Читать книгу The Quality Improvement Challenge - Richard J. Banchs - Страница 70

Improving the quality of care requires a meaningful and actionable strategy and a well‐organized approach. The appropriateness of the strategy, and the effectiveness of the approach, depend on a clear understanding of the problem from the customer’s perspective. To clearly understand the problem we should “walk a mile in the customer’s shoes.” So, who is the customer?

The customer is the person who requires and benefits from our work product; the customer is the end user, the person who receives the output of the process we are considering.

Before we can address a problem and understand the nature of the problem, we must identify the customer. Problems in QI can only be understood from the customer’s perspective. If we ignore the customer, it will be difficult to truly understand the issue, focus our improvement efforts, and move the project in the right direction. Problems should be defined using the lens of the people who experience them.

In manufacturing, the customer is well known, and the customer’s needs are well defined. Improvement efforts are focused on delivering value to the customer. The same happens in healthcare. Staff and providers in healthcare organizations create value for their customers. Their efforts are focused on delivering quality care and an outstanding healthcare experience. So, who are the customers in healthcare?