17th Medical Group prepares for inspections Published Feb. 4, 2008 By Lt. Col. Susan Baker 17th Medical Support Squadron commander GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- This spring, the men and women of the 17th Medical Group will participate in the Air Force Inspection Agency's Health Service Inspection and the American Association of Ambulatory Health Care Inspection process. During this week-long survey, some dozen experts will assess the medical readiness and quality of health care delivery at the 17th Medical Group. Medical inspections are somewhat different than other inspections in that the Air Force Inspection Agency invites a civilian accreditation organization to provide its own inspection of a medical group, and to provide an accreditation statement for each medical group just as the organization would for any civilian clinic or hospital. The AAAHC accreditation means that your medical group here at Goodfellow meets the same standard of medical care that our civilian colleagues across the United States meet. During this visit, the inspectors will grade the group on several hundred items of compliance and practice, including Military Leadership and Executive Management, Medical Readiness, Operational and Preventive Health Services, and Health Care Support. The inspectors will compare our business plan to the outcomes of numbers and types of patients seen at the medical group, the quality of medical care the patients received, the education we provided to patients during their visits, and how we have continuously created a learning environment to improve organizational performance. As with any other inspection, we must demonstrate our commitment to creating a safe environment for patient care over the time since our last inspection, through the administrative review of patient records, minutes, and special process improvement activities. Inspectors may choose you at random during the course of their inspection and follow you as a patient from the moment you enter the clinic until the time you leave, reviewing compliance items at each step in the process, from making the appointment to exiting the clinic with medications in hand. There will also be tests of the medical group staff. The providers, nurses and technicians will demonstrate proficiency at caring for critically ill patients, evacuating the clinical spaces for fire or smoke; The administrative staff will identify a suspicious package, deal with facility infrastructure issues like flooding, and ensure the safety of our patients during security breaches. All of these tests validate to the inspectors that the medical group provides a safe place for health care. Some inspectors will perform compliance inspections on our medications, our contingency medical equipment, our financial management programs, and our information management systems. They will also ensure we've documented all the training required for each of our staff members - military, government service civilian, and contractor civilian. Again, these are the same inspections performed by inspectors in civilian facilities. The whole point of inspecting these areas is to ensure your fees - or the funds we receive to operate - are accounted for and properly documented. Some of the inspectors will ask to speak to you. They will hold focus groups to learn about our roles in the community- both on-base and off-base. These inspectors will ensure that the medical care we provide is safe, and meets the needs of the patients we serve by giving you an opportunity to speak about the care you receive here at Goodfellow. We love the challenge of showing this group of experts our clinic, our processes, and most of all, our base. I know you'll be interested in the outcome - that we care for you.
