Describe a department or unit within a health care organization using systems theory terminology.
Assignment: Application: Systems Theory
As noted in the Learning Resources, systems theory provides a meaningful and beneficial means of examining challenges in health care organizations. To do this effectively, however, it is essential to assess all system components, as some may be relatively healthy while others are problematic.
For this Assignment, you apply systems theory to the examination of a problem in a department or a unit within a health care organization. (Note: You may use the same problem you identified for the Discussion as long as it meets the criteria for this assignment.)
To prepare:
Review the Meyer article, “Nursing Services Delivery Theory: An Open System Approach,” in this week’s Learning Resources. Focus especially on the information presented in Table 1 (p. 2831) and Figure 2 (p. 2833).
Reflect on your organization or one with which you are familiar. Within a particular department or unit in this organization, identify a problem the staff is encountering.
Using Table 1 in the Meyer article as a guide, analyze the department or unit, identifying inputs, throughput, output, cycles of events, and negative feedback. Consider whether the problem you have selected relates to input, throughput, output, cycles of events, and/or negative feedback.
Think about how you could address the problem: Consider what a desired outcome would be, then formulate related goals and objectives, and translate those goals into policies and procedures.
Research professional standards that are pertinent to your identified problem.
Reflect on the organization’s mission statement and values. In addition, consider how addressing this problem would uphold the mission and values, while improving the organizational culture and climate. (Depending on the organization you have selected, you may have explored these in the Week 1 Discussion.)
Write a 3- to 5-page paper (page count does not include title and reference page) that addresses the following:
Describe a department or unit within a health care organization using systems theory terminology. Include a description of inputs, throughput, output, cycles of events, and negative feedback.
Describe the problem you identified within the department or unit using an open- systems approach, and state where the problem exists using the systems theory model (input, throughput, output, cycles of events, or negative feedback).
Based on this information, explain how you would address the problem as follows:
Formulate a desired outcome.
Identify goals and objectives that would facilitate that outcome.
Translate those goals and objectives into policies and procedures for the department or unit.
Describe relevant professional standards.
Explain how your proposed resolution to the problem would uphold the organization’s mission and values and improve the culture and climate.
Required Readings
Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2015). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
Review Chapter 7, “Strategic and Operational Planning”
See especially Figure 7.1 on page 147.
Chapter 8, “Planned Change”
Organizational Change Associated With Nonlinear Dynamics (pp. 172–176)
Read this section of Chapter 8 on planned change. Consider the role of leaders in effectively managing planned change.
Chapter 12, “Organizational Structure”
“Organizational Culture” (pp. 274–276)
There are many structures organizations take, and these structures influence how the organization functions. This chapter discusses many different organizational structures and provides insights into how these structures influence the change process, as well as leadership and management.
Johnson, J. K., Miller, S. H., & Horowitz, S. D. (2008). Systems-based practice: Improving the safety and quality of patient care by recognizing and improving the systems in which we work. Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/downloads/pub/advances2/vol2/Advances-Johnson_90.pdf
This article addresses the importance of systems-based practice (SBP) in health care workplaces. The authors state that SBP knowledge is one of six core competencies that physicians have to know in order to provide safe and proper care for their patients.
Manley, K., O’Keefe, H., Jackson, C., Pearce, J., & Smith, S. (2014). A shared purpose framework to deliver person-centred, safe and effective care: Organisational transformation using practice development methodology. FoNS 2014 International Practice Development Journal 4-(1).
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Meyer, R. M., & O’Brien-Pallas, L. L. (2010). Nursing services delivery theory: An open system approach. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66(12), 2828–2838.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
In this article, the authors examine the effects of nursing services delivery theory in large-scale organizations. Among other benefits, this theory supports multilevel phenomena and cross-level studies, and it can guide future research and the management of nursing services.

Analyze the pathophysiology of commonly diagnosed health conditions for anticipating the pharmacological needs of patients
Your final project for this course will be a patient record analysis. You will apply the knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology that you have developed during this course in a thorough review of existing patient information. Specifically, you will review a patient’s history and a discharge chart from a recent physician visit, explaining the reasons behind diagnosis
or (diagnoses) based on documented symptoms. You will also cite any inconsistencies or concerns and discuss potential and current treatments, all in preparation for your future coding practices. It may seem unnecessary to learn so much about pathophysiology and pharmacology for a career in health information management, but such knowledge is essential in ensuring the accuracy of patient records, coding, and billing.
