Organization Quality Improvement Plan

Implementing immunizations into the clinics can be challenging for the facility and the staff. There are several methods that have been implemented to monitor the methods used by the staff to give the immunizations to the patients in the clinics. There have been several obstacles and challenges that the staff and leaders have faced. As with any changes that take place in patient care within an organization methods must be set up to monitor those changes. Changes promote challenges not just to staff leaders but the organization as a whole. Communication with any changes can be challenging for

Once the plans are put in motion interventions are designed to gain the necessary compliance. The manager needs to provide information by doing so he can change an individual’s perception, attitudes and values this is a plus for the manager. Training the employees to the new way will give them information and skill practice it show them how to perform in a system not how to change it. When possible the manager should use groups to discuss issues that are perceived as important and make relevant, binding decisions based on these discussions. Individual and group implementation can be combined so whatever methods are used participants should feel their input is valued and should be rewarded for their efforts. In some cases people are not always persuaded before beneficial change is implemented, sometimes behavior changes first and attitudes are modified later to fit the behavior (Sullivan & Decker, 2009, p. 71).

Some advantages of the self-administered survey are: Low cost. Extensive training is not required to administer the survey. Processing and analysis are usually simpler and cheaper than for other methods. The reduction in bias error. The questionnaire reduces the bias that might result from personal characteristics of interviewers and/or their interviewing skills. Greater anonymity, absence of an interviewer provides greater anonymity for the respondent. This is especially helpful when the survey deals with sensitive issues such as questions about involvement in a gang, because respondents are more likely to respond to sensitive questions when they are not face to face with an interviewer.

Various methodologies exist for the integration of quality improvement strategies into performance improvement measures. With concepts of total quality management (TQM) and quality improvement (QI) being introduced to health care organizations; administrators have had to decide which methodology is right for the organization. There are numerous methodologies: Six Sigma, Lean, and Customer Inspired Quality. Each has its own pros and cons. A key component of quality improvement is the technology that gathers and compares the data that the quality improvement measure

Performance measures are important for a quality improvement plan because the data collected through performance measures will help the team determine if the correct process is being implemented and if the desired results are being achieved through the QI plan. Performance measures can help the quality improvement team analyze data on the ongoing success or deterioration of a work group, QI program, or efforts of an organization by comparing performance measure data. Performance measure data can help gather data on what actually outcome of the quality improvement initiative versus what was initially predicted to happen. Quality improvement performance measures allow the team to use quantitative measures that can measure critical information

One possible outcome measurement strategy that will be utilized will be patient satisfaction surveys. These surveys are sent out after patients have been discharged from the rehabilitation hospital. The surveys consist of questions that cover the quality of care received by nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, dietary services, speech therapy, physician care, etc. The survey also covers the hospital itself, to include cleanliness, noise level and so on. These surveys will allow the quality management director to collect data on areas that need improvement and areas that are doing well. The areas that need improvement will show where training can be developed or new policies developed to assist with implementing new changes or making adjustments to the current changes.

“We will find our baseline measurement using nurse surveys, audits and observation timings. We will track what steps are covered and how long each step takes and the number of occurrences of near misses due to inefficient handoffs relating to patient safety. We will also measure our patient baseline data from current patient satisfaction surveys” N. Guyse (personal communication, February 22, 2014). Currently we are inefficient and unsafe with handoff practices due to missing or incomplete information, multiple processes used between the nursing staff, and multiple report out processes being practiced on the floor. Multiple processes are causing confusion and incidental overtime. With multiple processes, information is being missed between nursing staff, which is a safety concern due to the increased errors. Our organization is working on the creation of one standardized process used between all employees to ensure that all handoffs are efficient and safe. “We have implemented a group report out for nursing staff in conjunction with the beside report outs” N. Guyse (personal communication, February 22, 2014).

Likewise, the same survey was used to conduct meal rounds to assess food quality and patient acceptance during three different meal periods for three different diets in the 11AB Surgical Ward. The evaluation included three diets: a puree diet, 2.5-gram sodium diet and a VHA regular diet. It seemed that most of the patients understood why they required each one of the diets. However, most of them wanted their food with more flavor and more salt. The eating and feeding concern at CLC is the ability of the patients to get any foods they want from outside restaurants or family members. It is

With a home care nutritionist, they continue to follow the dietary guidelines set while placed in a hospital but then continue to grow the patient’s knowledge by teaching them more nutritional information. The main goal of a home care nutritionist is to achieve and maintain the dietary needs with a minimal amount of stress of hardship. There is a lot of emotional, physical and mental factors that have to be taken into consideration when a nutritionist in a home care setting approaches a patient and “The Nutritionist in Organized Home Care” covers all attributes of the home care nutritionist

Pearl, you mentioned in your post that quality improvement (QI) performance measures are tied to financial reimbursement. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS) certainly apply quality improvement to providers’ reimbursement. CMS sets rules to follow to keep health care costs down and make sure the program is not paying for treatment that is unnecessary or harmful. Private insurers are implementing restrictions as well. A patient asked yesterday about how the Affordable Care Act had affected a family practice. The provider answered that it had certainly made there more rules to follow to ensure full reimbursement of expenses. This is part of CMS’ initiative to save taxpayer money. CMS states that its programs measure data

Leaders that are committed to quality improvement will positively identify the need for improvement, achieve buy-in from employees and other staff members, and develop the appropriate oversight of quality improvement initiatives. All stakeholders should be involved in the quality improvement process to include managers, consumers, and supporting government agencies and consultants. Managers and leaders in healthcare develop standards of performance and quality while consumers provide valuable feedback by completing customer satisfaction surveys. Providers and other health professional are evaluated on their performance which is measured against local, state, and national standards of performance. Providers and other health professional also play critical part of establishing quality related councils and committees, the empowerment of nurses and other health professionals, and investment of new technology an infrastructure that facilitate quality

There are a number of methods of collecting data, some of them are – questionnaire, surveys, checklists, interviews, observations, focus group etc (Cordray, 1986; Einhorn and Hogarth, 1986).

Maintenance of sufficient nutrition is an essential part of the treatment process for any patient admitted to the hospital. Early identification of patients who have a decreased nutrition status or have nutritional deficits helps to increase healing and overall improves the quality of life for a patient. Nutrition is more than just general food; it includes the overall amounts of

The skills I developed in working on this assignment will help me to better serve future patients and clients. In designing a case study that would be reflective a real-world patient, I needed to consider many aspects of the patient’s history and care. I drew on existing health and medical knowledge and looked to personal experience for insight. In providing the answers for the case study, I learned more about the nutrition care process and again the role of nutrition therapy in patient care.

Boriken Neighborhood Health Center is a multi-service health center. One of their smallest departments is their Nutrition Department. It is comprised of one nutritionist and one registered dietitian. During the health center’s last audit, they received low quality scores in their nutrition department. One of the reasons is that there is not an influx of patients and many of the patients do not return after more than one visit. The nutrition department decided to collaborate with the outreach department in creating a workshop that will bring in new patients and encourage current patients to return.