QM Department Structure

[golfnurse]

I'm looking for information regarding how QM departments are structured. We've had a change in personnel and have an opportunity to restructure our department. Currently there are 2 of us who are responsible for infection control, Core Measure abstraction and data entry, mortality review, return to surgery review, blood utilization review, MD peer review, MHA data collection. Regulatory body and insurance carrier data collection are part of the department responsibilities too. Then there are the other day to day occurrences to follow up on, etc. We are looking to hire the right type of personnel. We are a 250 bed hospital. I know some places use more nurses, others use some clerical and data entry personnel along with nurses. If you have a good system, please share your ideas. I'm also interested in hearing what doesn't work.

Thanks.

[jtaublib]

the description of the different job expectations exceed what either the nurse or support staff can individually. as an example, peer review - completion/due dates/signatures/timelines/data entry/etc. could be a role for clerical or support staff. analysis/trending/tracking/follow-up/recommendations for action/needs to have professional staff rn/md etc, to do. i suggest you establish functional statements for each of the roles you need filled. our infection control nurses collect/analyze/track their own data and report to our nurse executives and cos. risk management/insurance data/utilization review/etc. would require both support staff and professional staff. it sounds like they are requiring you to wear way to many hats. a great reference is katz and green's managing quality. they have a chapter on quality structure.