Selected issues in quality improvement and risk management.
OBJECTIVE
To provide an overview of selected issues in quality improvement and risk management.


METHODS
Published articles, books, and standards pertaining to quality improvement and risk management.


CONCLUSIONS
The changing health care environment has intensified the need for monitoring processes of home care, patient outcomes, and risk management issues. Quality improvement and risk management programs can provide guidelines for the home health staff to impact outcomes of patient care and patient and caregiver satisfaction.


CONCLUSIONS
Home health care nurses are involved in the evaluation of systems, processes, and outcomes. Their involvement in identifying problems, providing creative solutions, and successfully implementing systems and processes is essential for quality improvement. They also must be knowledgeable of risk management and be involved in the identification and resolution of potential risks to themselves and their patients.
Chapman
A H
AH
Home Care Services, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010-3000, USA.
Sebastian
W
W
D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D018570:Risk Assessment