UCF Healthcare Institutions Quality Care Discussion

UCF Healthcare Institutions Quality Care Discussion

All healthcare facilities should prioritize quality patient care. As such, healthcare services should promote patient safety and improve outcomes. To accomplish this, healthcare system restructuring and reform should be embraced. Accordingly, the restructuring process requires concerted efforts among various stakeholders. This paper evaluates the quality framework titled Crossing the Quality Chasm formulated by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and describes its impact on my ability to provide quality patient-centered services.

IOM- Crossing the Quality Chasm

According to Gould (2019), the Institute of Medicine’s Crossing the Quality Chasm report was published in 2001. The report provided a framework for restructuring the healthcare system of the USA. This was accomplished by reviewing the literature to establish shortcomings and gaps in the current healthcare settings (Gould, 2019). The report notes that the current model focuses on caring for chronic diseases and expanding healthcare providers’ knowledge base (Gould, 2019). Additionally, existing healthcare systems focus on healthcare professionals and institutions (Gould, 2019). As a result, this necessitated a reform to ensure that the patients’ actual problems were addressed.Do you need urgent assignment help ? Get in touch with us at eminencepapers.com. We endeavor to provide you with excellent service.

The other shortcoming was the absence of standardized performance measures. This made it difficult to identify the underperformance of specific metrics and create a framework for service improvement (Gould, 2019). Additionally, the lack of performance measures and pay-for-performance model lowers the quality-of-service delivery (Pandya et al., 2020). This denies the healthcare providers who offer high-quality services the opportunity to be recognized and rewarded (Gould, 2019).

The Institute of Medicine formulated the Crossing the Quality Chasm agenda for change with various components to address the shortcomings. They include the six domains of healthcare quality, focus on priority areas, advocacy for rewards improvement, elaborate organizational support, and ten rules to redesign the healthcare system (Gould, 2019).

According to Leape (2021), the six domains of healthcare quality consists of attributes such as safe healthcare, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency, and equity in healthcare. Safe healthcare requires healthcare practitioners to avoid practices that can harm the patient (Leape, 2021). This attribute is in harmony with the ethical principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence. Nonmaleficence advocates for practices that do not harm patients, whereas beneficence advocates for practices that bring merit and benefit the patient (McDermott-Levy et al., 2018). Healthcare practitioners should identify causal factors for errors that can be injurious to the patient.

A quality assurance committee can help accomplish this. This committee should conduct risk assessments, identify existing shortcomings, and formulate strategies to address the risks and shortcomings (Leape, 2021). This process should be perpetual and should involve periodic evaluation of the outcomes. Safety can be evaluated by conducting tracer activities that monitor a patient from the time of admission to discharge (Leape, 2021). Additionally, safety can be evaluated using quality metrics such as nursing-sensitive indicators. Reports on nursing-sensitive indicators can help identify the underperformance of specific metrics (Koch et al., 2020). An increase in underperforming metrics is evidence of low-quality healthcare services and diminished patient safety. Accordingly, this should guide the quality assurance team in the formulation of interventions to improve patient safety (Koch et al., 2020).

The second attribute is effectiveness. This attribute directs healthcare practitioners to uphold evidence-based practices in their routine (Thomas Craig et al., 2020). Evidence-based practice necessitates thorough scientific research. The chosen practices should be up to date with the current changes in the healthcare field. In addition, evidence-based practices ensure that the available resources are not overused or misused (Leape, 2021). An example of effectiveness is when a healthcare facility conducts research and updates its standard treatment guidelines based on current evidence-based practices (Leape, 2021). This is most likely to improve patient outcomes and minimize hospitalizations (Leape, 2021).

The third attribute is patient-centeredness. Patient-centeredness directs healthcare practitioners to provide healthcare services that fulfill the individual needs of the patient (Leape, 2021). Fulfilling the patient’s individual needs is harmonious with the ethical principle of autonomy that allows patients to make decisions about their treatment process (McDermott-Levy et al., 2018). Holistic healthcare services can be adopted to achieve patient-centeredness. Holistic care aims to address the patient’s emotional, physical, religious, cultural, economic, and psychological needs (Frisch & Rabinowitsch, 2019). The patient’s preferences and values are respected in this type of care. By so doing, culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate healthcare services are provided to the patient (Leape, 2021).

