Blog #1: What Does Quality Mean to Me??

What Does Quality Mean to Me?

Quality can be defined differently, depending on a person’s preferences, experiences, feelings and desires. I believe that quality can be measured in how much we will invest time, energy and money into. In everyday life, individuals want to know the quality of something, not just in terms of healthcare, but a television show, food we consume, clothes we buy, relationships we invest our time in and the list continues.

When it comes to the quality of healthcare, before I even walk into a physician’s office, I think about the quality of the phone call in which my appointment was made. Was the receptionist friendly, professional, and knowledgeable? When it is time for me to receive care at a particular healthcare facility, I assess the cleanliness of the facility and the staff. Who wants to receive healthcare from a facility that does not take time to maintain themselves nor the facility? Quality of care can then be measured by how long you stayed in a facility, when the physician came in to access the problem, was the problem handled or did you have to go back for more visits, because the issue still persist?

I remember taking my grandmother to the Optometrist one day because her eyes had been bothering her. When I called to make an appointment, the receptionist asked, what day and time did I want to come in? I told her the date and time, and she told me that the date and time I wanted to bring my grandmother was available. I thought that it was strange how my grandmother would be able to be seen in two days, at the time and date I wanted, but nevertheless, I was grateful, because she was going to be seen a lot sooner than I expected. The day we opened the door to the Optometrist office, I understood why I was able to be seen so quick, the optometrist overbooks and the lobby was FULL of people. There was no place for my grandmother and I to even sit, I was extremely upset. It took the nurse an hour and a half to call us back into the back, and then when we got to the back, we waited another hour for the optometrist to come in. When the optometrist came into the room, she had us to go back into the lobby because she wanted to take more test for my grandmother. We spent five hours in the Optometrist office that day, and at the end of our appointment, the nurse said for us to come back next week for more test. Needless to say, my grandmother was not taking back to that optometrist, especially after all the time that was spent that day, and nothing, and I do mean nothing was resolved.

The quality of care giving at this facility was very insufficient, but I believe that quality can always be improved. If an organization is getting responses from patients which are not pleasing, it is possible to reevaluate the situation and make changes for improvement.