Assessment 2: Quality Improvement Proposal
Name
Capella University
NURS-FPX6612: Health Care Models Used in Care Coordination
Instructor Name
July, 2024
Quality Improvement Proposal
In the current dynamic environment of the healthcare sector, integrating enhanced quality measures into HIT systems is vital for hospitals aspiring to develop into ACOs (Khullar et al., 2024). This assessment is a quality improvement proposal for the HIT systems for Sacred Heart Hospital and recommends how this infrastructure can be enlarged. Based on supporting and utilizing the modern means and approaches of data collection and further data analysis, complete care coordination, appropriate and timely diagnostics, and health information tracking from the community can be improved in the context of the mentioned hospital. These improvements will also effectively improve patient care standards and fulfill the CMS’s requirements for ACOs. This proposal outlines the strategies for eliminating the adverse effects of data-gathering challenges and optimizing the healthcare organization’s accountability in specialized nursing care using informatics tools.
Enhancing HIT for Quality
Several strategic concepts can be recommended to improve the facilities and services of Sacred Heart Hospital’s HIT and incorporate detailed quality measures. These will assist in collating data and care organization and qualify for an accountable care organization status. First of all, it is required to install an integrated electronic health record with superior analytical functions. An integrated electronic health record enables the real-time tracking of the disease management process of the patients to track tests like mammograms and colonoscopies that some patients do not undertake (Keswani et al., 2020).
Recommendations for HIT Expansion and Coordinating Patient Care
Implementing a patient portal system is desirable to monitor the health information taken or obtained from the community or the target population (Lahijanian & Alvarado, 2021). This will allow patients to enter their health information, obtain their medical information, and receive regular notifications for any test that is due or appointment that was scheduled, for example, enhanced notification for patients with overdue colonoscopies to increase compliance. Further, during home visits, community health workers can also use mHealth apps to collect data, for example, recording BP in patients and synchronizing the data with the patient’s EHR (Rose et al., 2023). Nurses using the clinical decision support systems (CDSS) can have new workflows in that the systems will give the nurses recommendations, advice, and alerts when there are lapses in caregiving or during transfers and in case there are likely drug interactions (Kwon & Lee, 2024). These informatics tools provide all team members with relevant information regarding the patient’s condition and treatment plan, significantly improving general communication and patient safety.
Evidence Supporting Recommendations
It is critical to support these recommendations with evidence. One research by Li et al. (2022) could determine improved patient indicator involvement and decreased incidence of missed diagnostic tests for hospitals implementing integrated EHR systems. Further, research by Keswani et al. (2020) demonstrated that patient portals boosted compliance levels more so in the categorized preventive screenings, including mammograms and colonoscopies. In addition, research by Shahmoradi et al. (2021) revealed that the adoption of CDSS in nursing practice has positively changed patient outcomes and care coordination improvement due to decreased medication errors and the effectiveness of timely interventions. Implementing these evidence-based strategies for acquiring HIT will bring Sacred Heart Hospital to the level of ACO; quality metrics will be improved to facilitate continuous improvement and impeccable patient-centered care.
Information Gathering in Healthcare
The basic aim of information acquisition in the healthcare system is to provide timely, accurate, and comprehensive data that would be useful in improving the care of patients and making clinical decisions (Tsai et al., 2020). It involves the orderly accumulation of patients’ health histories, diagnoses, treatments, and scientific facts. Thus, proper data collection enables healthcare personnel to see patterns, track patient status changes, and reach conclusions based on data. For instance, using EHR means that the data is accessed live, enhancing the diagnosis and treatment of the patients when needed (Lewis et al., 2023).
Contribution to Organizational Practice Development
The collection of information in the healthcare setting plays a crucial role in the growth of organizational practices because it acts as the base for quality enhancement and the formulation of strategies (Marafino et al., 2021). Collected data helps healthcare organizations know areas of practice that require changes, whether the instituted practices are effective, and consequently, change them. As stated by Lahijanian & Alvarado (2021), data utilization effectiveness can help decrease hospital readmission rates by 15% for organizations that apply integrated data analysis to their strategies. Furthermore, research by Holmgren et al. (2023) pointed out that intervention of patient feedback into data collection systems enhanced patient archiving and documentation systems while informing patient-centered care initiatives.
Evidence and Examples
Current research indicates that strong information flow is critical in the health sector. For example, research by Negro et al. (2021) proved that increased usage of improved EHR systems by hospitals led to a rise in diagnostic accuracy by 20%–all thanks to improved data integration and access. Thus, an outcome of a study conducted by Marafino et al. (2021) revealed that the health information exchanges enhanced healthcare providers’ teamwork to achieve a 25% decrease in dual tests and treatments. The above examples show how comprehensive information acquisition enhances clinical judiciousness and action, procedural performance, and patient well-being.