Healthcare facilities can adopt therapeutic communication styles to achieve holistic care and patient-centeredness. This involves the use of techniques such as active listening, empathy, and other verbal and nonverbal cues when communicating with patients (Xue & Heffernan, 2021). Therapeutic communication styles help create a rapport between patients and healthcare providers, eliminate patients’ emotional barriers, and promote open communication (Xue & Heffernan, 2021). By so doing, interventions that fulfill individual patient needs can be formulated.

The fourth attribute is timeliness. All stakeholders, including healthcare practitioners and the members of the administration, should observe timeliness in the healthcare facility. Members of the administration should create a framework that ensures the timely delivery of all resources, such as policies, treatment guidelines, and other standard operating procedures that facilitate service delivery (Gould, 2019). Automation of these services can be realized by providing computerized systems in all hospital departments (Gould, 2019). Subsequently, this will minimize time-wasting when looking for these resources to aid in healthcare service delivery (Gould, 2019).

Healthcare practitioners play a key role in ensuring the timely delivery of healthcare services. This is particularly important in the emergency department. A delay in initiating interventions is associated with a poor prognosis of the patient’s condition. For example, a delay in providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation to a patient increases the likelihood of death (Gould, 2019). The optimization of staff ratios and proper scheduling of shifts are enablers for timely interventions by healthcare practitioners (Gould, 2019).

The fifth attribute is efficiency. Efficiency directs healthcare facilities to avert the waste of resources such as time, human resources, monetary aspects, and supplies (Gould, 2019). Efficiency can be achieved by adopting electronic medical records such as electronic health record (EHR) systems. Certified EHR systems eliminate the manual record system and automate healthcare services (Fragidis & Chatzoglou, 2018). Automation of services such as billing can minimize human errors and increase return on investment. In addition, accurate patient records in the EHR systems can increase reimbursements from insurers and benefit the healthcare facility economically (Fragidis & Chatzoglou, 2018). EHR systems promote care coordination among members of the interdisciplinary team. Accordingly, the quality of healthcare service delivery is increased, and all healthcare practitioners focus on achieving better patient outcomes (Fragidis & Chatzoglou, 2018).

The sixth attribute emphasizes equity. This attribute is harmonious with the ethical principle of justice that prohibits discrimination (Gould, 2019). This applies to the employees of the healthcare facility and the patients who visit the healthcare facility. The healthcare facility should employ staff based on merit (Gould, 2019). Employees should be assigned to their respective departments and enjoy similar privileges as the other members. Merit-based qualification is advantageous for the healthcare facility because it builds a competent workforce and improves the quality of healthcare services (Gould, 2019). Employees are most likely to work optimally in a non-discriminative environment.

Healthcare practitioners should uphold equity when serving patients. Patients should not be discriminated against based on their gender, ethnicity, or other demographic or personal identifiers (Gould, 2019). Evidence-based practices that improve the patient’s well-being should be used in all patient populations (Gould, 2019). The healthcare facility should accept patients from all socio-demographic backgrounds.

Are these Attributes Equally Important?

The six attributes of healthcare quality are equally important. None can supersede the other. They should all be upheld, where necessary, at the healthcare facilities to reform the current systems. They all aim to improve the quality of healthcare services and achieve better patient outcomes. For example, safety effectiveness and timeliness ensure that evidence-based practices are provided promptly to promote the well-being of the patient (Gould, 2019). Additionally, patient-centeredness and equity ensure that all patients access healthcare services and that their needs are addressed in their entirety (Gould, 2019). On the other hand, efficiency promotes patient safety by ensuring optimal use of resources at the healthcare facility (Gould, 2019).

