What is the primary method of continuous quality improvement (CQI) in health care, and what is its underlying premise?

/in /by

WHAT IS THE PRIMARY METHOD OF CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT (CQI) IN HEALTH CARE

  1.     Definitions of the quality of medical care are no longer left to clinicians who decide for themselves what technical performance constitutes “good care.”  Name one (1) other dimension of quality care and why is it important?
  2.            What is the primary method of continuous quality improvement (CQI) in health care, and what is its underlying premise?
  3.            Since an ever-increasing amount of research is funded by commercial companies, what is your opinion on a requirement for authors of scientific studies who receive income from these companies to disclose funding sources in their scientific publications?

Future of Health Care Questions:

  1.            Today’s not-for-profit hospitals and health systems are commonly multi-billion dollar tax-exempt organizations. What is your position on the new federal scrutiny upon, and reporting requirements for justifying the charitable missions of not-for-profit hospitals and health systems?
  2.            In 1999, the Institute of medicine report, To Err is Human, generated a brief flurry of concerns about avoidable hospital deaths.  While progress has been made in addressing system errors and deficiencies, it remains inconsistent across the nation’s hospitals.  Fourteen years after this report, is it time for the professions, payers and the public to demand corrections of system problems in an accountable, transparent and publicly disclosed manner?  What form can or should these demands take?

Describe how organizations use statistical thinking to be more competitive

/in /by

STATISTICAL THINKING IN HEALTH CARE

Case Study 1 Statistical Thinking in Health Care   Due Week 4 and worth 150 points Read the following case study. Ben Davis had just completed an intensive course in Statistical Thinking for Business Improvement, which was offered to all employees of a large health maintenance organization. There was no time to celebrate, however, because he was already under a lot of pressure. Ben works as a pharmacist’s assistant in the HMO’s pharmacy, and his manager, Juan de Pacotilla, was about to be fired. Juan’s dismissal appeared to be imminent due to numerous complaints and even a few lawsuits over inaccurate prescriptions. Juan now was asking Ben for his assistance in trying to resolve the problem, preferably yesterday! “Ben, I really need your help! If I can’t show some major improvement or at least a solid plan by next month, I’m history.” “I’ll be glad to help, Juan, but what can I do? I’m just a pharmacist’s assistant.” “I don’t care what your job title is; I think you’re just the person who can get this done. I realize I’ve been too far removed from day-to-day operations in the pharmacy, but you work there every day. You’re in a much better position to find out how to fix the problem. Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.” “But what about the statistical consultant you hired to analyze the data on inaccurate prescriptions?” “Ben, to be honest, I’m really disappointed with that guy. He has spent two weeks trying to come up with a new modeling approach to predict weekly inaccurate prescriptions. I tried to explain to him that I don’t want to predict the mistakes, I want to eliminate them! I don’t think I got through, however, because he said we need a month of additional data to verify the model, and then he can apply a new method he just read about in a journal to identify ‘change points in the time series,’ whatever that means. But get this, he will only identify the change points and send me a list; he says it’s my job to figure out what they mean and how to respond. I don’t know much about statistics — the only thing I remember from my course in college is that it was the worst course I ever took– but I’m becoming convinced that it actually doesn’t have much to offer in solving real problems. You’ve just gone through this statistical thinking course, though, so maybe you can see something I can’t. To me, statistical thinking sounds like an oxymoron. I realize it’s a long shot, but I was hoping you could use this as the project you need to officially complete the course.” “I see your point, Juan. I felt the same way, too. This course was interesting, though, because it didn’t focus on crunching numbers. I have some ideas about how we can approach making improvements in prescription accuracy, and I think this would be a great project. We may not be able to solve it ourselves, however. As you know, there is a lot of finger-pointing going on; the pharmacists blame sloppy handwriting and incomplete instructions from doctors for the problem; doctors blame pharmacy assistants like me who actually do most of the computer entry of the prescriptions, claiming that we are incompetent; and the assistants tend to blame the pharmacists for assuming too much about our knowledge of medical terminology, brand names, known drug interactions, and so on.” “It sounds like there’s no hope, Ben!” “I wouldn’t say that at all, Juan. It’s just that there may be no quick fix we can do by ourselves in the pharmacy. Let me explain how I’m thinking about this and how I would propose attacking the problem using what I just learned in the statistical thinking course.” Source: G. C. Britz, D. W. Emerling, L. B. Hare, R. W. Hoerl, & J. E. Shade. “How to Teach Others to Apply Statistical Thinking.” Quality Progress (June 1997): 67–80. Assuming the role of Ben Davis, write a three to four (3-4) page paper in which you apply the approach discussed in the textbook to this problem. You’ll have to make some assumptions about the processes used by the HMO pharmacy. Also, please use the Internet and / or Strayer LRC to research articles on common problems or errors that pharmacies face. Your paper should address the following points: Develop a process map about the prescription filling process for HMO’s pharmacy, in which you specify the key problems that the HMO’s pharmacy might be experiencing. Next, use the supplier, input, process steps, output, and customer (SIPOC) model to analyze the HMO pharmacy’s business process. Analyze the process map and SIPOC model to identify possible main root causes of the problems. Next, categorize whether the main root causes of the problem are special causes or common causes. Provide a rationale for your response. Suggest the main tools that you would use and the data that you would collect in order to analyze the business process and correct the problem. Justify your response. Propose one (1) solution to the HMO pharmacy’s on-going problem(s) and propose one (1) strategy to measure the aforementioned solution. Provide a rationale for your response. Use at least two (2) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements: Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are: Describe how organizations use statistical thinking to be more competitive. Apply the basic principles of statistical thinking to business processes. Apply the SIPOC model to identify OFIs in business processes. Use technology and information resources to research issues in business process improvement. Write clearly and concisely about business process improvement using proper writing mechanics

The aspects that need immediate attention and aspects that need long term attention

/in /by

A DESCRIPTION OF THE HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE SHORTAGE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS.

Click here to read the health care workforce shortage and its implications on America’s hospitals, at the American Hospitals Association’s (AHA) website.

Select a hospital, which is not more than two hours away from your place of residence. Based on your readings and understanding, create a 3- to 4-page report in a Microsoft Word document, that includes:

A plan for a rural, medium-sized hospital to deal with short- and long-term workforce shortages.

Your plan should include the following elements:

  • An introduction.
  • A description of the health care workforce shortage and its implications.
  • The aspects that need immediate attention and aspects that need long term attention. Provide a rationale on why these aspects need attention.
  • A description of the financial implications for these issues.
  • An explanation of the risks associated with these problems.
  • Your recommendations to solve these problems.
  • An explanation of the methods to measure the success of the plan.
  • A description of the next steps, if the plan failed.
  • A conclusion and a reference list.

Children with Special Health Care Needs

/in /by

HEALTH ISSUE I.E. CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL HEALTH CARE NEEDS.

Find one public site within your own State/county and you can carry this data over to the Unit 8 assignment. Go to the public link chosen and choose a health issue i.e. Children with Special Health Care Needs. Review the data and evaluate it. Report your findings in a thorough, well-organized manner. For example, if you live in Los Angeles county, California, Ask yourself these questions as you gather your data: What can you assume from this health assessment? Take into consideration the population demographics used in Unit 4. What information contained in the report could help you in planning interventions in community health? What information could be used in public policy planning? Format your paper consistent with APA 6th guidelines. Be sure to list your sources of information at the end of your assignment. You should have at least 3 sources.