The Foundation provides specialized review services when an evaluation is needed for a hospital’s overall quality of care. This includes a review of the structure and performance of the institution’s quality review system, the actual quality of clinical care, and any litigation history. Our team of experts, representing various specialties, identifies problems in quality assurance, peer review and clinical care. They look at the process used by all departments, the means by which they operate, report and interact, and the way each practitioner is evaluated. The team looks at all methods of quality assurance, interdepartmental communications and Quality Review methodology. Indicators of variances and morbidity and mortality data by both department and individual practitioners are examined. Recommendations are then made, for example, on improving communication between departments, monitoring quality, clinical standards, performance improvement, staff coverage policies and more effective screening within departments and throughout the hospital.

EXCLUSIVE CONTRACTS

Hospitals have found on-site appraisals particularly useful when renegotiating long-term exclusive contracts with departments such as Radiology, Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, Pathology Laboratory, and Cardiopulmonary services. Prior to contract renewal, our assessment enables a health care facility to evaluate whether the services of a hospital department conform to applicable standards of practice and determine whether contract renewal is appropriate.

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