Health System Management Flashcards
6 cards from real DHA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Health System Management flashcards as text
In the context of patient flow management, which metric best measures the efficiency of inpatient bed utilization?
Answer: Average Length of Stay (ALOS) combined with bed occupancy rate
ALOS (average days patients stay) combined with bed occupancy rate (% of beds occupied) provides the most meaningful picture of bed utilization efficiency. High occupancy with low ALOS indicates efficient throughput; high ALOS can signal inefficiency, complications, or discharge planning issues.
What is the primary goal of healthcare accreditation by organizations such as JCI (Joint Commission International) or ACHSI?
Answer: To evaluate healthcare organizations against internationally recognized standards and drive quality improvement
Healthcare accreditation by JCI or ACHSI evaluates facilities against comprehensive international standards covering patient safety, clinical quality, leadership, and management. The primary purpose is quality improvement through systematic evaluation, not ranking or replacing government licensing.
A Dubai hospital wants to implement a 'lean management' approach to reduce waiting times in its emergency department. Which lean tool is most appropriate for mapping and identifying waste in the patient journey?
Answer: Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a lean tool that visually maps every step in a process (patient journey), identifying value-added steps and waste (waiting, unnecessary movement, duplication). It is the primary lean tool for identifying improvement opportunities in patient flow.
The concept of 'clinical governance' in healthcare organizations encompasses which of the following?
Answer: A framework through which NHS/DHA-regulated organizations are accountable for continuously improving quality and safeguarding high standards of care
Clinical governance is the system by which healthcare organizations are accountable for continuously improving the quality and safety of services and creating conditions for excellence. It encompasses quality assurance, clinical audit, risk management, evidence-based practice, and staff development.
In healthcare quality improvement, what does the term 'Never Events' refer to?
Answer: Serious, preventable patient safety incidents that should never happen if preventive measures are in place (e.g., wrong-site surgery)
'Never Events' are serious, preventable patient safety incidents that should never occur when proper safeguards are in place. Examples include wrong-site surgery, retained surgical instruments, medication errors with wrong patient. They require immediate investigation and system-level response.
Which statistical concept is used in Six Sigma quality methodology to measure process variation and defect rates?
Answer: Standard deviation (sigma) and defects per million opportunities (DPMO)
Six Sigma uses standard deviation (sigma, σ) as the measure of process variation. Six Sigma quality means 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO). In healthcare, 'defects' include medication errors, wrong-site surgeries, and other adverse events — targeting near-perfect reliability.