The project is divided into two milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three and Five. The final product will be submitted in Module Seven.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
Analyze the pathophysiology of commonly diagnosed health conditions for anticipating the pharmacological needs of patients
Differentiate between common health conditions that present similar symptoms using evidence – based resources for ensuring accurate patient health records
Analyze standard pharmacological groupings and their specific drugs for their uses in treating patient symptoms and diseases
Integrate foundational concepts of anatomy, physiology, and medical terminology into the analysis of symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options for informing accurate coding practices
Prompt
Your patient analysis should answer the following prompt Using the provided Final Project Patient File (attached), critically analyze the patient’s medical and family history and dissect the discharge chart from the patient’s recent visit. There are several inaccuracies and inconsistencies in this patient file; the pages of the file that contain issues are marked in the upper right – hand corner with red bookmarks. You must identify a total of three true issues with the patient file, explain what makes each identified issue a true issue, and discuss how you would approach addressing each issue in a real professional setting. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
Patient History Analysis
a) Summarize the patient history, explaining key patient demographics and family history that could be risk factors for common diseases.
b) Identify the past diagnosis (or diagnoses, if more than one exists in the file) and explain how the diagnosis was made. Specifically, what tests were done?
c) Discuss the symptoms the patient showed according to the file. Why and how did these symptoms lead the doctors to order certain tests?
d) What alternate diagnosis (or diagnoses) could these symptoms have indicated? Explain using evidence – based resources to support your conclusions.
e) Using supportive details from peer – reviewed resources, explain the pathophysiology of the diagnosis. In other words, how does the diagnosed disease develop and progress in the body?
f) Identify the past prescribed medications the patient is taking and explain the purposes of their larger
pharmacological groupings.
g) Explain what symptoms the specific medications are meant to treat, using resources to support your claims about the impact of the medication on the symptoms.
h) Illustrate how these medications impact the body and its functions. Use examples to support your explanations.
Recent Visit Analysis
a) Explain why the patient has returned to the doctor’s office. What symptoms and signs is the patient experiencing?
b) Analyze the new symptoms and signs to determine whether the past diagnosis is still a reasonable conclusion or could have been a
misdiagnosis. Use specific information from both the recent visit and the patient history to inform your analysis.
c) Based on the new signs, symptoms, and potential diagnosis (if the doctor has made a new diagnosis), discuss what new or potential
treatments would be appropriate. Why?
III. Identification of Record Inaccuracies
a) The patient file contains several inaccuracies and inconsistencies. Using your knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, and physiology, articulate three issues you’ve identified.
b) Explain in detail what makes the identified issues a problem in terms of patient health and recordkeeping. Be sure to use appropriate medical terminology, references to anatomy, and concepts of normal physiology, where appropriate.
c) Discuss the impact of the issues on the patient, the coding system, and the billing system if they had not been caught, using the appropriate terminology.
d) Illustrate how you would work to address each issue, with specific detail regarding who you would pull into the discussion and who would be responsible for the particular details of each issue in a real medical setting.
In this Module, you will complete your record inaccuracies identification and submit your completed patient record analysis. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course.
The length of your patient record analysis will depend on the issues you find in the file, but it will likely be 8–10 pages with an
additional page for references. All citations should be made according to the latest version of APA guidelines.
FINAL PROJECT CHECKLIST
Your final project should discuss the following critical elements. Make sure you review your final project before you submit it, and make sure it discusses all the critical elements and answers the questions.
Patient History Analysis
a) Did you summarize the patient history, explaining key patient demographics and family history that could be risk factors for common diseases?
b) Have you identified the past diagnosis (or diagnoses, if more than one exists in the file) and explained how the diagnosis was made? Specifically, what tests were done?
c) Did you discuss the symptoms the patient showed according to the file? Did you discuss why an d how these symptoms led the doctors to order certain tests?
d) Did you include what alternate diagnosis (or diagnoses) these symptoms could have indicated? Did you use evidence – based resources to support your conclusions?
e) Using supportive details from peer – reviewed resources, did you explain the pathophysiology of the diagnosis? In other words, how does the diagnosed disease develop and progress in the body?
f) Have you identified the past prescribed medications the patient is taking and explained the purposes of their larger pharmacological groupings?
g) Did you explain what symptoms the specific medications are meant to treat, using resources to support your claims about the impact of the medication on the symptoms?
h) Did you illustrate how these medications impact the body and its functions? Did you include examples to support your explanations?
Recent Visit Analysis
a) Did you explain why the patient has returned to the doctor’s office? Did you discuss what symptoms and signs the patient is
experiencing?
b) Did you analyze the new symptoms and signs to determine whether the past diagnosis is still a reasonable conclusion or could have been a misdiagnosis? Did you use specific information from both the recent visit and the patient history to inform your analysis?
c) Based on the new signs, symptoms, and potential diagnosis (if the doctor has made a new diagnosis), did you discuss what new or potential treatments would be appropriate? Why?
III. Identification of Record Inaccuracies
a) The patient file contains several inaccuracies and inconsistencies. Using your knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, and physiology, did you articulate three issues you have identified?
b) Did you explain in detail what makes the identified issues a problem in terms of patient health and record keeping? Did you use appropriate medical terminology, references to anatomy, and concepts of normal physiology, where appropriate?
c) Did you discuss the impact of the issues on the patient, the coding system, and the billing system if they had not been caught, using the appropriate terminology?
d) Did you illustrate how you would work to address each issue, with specific detail regarding who you would pull into the
discussion and who would be responsible for the particular details of each issue in a real medical setting?