Quality Based Medicaid Payment During Health Policy

Nurse staffing and how it relates to the quality of patient care has been an important issue in the field of nursing for quite some time. This topic has been particularly popular recently due to the fact that there is an increasing age among those who make up the Baby Boomer era in the United States. There will be a greater need for nurse staffing to increase to help accommodate the higher demand of care. Although nursing is “the top occupation in terms of job growth,” there are still nursing shortages among various hospitals across America today. The shortage in nurses heavily weighs on the overall quality of care that each individual patient receives during their hospital stay (Rosseter, 2014).

enhance quality. Some of the nursing issues in health care reform are; access to care,

This paper will describe current quality outcome measures and the significance for improving medical care. Organizational accountability and transparency has improved with the emergence of Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) programs and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPs). This article will review the role of the nurse manager in creating a culture for quality care as well as the nurse for meeting organizational and patient expectations. Organizations like The Joint Commission (JC), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and The American Nurses Association (ANA) have been critical in establishing standards for quality. This paper will also report on the most recent hospital statistics and steps taken to improve HCAHP scores and reduce readmission rates at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville (UTMCK). Statistics at UTMCK will also be compared to the Tennessee and National averages found on the Medicare website Hospital Compare. The aim of this paper is to explore if healthcare system initiatives are improving quality and enhancing patient outcomes.

Primarily, it is crucial for health care organizations to focus on ensuring safe and quality patient care, as well as improved job satisfaction by enforcing an optimal and adequate nurse-to-patient ratio and creating innovative and long-term strategies through a collaborative effort. In order to ensure the safety of patients and nurses, state-mandated safe-staffing ratios are necessary. Adequate nurse staffing is key to patient care and nurse retention, while inadequate staffing puts patients at risk and drives nurses from their profession. As baby boomers age and the demand for health care services grows, staffing problems will only intensify. Consequently, safe-staffing ratios have become such an ever-pressing concern. In 2004, California became the first state to implement minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, designed to improve patient care and nurse retention. Subsequent studies show that California’s program measurably improved patient care and nurse retention.

In the implementation phase of this regulation, it was faced with myriad of political, economic, technical, ethical and legal challenge and the end result of universal access to high quality healthcare which was far from assured. He further argues that nursing facilities in the additional public disclosure requirements, long time service and support (LTSS) were not a pressing priority of ACA drafters and its proponents. The LTSS was for people who needed assistance in order to perform daily activates over a long period die to chronic illness or disabilities in community based and institutional

The organization which I have chosen to exemplify my policy change will be the Florida state board of nursing. Every aspect that pertains to the nursing, and overall healthcare is embedded into the board of nursing and that is why for these and other reasons which I will later discuss, I have chosen this organization. The Florida board of nursing plays an essential role in health care regulation as the board members and staff interact regularly with other nursing associations affiliated with state legislators, as well as the National Council of State Board of Nursing. The board of nursing works with law politicians to change or invoke new healthcare policies, which play an integrate role in patient care.

The Healthcare reform is a public policy that is currently impacting the nursing practice. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was designed to address the cost, quality of healthcare and access to healthcare in the United States. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is “the 2010 health reform act that could extend insurance coverage to as many as 32 million Americans. The law also included regulations that affect the quality of coverage insurers must offer. Additionally, the law created a range of initiatives focused on encouraging reform in how medical care is organized and delivered, with a goal of reducing costs and improving quality and outcomes. Finally, other

The nursing home care is a competitive, fast growing and flourishing industry. Healthcare facility’s profitability is directly linked to patient satisfaction. Evidence exists

“The health reform law contains provisions that will produce more nurses to meet increasing demands for health care, prepare more highly-skilled nurses to better meet the needs of an aging population with more complex health problems, and create opportunities for nurses to participate in and lead efforts to redesign the nation’s ailing health care system,” said Susan Hassmiller, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) senior adviser

In January 10, 2018 I attended a committee meeting from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm at Mashburn Hall (306 HOB). The political experience was intimidating and empowering. I was frightened of being surrounded by representatives, organizations and community leaders in the health care sector, but at the same respectful and grateful. Consequently, I acquire knowledge in specific healthcare policy topics such as, the existence of the Health Quality Subcommittee, its responsibilities/goals and the nursing role in policy.

Quality Assurance/Performance Improvement (QAPI) “an initiative that goes beyond the current Quality Assessment and Assurance provision, and aims to significantly expand the intensity and scope of current activities in order to not only correct quality deficiencies, but also to put practices in place to monitor all nursing home care and services to continuously improve performance”.

I attended an Arizona Health Care Association (AZHCA) regulatory and quality meeting. The AZHCA is a non-profit professional association of skilled nursing facilities (SNF), assisted living centers (ALF), and businesses that represent the profession of long term care. It was formed to promote standards and ethics in the profession of long term health care, and to advocate quality care for nursing facility and assisted living residents. Their goal is to strengthen the ability of its member facilities to deliver quality care to meet the needs of Arizona’s elderly and disabled residents. They do this by working closely with federal and state agencies and community partners to develop, amend, and implement reasonable legislation, regulatory policies, and standards of care.

A study completed by Aiken and colleagues (2010) found 74% of California staff nurses’ thought the quality of care had improved as a result of mandated staffing legislation. This study also reported a significantly lower percentage of burnout and increased levels of job satisfaction among California nurses following

Bill H.R.2083, Registered Nurse Staffing Act of 2015, proposes that title XVII (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to necessitate all Medicaid associated health care facilities to execute at facility nursing staff strategy for nurse-patient ratio throughout the hospital. The plan proposes that each shift is accurately staffed with an appropriate quantity of health care personnel to deliver safe, effective, and efficient patient care. The plan concentrates on the specific acuity of each medical unit and treatment specific to each patient. The bill recommends financial fines and other penalties for any health care facility who violates the obligations of this act. The bill also proposes protection for whistleblowers who report bias and unfair

Healthcare reform nationwide is making an effort to concentrate on concerns among our aging population due to the amplified rate of chronic diseases and mounting healthcare expenditure. Nursing responsibility is growing in every part of areas in healthcare in the United States consisting of resolutions on health policy and the terms of home health services (Reagan & Salsberry, 2013). Federal laws that are currently managed by home health agencies do not permit advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to certify care for disabled patients. Furthermore, all orders are required to be certified by a physician or Medicare compensation might be compromised. This obstacle remains to leave a gap to the independent role APRNs participate