Exploring the efficacy of healthcare quality practices, employee commitment, and employee control

Abstract

This exploratory study examines healthcare quality program practices, employee commitment and control initiatives, and perceived results by surveying the directors of hospital quality programs. U.S. hospitals are renowned to be among the highest in quality, but recent studies assert that the majority of error-related deaths per year are preventable. In response, healthcare organizations have adopted quality management programs. Employee commitment and control theories propose that employee initiatives are critical to patient safety. However, little research has focused on the efficacy of employee commitment and control initiatives for quality programs at healthcare organizations. This study examines the responses from Quality and Risk Directors of 372 U.S. hospitals. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) demonstrate that perceived quantitative and qualitative quality program results are more highly related to employee commitment and control initiatives than they are related to quality practices. #

Dynamic capabilities through continuous improvement infrastructure

“…Training and career paths Enable participation in CI projects Participative climate: Bowen and Lawler (1992) and Gowen et al (2006) Update body of knowledge and provide training when appropriate Knowledge management: Hatch and Dyer (2004); Wright and Snell (1998) Clarify reporting structures and paths for personal development Administrative practices: Dyer and Ericksen (2005) Information technology support Support process-measurement needs and provide repository of project reports Information processing: Bendoly and Swink (2007), Davenport (2006) and Garvin (1993a) consistent with organizational goals, and project teams must be held accountable for attainment of those goals. An effective CI infrastructure includes mechanisms to ensure such fidelity and accountability to established goals.…”

“…For CI, employees require training and apprenticeship in the use of the scientific method for structured problem solving and for leading process improvement teams (Hatch and Dyer, 2004). Further, human resource practices such as defined designations, roles, and career paths provide the motivation and opportunity for employees to participate in CI initiatives (Gowen et al, 2006).…”

Assessment of Quality Management Practices Within the Healthcare Industry

“…Some recent studies have examined quality management practices in healthcare organizations and have described a number of different factors and international settings. Four studies have assessed the relationship between quality improvement, financial performance, competitive advantage and employee commitment in US hospitals and nursing homes [35][36][37][38] . Among the international studies, one examined individual and collective implementations of TQM factors in Jordanian hospitals, another assessed Spanish hospitals and their choice of quality management system, a third studied barriers to TQM implementation in Turkish public hospitals and another study assessed quality implementation, quality management practices and business performance in hospitals located in Spain, UK and the Netherlands [39][40][41][42] .…”

Process improvement in healthcare: overall resource efficiency

“…These approaches have been well studied in the academic literature, and tried and tested first in the industry, and later also in service organizations. The recent years have witnessed a growing interest from healthcare in these approaches [9][10][11] .…”