Assessing and improving quality in the post anesthesia care unit.
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization's 10 step methodology for quality assessment and improvement is a powerful tool for addressing and resolving complex interdisciplinary problems and issues. This article presents the basics of each of the 10 steps to illustrate a post anesthesia care unit (PACU) monitoring and evaluation process that is rigorous, objective, systematic, and relevant. In addition, two quality improvement tools, flow charts and cause-and-effect diagrams, are discussed.
Levin
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Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, IL.
D006801:Humans; D007591:Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016528:Postanesthesia Nursing / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011997:Recovery Room / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States