Impact of these Attributes

The attributes of healthcare safety impact my ability to provide quality patient care and my leadership approach in a healthcare facility. To ensure quality patient care, I should uphold safety, patient-centeredness, effectiveness, timeliness, and efficiency. Accordingly, I will conduct extensive research and use evidence-based practices when administering patient care. Evidence-based practices ensure that updated standard treatment guidelines are used in the management of patients (Gould, 2019). Additionally, to achieve efficiency, I will work in concert with other interdisciplinary team members. Interdisciplinary collaboration in clinical decision-making increases the likelihood of adopting the best treatment plans that benefit the patient (Gould, 2019).

Moreover, applying equity and efficiency attributes will be key in my future leadership roles in a healthcare facility. I will ensure that all employees are recruited and assigned tasks based on their merit and competency. This has been shown to increase the productivity of the task force and improve the quality of their services (Gould, 2019). Additionally, I will eliminate any barriers to patients’ access to the hospital. Patients from all socio-demographic backgrounds should have equal opportunities to access healthcare services. Evidence-based methods should be applied to all patient populations to promote safety and achieve better outcomes (Gould, 2019). Lastly, I will ensure that certified electronic health record systems are used to improve the efficiency of resources in the healthcare facility (Gould, 2019).

Conclusion

According to Gould (2019), the Institute of Medicine’s Crossing the Quality Chasm report was published in 2001 to provide a framework for restructuring the healthcare system in the USA. The major agendas of the Crossing the Quality Chasm report include the six domains of healthcare quality, focus on priority areas, advocacy for rewards improvement, elaborate organizational support, and ten rules to redesign the healthcare system (Gould, 2019). The six domains for health care quality consist of attributes such as safe healthcare, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency, and equity in healthcare (Gould, 2019). They are equally important because they all focus on the quality of healthcare services and achieving better patient outcomes.

References

Fragidis, L. L., & Chatzoglou, P. D. (2018). Implementation of a Nationwide Electronic Health Record (EHR): The International Experience in 13 Countries. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 31(2), 116–130. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHCQA-09-2016-0136

Frisch, N. C., & Rabinowitsch, D. (2019). What’s in a Definition? Holistic Nursing, Integrative Health Care, and Integrative Nursing: Report of an Integrated Literature Review. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 37(3), 260–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898010119860685

Gould, J. C. (2019). The Institute of Medicine and the Pursuit of Quality. In Quality in Obesity Treatment (pp. 23-27). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25173-4_4

Koch, D., Kutz, A., Conca, A., Wenke, J., Schuetz, P., & Mueller, B. (2020). The Relevance, Feasibility and Benchmarking of Nursing Quality Indicators: A Delphi Study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 76(12), 3483–3494. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.14560

Leape, L. L. (2021). When the IOM Speaks: IOM Quality of Care Committee and Report. In Making Healthcare Safe (pp. 127-142). Springer, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-71123-8_9

McDermott-Levy, R., Leffers, J., & Mayaka, J. (2018). Ethical Principles and Guidelines of Global Health Nursing Practice. Nursing Outlook, 66(5), 473–481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2018.06.013

Pandya, A., Soeteman, D. I., Gupta, A., Kamel, H., Mushlin, A. I., & Rosenthal, M. B. (2020). Can Pay-for-Performance Incentive Levels be Determined Using a Cost-Effectiveness Framework? Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, July, 436–445. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.120.006492

Thomas Craig, K. J., McKillop, M. M., Huang, H. T., George, J., Punwani, E. S., & Rhee, K. B. (2020). U.S. hospital performance methodologies: A scoping review to identify opportunities for crossing the quality chasm. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05503-z

Xue, W., & Heffernan, C. (2021). Therapeutic Communication within the Nurse–Nurse-patient relationship: A Concept Analysis. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 27(6), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.12938

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Recall that there are six attributes of health care quality: safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient- and family-centered (STEP). (Students should be informed on IOM- Crossing the Quality Chasm)

UCF Healthcare Institutions Quality Care Discussion

Do you agree that all of these attributes are equally important? How do these attributes impact your ability to provide excellent patient care or excellent leadership in a healthcare facility?
APA, 6 pages of content. Does not include a title or reference page.