Data Collection Challenges and Outputs
Various analytical and methodological problems can emerge in the formation of data collection systems in healthcare settings, which may affect their performance and credibility (Holmgren et al., 2023). The first notable challenge is data accuracy; data-entry errors and missing patient records can cause misdiagnosis of the patient’s conditions and appropriate management (Kwon & Lee, 2024). Moreover, there are issues of integration difficulty mainly because the communication between different systems is inefficient. Another remarkable challenge is the privacy and security of the exposited records since patient data volume is rising while being vulnerable to attacks. The essence of data management can become too complicated because healthcare providers can get lost in more data, eventually leading to data overload and analysis paralysis, including overlooking key meaningful findings (Rose et al., 2023). Lastly, there is an issue of data analysis where the wrong conclusion may be reached hence wrong decisions with negative impacts on patients.
Suggestions for Avoiding Problems
To overcome the difficulties faced during data gathering several organizational measures are possible. First, strict checking and verifying the received data may improve results accuracy. Effective standardization of the data formats to be used and standards for system interoperability as a solution to the communication problems at Vila Health. Protecting patient data involves enhancing security features such as encrypted data and periodic vulnerability assessment of all data (Lewis et al., 2023). Also, education of health care providers on various data management gadgets and methods can help avoid data inundation and proper use of information. Last, applying new, sophisticated mathematical calculations and machine learning approaches can assess the patterns of many facts, increasing the effectiveness of clinical decisions.
NURS FPX 6612 Assessment 2 Quality Improvement Proposal Conclusion
Sacred Heart Hospital must incorporate detailed quality metrics into its health information technology ( HIT) to argue for ACO status and enhance patient care. The hospital can improve data capture and sharing through integrated EHR systems, patient portals, and CDSS and facilitate the timeous ordering of diagnostic tests (Shahmoradi et al., 2021). Expecting possible issues with data quality, integration, and protection, extensive validation of all collected data, the standardization of the processed data, and the enhancement of the data evaluation techniques will improve the system’s functioning. Implementing these strategic initiatives with research-based practices will enhance the organizational culture change and patient care delivery for improved health and organizational efficiency.
NURS FPX 6612 Assessment 2 Quality Improvement Proposal References
Holmgren, J., Esdar, M., Hüsers, J., & Coutinho, J. (2023). Health information exchange: Understanding the policy landscape and future of data interoperability. Yearbook of Medical Informatics, 32(1), 184–194. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-1768719
Keswani, N., Gregory, L., Wood, M., Dolan, C., Chmiel, R., Manka, M., & Cameron, A. (2020). Colonoscopy education delivered via the patient portal does not improve adherence to scheduled first-time screening colonoscopy. Endoscopy International Open, 8(3), E401–E406. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1072-4556
Khullar, D., Schpero, L., Casalino, P., Pierre, R., Carter, S., Civelek, Y., Zhang, M., & Bond, A. M. (2024). Accountable care organization leader perspectives on the Medicare shared savings program: A qualitative study. JAMA Health Forum, 5(3), e240126. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.0126
Kwon, H., & Lee, D. (2024). Clinical decision support system for clinical nurses’ decision-making on nurse-to-patient assignment: A scoping review protocol. BMJ Open, 14(1), e080208. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-080208
Lahijanian, B., & Alvarado, M. (2021). Care strategies for reducing hospital readmissions using stochastic programming. Healthcare, 9(8), 940. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9080940
Lewis, E., Weiskopf, N., Abrams, B., Foraker, R., Lai, M., Payne, O., & Gupta, A. (2023). Electronic health record data quality assessment and tools: A systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 30(10), 1730–1740. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocad120
Li, E., Clarke, J., Ashrafian, H., Darzi, A., & Neves, L. (2022). The impact of electronic health record interoperability on safety and quality of care in high-income countries: Systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(9), e38144. https://doi.org/10.2196/38144
Marafino, J., Escobar, J., Baiocchi, T., Liu, X., Plimier, C., & Schuler, A. (2021). Evaluation of an intervention targeted with predictive analytics to prevent readmissions in an integrated health system: Observational study. BMJ, 374, n1747. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1747
Negro, E., Azzopardi, N., Krishnamurthy, S., & Novillo, D. (2021). Technological progress in electronic health record system optimization: Systematic review of systematic literature reviews. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 152, 104507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2021.104507
Rose, E., Leung, B., McClean, M., Nelson, M., Curtis, I., Yano, M., Rubenstein, V., & Stockdale, E. (2023). Associations between primary care providers and staff-reported access management challenges and patient perceptions of access. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 38(13), 2870–2878. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-023-08172-w
Shahmoradi, L., Safdari, R., Ahmadi, H., & Zahmatkeshan, M. (2021). Clinical decision support systems-based interventions to improve medication outcomes: A systematic literature review on features and effects. Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 35, 27. https://doi.org/10.47176/mjiri.35.27
Tsai, H., Eghdam, A., Davoody, N., Wright, G., Flowerday, S., & Koch, S. (2020). Effects of electronic health record implementation and barriers to adoption and use: A scoping review and qualitative analysis of the content. Life, 10(12), 327. https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120327
