Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter 2. Determining What To Monitor
Chapter 2. Determining What To Monitor
I
shall deal with my first subject, which is determining or finding what
to monitor, by going through a series of logical steps toward making
that determination.
Quite often, and increasingly so, certain monitoring activities are required
by governmental agencies that provide care, directly or indirectly; pay for
it; and assume responsibility for its quality. When private insurance is
available, the insurers themselves may require certain kinds of monitoring
to control the cost of care and possibly also to supervise its quality. It is
obvious that any monitoring system will find it necessary to comply with
such requirements. But, in my opinion, the more important and mean-
ingful activities are those that the providers of care establish and carry out
themselves as part of their own responsibility to provide good care.
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting is the action taken by clinicians or administrators
when a problem is presented to them by some untoward event. Things
go wrong; people complain; there are unpleasant, even tragic, events.
When a seemingly healthy person unexpectedly dies or the wrong limb
is amputated, the problem arrives at our doorstep unsolicited. But to en-
courage the reporting of other, less notable adverse events, it is important
to establish an environment conducive to reporting.
To create such an environment, we should be prepared to ask ques-
tions, and when told we should be willing to listen. The reporting of
problems, whether solicited or unsolicited, should never be met with im-
mediate denial, displeasure, anger, argumentation, accusation, retaliation,
or punishment. One should listen, explain if there has been only a mis-
understanding, or promise to investigate when this seems justified. I be-
lieve it would be helpful to ask the bearer of the report his or her view
of how the problem may have arisen and how it might have been pre-
vented. When possible and appropriate, the person reporting could be
invited to participate in the investigation that follows. At the very least,
those who have made a report should be informed of what the subsequent
investigation has revealed and what corrective action has been taken. If
this procedure is ignored, reports and suggestions will simply cease, even
as dissatisfaction and apathy persist and grow.
When adverse events are reported, there is pressure to deal with each
event as it arises. But it is important, at the same time, to try to understand
the more general significance of discrete events. One should look for the
possible presence of a "mechanism" that may underlie a series of events,
and if so, aim to deal with that root cause.
32 AN INTRODUCTION TO QUALITY ASSURANCE IN HEALTH CARE
Planned Reconnaissance
I have already defined planned reconnaissance as action taken to reveal
problems or opportunities for improvement. In this case, we take the
initiative to find the problems or opportunities. The kinds of action we
might take can be classified as problem identification (1) by group dis-
cussion and study, and (2) by routine surveillance.
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36 AN INTRODUCTION TO QUALITY ASSURANCE IN HEALTH CARE