Accreditation: A continuous process for improvement
An interview with Dr. Kedar Mate, vice president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement
A high-quality health system is defined by its cost-effectiveness, capacity to continuously learn from and prevent errors, and its commitment to the respect and dignity of the patients and families it serves.
Policymakers, payers, providers, patients and the public each have a role to play in achieving these goals; through collaboration, they can achieve an effective quality strategy that, combined with expansions in healthcare access, will achieve improvements in health outcomes.
Healthcare delivery systems must continuously improve to match the increased demand they face from patients.
Universal Coverage Ensuring Value-for Money Healthcare is Key
Affordability and sustainability of universal health coverage
Francoise Cluzeau is a Senior Advisor for NICE International. She attended the June 2011 JLN Mombasa Workshop as an international observer.
At the JLN workshop in Mombasa we heard about many creative schemes targeting improved coverage of the informal sector - such as the establishment of the Mutuelles in Rwanda, the Rajiv Aarogyasri Community Health Insurance Scheme in India, the national citizen ID number for universal coverage in Thailand and many more exciting initiatives from other countries. At the same time we heard common issues evoked about the affordability and sustainability of universal healthcare coverage.
Informal Sector Enrollment as a Tool for Improving Quality
Enrollment as a “pay for performance” technique
Helen L. Smits, MD, attended the JLN Mombasa workshop as a representative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). She is an internist who has dedicated her life to public health and healthcare management. Her current work focuses on improving the quality of care in African countries.
During the presentations and discussions in Mombasa, we learned a lot about the potential for community-based organizations to contribute to the process for enrolling the informal sector into insurance schemes. Examples included the women’s groups described in Frances’ Lund’s post, the community organizations used by RSBY in India, and the microfinance organizations used by KaSAPI in the Philippines.