Communication

Medication management

Infection control

Risk assessment

To identify and investigate patient safety events

To assign blame for patient safety events

To punish healthcare providers for patient safety events

To prevent patient safety events from happening again

Medication errors

Surgical errors

Falls

Infections

A government agency that regulates healthcare quality

A private organization that accredits healthcare organizations

A non-profit organization that promotes patient safety

A professional association for healthcare providers

To ensure that healthcare organizations meet certain quality standards

To improve the financial performance of healthcare organizations

To increase the market share of healthcare organizations

To attract more patients to healthcare organizations

Quality assurance is focused on preventing errors, while quality improvement is focused on improving processes

Quality assurance is focused on measuring performance, while quality improvement is focused on changing processes

Quality assurance is focused on identifying problems, while quality improvement is focused on solving problems

Quality assurance is focused on compliance with regulations, while quality improvement is focused on exceeding expectations

A four-step process for improving quality

A six-step process for improving quality

An eight-step process for improving quality

A ten-step process for improving quality

Plan

Do

Check

Act

Plan

Do

Check

Act

Plan

Do

Check

Act

Plan

Do

Check

Act

To identify the underlying causes of a problem

To assign blame for a problem

To punish individuals for a problem

To prevent a problem from happening again

An unexpected event that results in death or serious injury

An event that could have resulted in death or serious injury

An event that results in financial loss

An event that results in reputational damage

To measure the quality of patient care

To identify patient safety problems

To track patient safety trends

All of the above

Communicate effectively with patients and families

Follow evidence-based guidelines

Use technology to improve patient care

Create a culture of safety