Biomaterial Database

Quality improvement in the ESRD program: implications for nephrology nurses. 1995

G Biddle

Nephrology Nurse Consultants, Loudonville, NY 12211, USA.

Pressure to adopt and adapt the concepts and principles associated with total quality management to health care organizations is increasing as globally the health care industry struggles with demands for accountability from both purchasers and receivers of health care services. Quality organizations committed to assessing quality in health care are designing new and distinct measuring and reporting mechanisms that use some of the principles of total quality management while striving to preserve the uniqueness of the health care profession. Providers of renal replacement therapies will soon become engaged in newer quality initiatives that will strive to measure the delivery of routine care. These initiatives will require new knowledge, skills, and the use of a new "quality language." Nephrology nurses in all positions must become more informed about the changes that are taking place, participate in the learning curve, and become active players in judging organizational quality performance.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007676	Kidney Failure, Chronic	The end-stage of CHRONIC RENAL INSUFFICIENCY. It is characterized by the severe irreversible kidney damage (as measured by the level of PROTEINURIA) and the reduction in GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE to less than 15 ml per min (Kidney Foundation: Kidney Disease Outcome Quality Initiative, 2002). These patients generally require HEMODIALYSIS or KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION.	ESRD,End-Stage Renal Disease,Renal Disease, End-Stage,Renal Failure, Chronic,Renal Failure, End-Stage,Chronic Kidney Failure,End-Stage Kidney Disease,Chronic Renal Failure,Disease, End-Stage Kidney,Disease, End-Stage Renal,End Stage Kidney Disease,End Stage Renal Disease,End-Stage Renal Failure,Kidney Disease, End-Stage,Renal Disease, End Stage,Renal Failure, End Stage
D009398	Nephrology	A subspecialty of internal medicine concerned with the anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the kidney.
D011785	Quality Assurance, Health Care	Activities and programs intended to assure or improve the quality of care in either a defined medical setting or a program. The concept includes the assessment or evaluation of the quality of care; identification of problems or shortcomings in the delivery of care; designing activities to overcome these deficiencies; and follow-up monitoring to ensure effectiveness of corrective steps.	Quality Assessment, Health Care,Health Care Quality Assessment,Health Care Quality Assurance,Healthcare Quality Assessment,Healthcare Quality Assurance,Quality Assessment, Healthcare,Quality Assurance, Healthcare,Assessment, Healthcare Quality,Assessments, Healthcare Quality,Assurance, Healthcare Quality,Assurances, Healthcare Quality,Healthcare Quality Assessments,Healthcare Quality Assurances,Quality Assessments, Healthcare,Quality Assurances, Healthcare
D004506	Education, Nursing	Use for general articles concerning nursing education.	Nursing Education,Educations, Nursing,Nursing Educations
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D017749	Total Quality Management	The application of industrial management practice to systematically maintain and improve organization-wide performance. Effectiveness and success are determined and assessed by quantitative quality measures.	Continuous Quality Management,Lean Six Sigma,Sigma Metrics,Six Sigma,Lean Six Sigmas,Management, Continuous Quality,Management, Total Quality,Metric, Sigma,Metrics, Sigma,Sigma Metric,Sigma, Six,Sigmas, Six,Six Sigma, Lean,Six Sigmas,Six Sigmas, Lean