Healthcare quality, cost and operations management

---

Gaurav Anand

As Salam International Hospital in Cairo, Egypt

: J Health Inform Manag

Abstract

---

Operations management is essential for the efficient functionality and provision of health services. The dynamics of the jobs of those who manage health care operations also vary based on the form of service being delivered. The key roles in operations management, in today’s date, include controlling costs and improving the quality of service provided to patients. With 78 percent of hospital leaders stating that rising healthcare costs are their primary concern in 2017, the leaders agreed that reviewing and optimizing existing operational and clinical processes was the hospital’s top strategy for containing costs. Cost of Care is the buzz word in today’s day with both insurance and self-paid patients talking about it. Hence the focuses are for healthcare managers. Reduced cost has a positive effect on “Cost of Care” which in turn means reduced burden on patient, higher profitability for the organization. In some cases it may have one or both effects. With the broader imperatives of cost containment and quality improvement at play, a powerful narrative has emerged from this debate that is now widely held and dominates policy—care coordination not only improves outcomes but lowers costs, too. Although there is broad policy consensus that both cost containment and quality improvement are critical, the association between costs and quality is poorly understood2. Evidence of the direction of association between health care cost and quality is inconsistent. Most studies have found that the association between cost and quality is small to moderate, regardless of whether the direction is positive or negative. Higher spending levels do not necessarily lead to quality improvement. The negative correlation between cost and quality is of special concern in today’s environment of dramatically increasing health care costs. The balance between the Quality of Care which means maximizing patient experience through care with lower costs without implications on clinical process and providing an effective technology environment for this achievement is the challenge of the day.

Biography

---

E-mail: anand8578@yahoo.com