NURS FPX 6612 Assessment 2 Quality Improvement Proposal

Student Name

Capella University

NURS-FPX 6612 Health Care Models Used in Care Coordination

Prof. Name:

Date

Quality Improvement Proposal

Medical organizations should strive to become Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) to provide standard care and improve patient safety. Healthcare organizations become ACOs after fulfilling the standards for delivering integrated care and enhanced standards of care, enhancing patient experience and security. Medical organizations must incorporate quality-improvement tactics and procedures (Lewis et al., 2019). The assessment includes a Quality Improvement (QI) recommendation for Sacred Heart Hospital (SHH) to obtain ACO approval by upgrading its technical facilities and increasing the health organization’s health data systems.

It is necessary to add quality measures that health organizations can analyze and examine to understand the patient’s standard of treatment. Health Information Technology (HIT) enhances the standard of therapy in SHH by improving coordinated care and enabling collaboration among multidisciplinary groups. Incorporating appropriate communication tools into medical facilities allows practitioners to quickly exchange patient medical data, avoiding care interruptions and medication errors (Samal et al., 2021). ACOs can also use HIT in medical facilities to improve coordinated care and provide effective treatments to patients while fulfilling high standards of care (Lewis et al., 2019).

Ways to Expand SHH’s HIT to Include Quality Metrics

To ensure that medical organizations adhere to their patient’s needs, HIT has to be expanded extensively throughout every aspect of the medical setting (Laukka et al., 2020). A simple-to-use system should be built to encourage prompt treatment of patients. Patients can utilize their medical charts and comprehensive tests through mobile apps, and medical personnel can access remotely to patient medical history through a centralized digital reporting system. For example, incorporating HIT into SHH and updating redundant Electronic Health Records (EHRs) can increase quality. This can be accomplished by incorporating specialized capabilities into the EHR system that collect and maintain quality indicators, including drug errors, patient falls, patient satisfaction outcomes, health outcomes, and fatality rates.

Improving EHR systems will effectively monitor vital quality measures, assure treatment efficacy, and improve patient safety (Vos et al., 2020). Reporting methods can be automated to retrieve pertinent information for quality measures. This will enable IT medical professionals to design software to automate the information retrieval process to collect information about patient health for periodic quality metrics evaluation (Ozonze et al., 2023). The QI staff in the SHH can track productivity patterns and improve the standard of care.

NURS FPX 6612 Assessment 2 Quality Improvement Proposal

The HIT can be enhanced by incorporating automated Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) that inform clinicians regarding relevant diagnostic procedures and precautionary examinations, medication administration, and promoting efficient care of patients in SHH. CDSS can determine risk assessments utilizing statistical analysis and segmentation resources. Individuals who cannot undergo diagnostic procedures such as mammograms and colonoscopies can get improved and coordinated care through CDSS (Sutton et al., 2020). To enhance medical care quality, community medical data can be monitored through surveys, feedback approaches, and outreach efforts to gather information on community healthcare requirements and preferences (Ravaghi et al., 2023).

Furthermore, building a Health Information Exchange (HIE) approach allows medical professionals to access important health information from several medical organizations (Tarver et al., 2023). Population health administration systems can also gather and evaluate medical data from many sources across the community. For instance, EHRs can offer patients’ medical history and disease patterns in the community (Vos et al., 2020).

The SHH can incorporate coordinated care by educating and instructing healthcare workers about information technology tools. These devices enable medical professionals to speed up operations and accurately monitor medical results. Quality indicators such as better patient outcomes, lower hospital readmission rates, and increased patient satisfaction are measurable signs of clinical IT professionals’ beneficial effects on propagating HIT throughout medical facilities (Forman et al., 2020).

Issues related to the Expansion of HIT

Extending medical organization’s HIT to integrate quality indicators into SHH necessitates a comprehensive assessment of some difficulties, such as a shortage of integrating quality indicators, inadequate data consistency, and insufficient automation in data reporting operations. Because SHH’s EHR is outdated, medical staff can lack an effective execution for documenting and evaluating quality indicators, resulting in difficulties in data collection and reporting (Wosny et al., 2023).

It leads to poor care coordination for serious patients. Furthermore, discrepancies in information standards within the health organization can impede the precise and valuable compilation of quality measures. This limits the capacity to extract beneficial information from the collected data. Furthermore, the traditional documenting and reporting method can be lengthy and susceptible to errors, restricting the medical organization’s capability for producing immediate, credible, and quality indicator data (Wiebe et al., 2019).

Proposed Solutions

Possible solutions to these difficulties include strengthening HIT integration and the effectiveness of EHR systems designed according to the need to record and monitor quality measures. The rationale for incorporating HIT into SHH for measuring quality is to enhance the overall productivity of the health organization. It guarantees that pertinent data is recorded effectively throughout treatment procedures and reduces medical care burnout because of a stressful workload (Galiano et al., 2023). To maintain accuracy in quality metric reporting, defined data items and methods must be implemented within the HIT design.

It enables precise gathering of information related to patient care. Moreover, defined categories of data provide uniformity in recording and facilitate precise comparisons and analyses of treatment strategies, improving coordinated care. Uniformity is critical for measuring performance in healthcare organizations while recognizing opportunities for advancement. Integrating computerized dashboards into the HIT system will minimize the manual work burden and streamline the process of retrieving and assembling medical information (Laukka et al., 2020).

