Comprehensive quality management plans for palliative care programs are designed to achieve several purposes:
At its best, the quality management program increases the probability of positive patient outcomes and decreases the likelihood of adverse events by continually assessing and improving governance, managerial, clinical, and support mechanisms that directly and indirectly impact outcomes (Kaiser Permanente, 2002). The program addresses the interests of several groups of stakeholders: healthcare administrators, healthcare regulatory agencies, program staff members, and, of course, patients and their families. The program serves two main functions: Quality assessment and performance improvement.
For more information about the TriCentral Palliative Care Toolkit visit www.growthhouse.org/palliative/. All content is Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Richard D. Brumley, M.D. All rights reserved. No part of this toolkit may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the publishers. This guide to developing home-based outpatient palliative care services was developed through a grant to the Kaiser Permanente TriCentral Service Area from The Project on Death In America. The Kaiser Permanente TriCentral Palliative Care Program is a Sustaining Member of the Inter-Institutional Collaborating Network On End-of-life Care (IICN) which links major organizations internationally.
