Assignment: Performance Indicators in Healthcare

Assignment: Performance Indicators in Healthcare

ORDER NOW FOR AN ORIGINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT: Assignment: Performance Indicators in Healthcare

Metrics Below the Mandated Benchmarks

According to the survey, one of the metrics below the mandated criteria is the quality metrics which lead to low satisfaction among the patients. The services offered in a health facility should be satisfactory according to the desires of the patients, failure to which leads to frustrations and dissatisfactions. Key Performance Indicators Dashboard in Healthcare Essay.

Another underperforming benchmark is the readmission rare as the value recorded surpasses the required percentage. Such rate shows the poor treatment schemes present in the treatment of heart failures which lead to the reemergence of the conditions.

Although benchmarks provide an easy way of gauging performance, they are marred by weaknesses which cast doubts in their utilization. For instance, KPIs do not measure the effectiveness of the operational metrics (Carroll, 2013). Although benchmarks show the success achieved by other departments, they do not provide information on circumstances which made the departments to achieve such performance. Another disadvantage is that comparisons of different departments lead to increased dependency. Key Performance Indicators Dashboard in Healthcare Essay. Departments become concerned with how other departments are performing and eliminate the idea of making independent decisions. The main body involved in the formulation of metrics is the health systems performance assessment, a process which allows the evaluation of health systems in a specific country.

Challenges when Minimizing Readmission Rates

One of the challenges observed by an organization which leads to high readmission rates is the operational and capital funding (Cornelius, 2010). When carrying out treatment schemes, healthcare facilities apply intense treatment schemes that suppress the health complications and serve as a counteractive mechanism for eliminating such complications. Besides, intensive care requires the presence of recent technologies in medicine that offer high-quality treatment. It should be noted that such facilities require a high capital, which possesses as a challenge to the healthcare facilities. Patients admitted in such facilities face high changes of readmissions due to the failure of the facilities to offer intensive medical care. For the organization to display the same performance, it must obtain funding which might be a challenge. Key Performance Indicators Dashboard in Healthcare Essay.

In the efforts of offering patient satisfaction, healthcare facilities face some challenges which contribute to low patient satisfaction. One of the challenges met is providing maximum time for the interaction between patients and medical practitioners. In most cases, nurses and doctors serve a large volume of patients due to the shortages of medical practitioners in the field. It should be noted that a large workforce mounts a lot of pressure on workers which affects their attitude when offering medical attention. Such scenarios contribute to the low service attitude reported by patients, which lower their level of satisfaction.

The challenges can be attributed to the underperformance of the benchmarks even after a successful benchmarking exercise. Although a department or an institution can be willing to adopt the new concepts learned from the benchmarking schemes, the absence of the required resources means that only a part of the benchmark results will be approved. For instance, the organization may be willing to reduce the number of referrals during patients’ visit to the health facility. Key Performance Indicators Dashboard in Healthcare Essay. However, the absence of services such as surgical services will translate to underperformance, as the available workforce will not be in a position to offer the required services.

Benchmark Underperformance

From the analysis of the categories addressed by KPIs, the main underperforming benchmarks is the high rate of the readmission of patients. High levels of underperformance are witnessed in the readmission category when a lot of patients are readmitted within the thirty days after medical attention (Acton, 2012). Such cases show the inadequate medical attention offered to patients that fail to address their health complications. Besides, high rates depict that most of the patients are discharged before they fully recover, a factor that necessitates readmission schemes. Key Performance Indicators Dashboard in Healthcare Essay. However, medical facilities have voiced their concerns on the use of the readmission rates to gauge the quality of health care offered to the patient. High readmission rates have been associated with low mortality rates, which explain the quality of Medicare offered.

The quality benchmark has the highest efficiency among the staff as it addresses the safety standards observed in the workplace. For example, medical practitioners will be more satisfied in a facility, which caters for their safety and has equipment which contributes to a smooth operation. High cases of readmission lead to a poor health status of the community, which the organization serves. The cases also translate to inadequate medical attention and lead to high mortality rates in the community. However, the application of modern and sophisticated medicine and technologies has a substantial contribution to the improvement of the quality of medical attention offered. Introduction of advanced technologies will lead to intensive medical care which is imperative in reducing readmission rates. Key Performance Indicators Dashboard in Healthcare Essay.

Ethical Action in Benchmarking

After the analysis of the benchmarks, it is evident that most of the underperformance is witnessed on the admission rate benchmark. Therefore, the service providers are the primary stakeholders whom the advocacy should be directed. Service providers will be expected to ensure healthcare facilities have modern facilities. The inclusion of sophisticated treatment options will reduce the rates of readmissions due to the high-quality services after the addition of contemporary treatment schemes.

One of the ways of lowering the high rate of readmissions is by equipping medical practitioners who deal with patients who are likely to be readmitted with empathy and communication skills. However, confidentiality ethics should be followed by treating the information obtained from an organization as confidential (Sower, Duffy & Kohers, 2008). In this scenario, the information gathered from the organization about the number of readmissions for that ailment should not be communicated to the patients. Another way of ensuring readmission is at its lowest levels in the formulation of discharge summaries which address on the medication carried out during treatment and medications to be taken after discharge. Besides, the principle governing the use of the data should be applied as the information obtained should only be used for monitoring patient progress. Key Performance Indicators Dashboard in Healthcare Essay. The organization should refrain from using the data in consultation schemes or when dealing with clients.

The service care providers are obliged to take action to improve the quality of health care offered by the facility. In most cases, health facilities are recognized by their ability to ease the patients’ burden by addressing their health complications. Addressing the gaps witnessed in the facilities will aid in the acquisition of better medical care which is the primary goal aimed by service care providers. Key Performance Indicators Dashboard in Healthcare Essay.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
• One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

LopesWrite Policy

• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
  • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
  • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.