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Published on: February 16, 2011
Leadership versus management: translating pharmacists' abilities into quality performance.
1College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical and Health Outcomes Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia 29208, USA. reeder@pharm.sc.edu
Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy : JMCP
|April 13, 2013
Summary
Bridging the healthcare quality gap requires a multifaceted approach. Pharmacists can optimize drug therapy by implementing continuous quality improvement models, fostering a culture of quality, and strong leadership.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Pharmacy Practice
- Quality Improvement
Background:
- The Institute of Medicine identified a significant quality gap in healthcare delivery.
- Pharmacy has a crucial, yet often untapped, potential to enhance drug therapy quality.
- Understanding leadership, management, and change dynamics is essential for quality improvement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define the healthcare quality gap as described by the Institute of Medicine.
- To explore how pharmacy can leverage its capabilities to improve drug therapy quality.
- To provide insights into leadership, management, and change processes for quality enhancement.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and synthesis of Institute of Medicine reports on healthcare quality.
- Analysis of pharmacy's role in addressing the quality gap.
- Conceptual framework development for quality improvement in drug therapy.
Main Results:
- Healthcare quality is currently suboptimal, falling short of ideal standards.
- Successful quality initiatives integrate a 'culture of quality,' strong leadership, and effective management.
- Concurrent application of these elements is necessary; isolated efforts are insufficient to bridge the quality chasm.
Conclusions:
- Optimizing drug therapy presents a significant challenge and opportunity for the pharmacy profession.
- The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's (AMCP) Framework for Quality Drug Therapy offers a continuous quality improvement model.
- This framework provides tools for planning, implementing, and evaluating strategies to improve patient care and close the quality gap.
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