Deb Wachenheim of HCFA and Lisa Nash, member of the Consumer Health Quality Council, spoke today at a conference organized by the MA Association for Healthcare Quality (www.mahq.org).
Deb gave an overview of the Consumer Council’s work and encouraged the providers in the audience to think about ways to partner with consumers for better quality care. Lisa shared her story (see video), a powerful example of how breakdowns in the system and a lack of communication between patients and providers can lead to serious consequences. Because of what both she and her daughter experienced in the health care system, Lisa has become a strong advocate for herself and her family. Members of the audience expressed an interest in working with the Council to bring their stories to medical school students, providers, and others in order to work together to improve the system. If you are interested in working with the Council and sharing their stories within your organization, contact Deb Wachenheim at dwachenheim@hcfama.org.
What does this worldwide standardization mean to you and me? Well, thanks to ISO, we can get cash from an automated teller machine (ATM) in New York City, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires or Moscow. The format of the credit cards, phone cards and smart cards is based on a series of ISO standards. The use of these standards, which outlines features such as the size and thickness of the card as well as the location and data format on the magnetic strip, means that all ATMs, telephones and other card machines throughout the world can read the cards. Since its establishment, ISO has focused primarily on the development of product-specific standards. However, in the mid 1980s, ISO started its work on systems-related standards. This direction later resulted in the well-known ISO 9000 series of standards, ISO 13485, ISO 14001 and others.