Information Gathering in Healthcare

The fundamental goal of information collection is to provide high-quality medical care for individuals at lower costs. It also focuses on addressing multifaceted medical demands. Gathering data, information technology, and statistics helps medical professionals organize medical information efficiently by removing inconsistencies in hospital records (Dash et al., 2019). Furthermore, it helps medical organizations establish diverse methods of organizing data.

Employing efficient information collection techniques enables medical organizations to adapt effectively to changing patient requirements and organization developments (Hermes et al., 2020). In SHH, data gathered from patients’ medical records will be the cornerstone for tailored treatment planning and medical decision-making. It highlights the significance of gathering detailed health-related data, previous health conditions, test outcomes, and care plans (Dash et al., 2019).

NURS FPX 6612 Assessment 2 Quality Improvement Proposal

Data gathering helps to analyze the efficacy of medical services and make modifications based on health information acquisition and evaluation outcomes. For example, appropriate data collection in the medical system can improve patient satisfaction, medical outcomes, and compliance with treatment procedures based on evidence (Mubarakali, 2020). Economic information, including income, expenditures, and insurance patterns, is also critical for the viability of SHH. This information assists in financial strategy and distribution of resources to improve efficiency in health organizations’ operations.

Furthermore, medical organizations can gather information about employee performance and the impact of training on efficient patient care. This data can aid SHH in implementing plans that ensure that all medical professionals are updated and have expertise for novel evidence-based clinical practices (Robert, 2019). The information collection enables health organizations to make more educated medical choices, streamline utilization of resources, and boost patient experiences. For instance, a medical facility like SHH can evaluate readmission rates and patient feedback to identify follow-up gaps. This resulted in the development of extensive coordinated medical services and lower hospitalization rates (Dash et al., 2019).

Potential Problems with Data Gathering Systems and Outputs

Information collection is complicated, and its management is critical to improve patient outcomes. Medical professionals contribute incorrect data caused by negligence, human error, or outdated information, resulting in appropriate data (Rahman et al., 2024). Furthermore, misunderstanding complicated information can result in inaccurate and poor decision-making. Uncertainties can develop because of individuals’ variable levels of proficiency in recording data, distinct understandings of information entry requirements, or system-associated errors. Furthermore, limited data can lead to an inaccurate and insufficient evaluation, affecting healthcare outcomes.

Automation of data validation examinations and periodic inspections can help improve the accuracy of information (Rahman et al., 2024). Although HIT promotes data exchange, information breaches, insufficient safety measures, and illicit access may be possible, which can jeopardize critical medical data (Yeo & Banfield, 2022).

NURS FPX 6612 Assessment 2 Quality Improvement Proposal

Uncertainties arise from growing security risks, the possibility of personal information violations, and adherence to continually shifting safeguarding standards. Administration standards can improve data integrity and safety. Best practices for protecting patient health information can be attained by implementing effective cyber-security rules and regulations for safeguarding medical records in technical tools (Yeo & Banfield, 2022).

Furthermore, interoperability and information-sharing issues impede efficient data exchange because of inconsistency in the different healthcare systems. Uncertainties can arise due to conflicting data formats, compatibility concerns, and emerging medical information exchange standards. The most effective approach for addressing this challenge is establishing uniform data formats and promoting technology funding that enables efficient information exchange (Costin & Eastman, 2019).

Conclusion

HIT expansion is vital for SHH to achieve ACO recognition because it encourages the adoption of quality measures that demonstrate the standard of care provided. Managing EHR, establishing CDSS systems, and automating reporting processes contribute to HIT expansion. The data collected in the SHH can help health organizations make decisions and ensure economic viability and patient care quality.

References

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Dash, S., Sushil Kumar Shakyawar, Sharma, M., & Kaushik, S. (2019). Big data in healthcare: Management, analysis and future prospects. Journal of Big Data, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40537-019-0217-0

Forman, T. M., Armor, D. A., & Miller, A. S. (2020). A review of clinical informatics competencies in nursing to inform best practices in education and nurse faculty development. Nursing Education Perspectives, 41(1), E3-E7. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000000588

Galiano, M. A., Fergusson, M. E. M., Guerrero, W. J., Muñóz, M. F., Basto, G. A. O., Ramírez, J. S. C., & Sundt, A. L. (2023). Technological innovation for workload allocation in nursing care management: An integrative review. F1000Research, 12(104), 104. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.125421.2

Hermes, S., Riasanow, T., Clemons, E. K., Böhm, M., & Helmut Krcmar. (2020). The digital transformation of the healthcare industry: Exploring the rise of emerging platform ecosystems and their influence on the role of patients. Business Research, 13(3), 1033–1069. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40685-020-00125-x

Laukka, E., Huhtakangas, M., Heponiemi, T., & Kanste, O. (2020). Identifying the roles of healthcare leaders in HIT implementation: A scoping review of the quantitative and qualitative evidence. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(8), 2865. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17082865

Lewis, V. A., Schoenherr, K., Fraze, T., & Cunningham, A. (2019). Clinical coordination in accountable care organizations: A qualitative study. Health Care Management Review, 44(2), 127–136. https://doi.org/10.1097/hmr.0000000000000141

NURS FPX 6612 Assessment 2 Quality Improvement Proposal

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Ravaghi, H., Guisset, A. L., Elfeky, S., Nasir, N., Khani, S., Ahmadnezhad, E., & Abdi, Z. (2023). A scoping review of community health needs and assets assessment: Concepts, rationale, tools and uses. BioMed Central Health Services Research, 23(1), 44. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08983-3

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