product and know the advantages and disadvantages of different brands of gloves. (page 12)