In healthcare, the stakes are high. The goal of every patient interaction is to provide the safest, most effective, and efficient care possible. That is why quality assurance in healthcare is so serious. To reinforce the severity of quality assurance, a Joint Commission exists to set global standards. Having been established for over 70 years, the Joint Commission has an intense review process. For an entity to gain accreditation from the Joint Commission means that they commit to consistently delivering the highest possible quality of care to patients. IntelyCare is proud to be a Joint Commission Accredited organization.
Working with organizations that are accredited, like us, can protect your facility from serious and long-term quality assurance issues. Let’s take a look at why quality assurance is crucial, how you can improve nurse and patient retention at your facility, and how to avoid lost revenue.
What is Quality Assurance in Healthcare?
Quality Assurance (QA) refers to the identification, assessment, correction, and monitoring of all aspects of patient care. It is designed to improve the quality of care provided to patients, improve nursing workflows, and prevent recurrences of errors or harm. It is demonstrated by best practices and is evidence based.
What is a Quality Assurance Nurse?
A Quality Assurance Nurse is an advocate for both the patient and the healthcare organization. As a liaison between the patient, provider, and payer, a QA Nurse facilitates in-depth analysis on current nursing professionals’ practices. Their goal is to optimize patient outcomes and provide safe, effective care.
Did you Know IntelyCare has a Quality Assurance Team?
IntelyCare made the decision early to become Joint Commission Accredited and develop our own Quality Assurance team. Simply put, our mission is to create a better way for post-acute healthcare facilities to fill shifts with qualified, engaged, and reliable nursing professionals. With our Quality Assurance team addressing concerns, managing performance, and supporting both our per diem nurses (IntelyPros as we call them) and facility clients, we believe that IntelyCare is the industry leader in placing high quality nursing professionals in per diem positions.
Our corporate team of experienced nursing professionals receives allegations from both our client partners and our IntelyPros. When we receive these concerns, we initiate a workplace investigation. (Think of this as a fact-finding expedition.) We reach out to the reporter to gather the facts surrounding the alleged concern. We then follow up with administration at our client partner facility, the IntelyPro, and any witnesses who may help us determine the root cause of the concern. The goal is always to identify and eliminate potential risks necessary to prevent similar incidents or future mistakes.
How Does this Benefit to Our Client Partners?
Our client partners and their patients are extremely important to us. We are committed to investigating every clinical allegation that comes to our attention. Of course, healthcare facilities conduct their own investigations when allegations arise. We wish to assist in this process and make sure that we, too, are providing the resources and reeducation our IntelyPros require to provide safe patient care and restore client confidence in our workforce.
We have made it quite easy for our client partners to submit concerns through the IntelyCare platform. Each concern that is submitted goes directly to our QA team. Clinical Do Not Returns (DNRs) are addressed, and the reporter of the allegation receives a phone call from our team as we gather the facts surrounding the alleged concern. This is representative of IntelyCare’s commitment to keeping patients safe.
We have built a corporate QA team of experienced nursing professionals with varied backgrounds so that we are optimally positioned to address the intricacies of each of our client partners. We employ former Medicare auditors, Long-Term Care (LTC) Directors of Nursing, LTC staff nurses, nurses who have worked in home care and assisted living facilities, acute care nurses, and nurses from Medicare advantage plans, just to name a few. We have nurse educators who build education modules to meet the needs of our clients, IntelyPros, and the patients they care for. We provide all the support necessary to address any client concerns and keep patients safe.
Want to learn more about the IntelyCare QA process? Connect with a Client Success Manager!