Office of Nursing

Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement

For More Information:

Introduction

The success of the past decade (1997 - 2007) in building the current QA/QI initiative sets the stage for taking quality to a higher level for Georgia public health. A strategic goal for Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement (QA/QI) in public health is to have one system that:

  • incorporates principles of Continuous Quality Improvement;
  • coordinates and integrates all QA/QI activities across all programs in the Division of Public Health;
  • integrates personal preventive services, community-based services and population health;
  • is used by all members of the interdisciplinary public health team at the county, district and state levels as a component of performance improvement; and
  • provides an efficient and effective mechanism for measuring excellence, evidenced-based and best practices, identifies trends and opportunities for improvement and is focused on improving health status.

Achievement of the above goal calls for a strong partnership between district, county and public health state office. This partnership should delineate the roles of district, county and state office staff in the development, implementation and evaluation of the standards, tools, methodologies and processes used in QA/QI. Principles of shared governance should guide the strategic planning, design, function and use of the enhanced QA/QI system to assure effectiveness, efficiency and connection to the changing direction of Georgia public health.

A systematic strategy for routine monitoring and reporting on quality, as well as the information systems needed to support such activities, will be essential if we are to preserve the best of the American health care system while striving to improve the efficiency with which high-quality services are provided (IOM 2001).

Top