They Are Watching

How many of us shook our heads in disbelief when we heard that during a transplant operation it was discovered that the blood type of the organ was not a match for the patient. We thought this certainly must have happened in a third-world country. Not so! This occurred at the highly regarded Duke Medical Center in Durham, N.C. A simple series of procedures confirming blood type from the organ bank to the operating table could have prevented the mistake.

The problem was not the medical team or the many caring health care professionals serving the patient, but a simple process disconnect. Unfortunately, medical errors have increased significantly over the past several years, and consumers are becoming much more aware of the problem. The Commonwealth Fund reports that eight million households have experienced medical errors that caused serious health problems.

While the majority of these problems occur in hospitals, consumers know that sick patients are being sent home earlier than in the past. The responsibility for care then shifts to the home care professional. Consumers not only expect to see vast improvements in the delivery of health services in our country's hospitals, but they also expect to see leaders in home care accept the same challenges of patient safety and quality of care.

I believe home care is part of the solution to our nation's health care crisis. Our industry can care for an aging population much more effectively at home. In addition, I believe the vast majority of home care providers are committed to operating their businesses ethically and to providing quality products and services. Thus, being measured by quality standards should be something that providers support.

A desire to meet expectations and improve quality should emanate from a passion for our patients. Regardless of whether managed care, government or other third-party stakeholders require or do not require external peer review, the industry itself should embrace the challenge of a fail-safe patient care system that reduces human error and provides best clinical practices. Home care providers' goals must be to direct their businesses — clinically and managerially — as professionally and efficiently as possible.

Accreditation does help companies reach these goals. At a recent conference, an attendee told me that it was time-consuming to prepare for accreditation. However, he acknowledged that the process helped improve his business plan and policies for delivering services to his patients. I told him it is our goal as an accrediting agency to help our customers improve.