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• Map

• Inside Quality
  at AAMC

  • AAMC's Values &
    culture of quality
  • How quality is judged
    and recognized
  • AAMC people driving
    quality care
  • AAMC processes to
    reinforce quality
  • Understanding
    quality measures

Speak Up
Program




Patient Advocacy

443-481-4820 or 4821
Office hours are
7 a.m. - 6 p.m.,
Monday through Friday
2000 Medical Parkway
Annapolis, MD, 211401

The Joint
Commission
Public Notice

How AAMC's processes overlap to reinforce the focus on quality

Supporting the AAMC culture of quality and the people behind it is a carefully designed system of processes that reinforce, cross check and monitor the status of quality care initiatives. These processes represent checklists and benchmarks that analyze the progress of maintaining and raising quality throughout every aspect of care.

In much the same way you as a patient will have expectations and want reassurances about the quality of care you receive, our quality processes are among the many ways to ensure we deliver both.

Parts of the process to monitor quality:

• Patient Safety Goals
• “Quality Corner”
• Information Services initiatives and improvements
• Policies and Procedures Intranet Library
• Equipment and Environment

Patient Safety Goals

AAMC sets high standards for itself in all areas, including patient safety and quality. These standards are expressed in the form of goals in comprehensive, formal documents that set forth AAMC safety and quality policies. In these documents there are broad statements of AAMC’s overall goals, as well as very specific and detailed objectives. What gives the documents force and meaning is the continuous process in place that monitors and measures progress toward the objectives. Departments and individuals are held accountable in meeting them.

“Quality Corner”

“Quality Corner” is a column in the monthly employee newsletter that serves as a periodic news bulletin for AAMC staff members. Items in “Policies & Procedures” have to do with quality or safety. Some articles are in the form of refreshers; others deliver summaries of new safety-related developments or updates.

Information Services initiatives and improvements

Quality is a shared enterprise at AAMC, and by necessity involves a large volume of shared knowledge. This shared knowledge is stored and organized in files on AAMC’s intranet. The Information Services (IS) department at AAMC is the unit whose responsibility it is to manage this information and make it accessible to those who need it. This is a complex and important task, and the IS department is engaged in a nearly constant process of enhancing and upgrading the ways AAMC staffers can find and utilize information necessary to improving quality practices.

Policies and Procedures Intranet Library

AAMC’s policies and procedures are an extensive library of carefully designed rules and practices that guide the actions of healthcare professionals throughout the hospital in the performance of their jobs. By definition, the policies and procedures are detailed and extensive, ensuring uniformity and consistency in the way things are done. When necessary, AAMC staffers can refer to the policies and procedures governing their jobs by accessing them through the hospital intranet.

Equipment and Environment

Every small detail of the AAMC patient care environment, from the design of patient rooms to the kinds of equipment in use, is the result of a careful evaluation of how each of these details will enhance quality of care. Private rooms, for instance, are more conducive to rest; carpeted hallways reduce noise; Spectralink, a system of wireless handsets carried by key healthcare providers, keeps patients and other providers in continuous touch; IV equipment is the most advanced of it kind available. These and a host of other components of patient care surroundings function together to support caregivers in their roles while improving patient comfort and safety.