Sample Answer for NUR 630 Benchmark – Outcome and Process Measures Included After Question
In a 1,000-1,250-word paper, consider the outcome and process measures that can be used for CQI. Include the following in your essay:
At least two process measures that can be used for CQI.
At least one outcome measure that can be used for CQI.
A description of why each measure was chosen.
An explanation of how data would be collected for each (how each will be measured).
An explanation of how success would be determined.
Page 13 Grand Canyon University 2022 © Prepared on: Feb 11, 2022
One or two data-driven, cost-efective solutions to this challenge.
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Benchmark Information
This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competency:
MSN Leadership in Health Care Systems
6.5: Generate data-driven, cost-efective solutions to organizational challenges
A Sample Answer For the Assignment: NUR 630 Benchmark – Outcome and Process Measures
Title: NUR 630 Benchmark – Outcome and Process Measures
The health practice is a highly demanding profession requiring health care professionals to use evidence-based, relevant, and patient-centered practice to achieve the desired goals. They also need to set realistic and achievable objectives to guide everyday procedures and decision-making. However, it is challenging to work towards a goal without quantitative and qualitative indicators to reflect on the effectiveness of health processes and outcomes.
As a result, process and outcome measures are critical in determining whether improvements are necessary in case of performance gaps. The purpose of this paper is to describe process and outcome measures for continuous quality improvement (CQI), data collection, and how to measure success.
Process Measures for CQI
Before achieving a specific outcome, some processes are involved, particularly to make health care delivery more satisfying and efficient. Process measures involve the specific steps leading to a positive or negative outcome (Jazieh, 2020). They are usually depicted as the providers’ efforts to maintain or improve health. A suitable process measure for CQI is waiting time. From a patient care dimension, waiting time represents how long it takes a patient to be seen by a health care staff.
Another effective process measure for access is the number of hours available for appointments. Such appointments could be for patients requiring evaluation or specialized treatment by a health care provider. Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a significant challenge in health care delivery. The percentage of people receiving COVID-19 vaccinations in a health care setting would be an effective process measure for CQI.
Outcome measures for CQI reflect the impact of health care services on patient care. They indicate the effectiveness of health care interventions towards patients’ value, health, and well-being (Kampstra et al., 2018). Safety of care can be an effective outcome measure for quality improvement. Patient safety must be prioritized at any level, and quality improvement projects seeking to improve patient safety improve health outcomes significantly. The other relevant outcome measure for CQI is readmissions. A quality improvement project on readmissions can examine the causes and how to improve processes or the effects of readmissions on patient safety, among other areas of interest.
Selecting Process and Outcome Measures
The process and outcome measures have been selected due to their huge implications on health care delivery. Generally, process measures answer whether health care systems or parts perform as expected. Waiting time is a great determinant of the quality of care, patient safety, and patient satisfaction. Martinez et al. (2019) found that prolonged wait time is associated with high mortality, complications, and patient dissatisfaction. Patients kept for long before receiving assistance are associated with a low willingness to return to the same facility. The number of average daily hours available for appointments is a metric for health care access.
Health care organizations committing adequate time for medical appointments improve access to care, particularly to vulnerable populations and people with chronic conditions. Quality improvement in this area would mainly focus on the challenges making it difficult for health care facilities to allocate adequate time for appointments. Such challenges include inadequate staff and the lack of technologies promoting patient-provider communication.
In the past two years, the global health care system has faced significant instability due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, many adjustments have occurred in health practice, including more reliance on telehealth to promote remote care and reduce physical contact (Monaghesh & Hajizadeh, 2020). Amid such adjustments, interventions to keep populations safer and restore normal health care delivery procedures have been a priority.
Vaccinations have been emphasized as a safety mechanism for current and future generations. As a result, the proportion of patients vaccinated against coronavirus would indicate an organization’s commitment to promoting preventive health. Any significant challenge would guide quality improvement, such as through health education on vaccination to reduce resistance to vaccination.
Outcome measures are often reported to the government. The main reason for selecting patient safety as an outcome measure is its implications on care quality and health care costs. Patient safety concerns stem from issues such as medication errors, lack of interprofessional collaboration, and increased waiting time. Readmissions are highly impacting and demonstrate performance inefficiencies. As Upadhyay et al. (2019) posited, readmissions extend hospital stays and increase health care costs. They adversely affect revenue due to penalties from payers like Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), implying the need for practical interventions to reduce their rates significantly.
Data Collection for Each Measure
Accurate decision-making regarding quality improvement cannot be achieved without adequate, accurate, quantitative and qualitative data. Waiting time can be measured by exploring medical records to determine how long patients wait before receiving medical attention and other essential services. A weekly summary of appointment hours can accurately reflect the amount of time available to attend patients, particularly those requiring specialized attention.
Clinical records of the number of vaccinated patients can accurately show the proportion of vaccinated patients over time. In health care, patient safety is better determined by analyzing patient safety indicators (Borzecki & Rosen, 2020). Such indicators include patient falls, hospital-acquired infections, and medication errors. Readmission rate is a clinical record of the number of readmissions versus discharges.
Measuring Success
Quality improvement in health care primarily involves adopting interventions to optimize processes and achieve better outcomes. Since most projects consume massive time and organizational resources, it is crucial to determine whether the set objectives are achieved. A reliable method of determining success is a comparative performance analysis over time. For instance, readmission rates before and after a quality improvement project would indicate whether a quality improvement project was successful.
The second method is patient surveys regarding their health care experiences. Such an approach would indicate the level of patient satisfaction. The third method is comparing results to the national benchmark. A progressive performance improvement compared to the national benchmark can reliably indicate success.
Data-Driven, Cost-Effective Solutions
Data collection and success measurement can be challenging depending on the approaches used, particularly when big data is involved. For accurate measurement of processes and outcomes, health care professionals should use both quantitative and qualitative approaches. For instance, patient waiting time recording and analysis can occur simultaneously with process observations to determine whether any improvement has occurred after a given time. The second solution is collaborating with colleagues, health care managers, and data analysis experts. Seeking support can help to interpret data correctly and make accurate inferences.
Conclusion
Continuous quality improvement should be prioritized in health care delivery. Health care providers must always evaluate performance and seek interventions to do better. Process measures indicate health care providers’ efforts to maintain or improve health. As discussed in this paper, such efforts include vaccinations and the number of weekly hours dedicated to appointments. On the other hand, outcome measures are primarily about the impacts of health care interventions. Suitable measures for CQI include patient safety and readmissions.
References
Borzecki, A. M., & Rosen, A. K. (2020). Is there a ‘best measure’ of patient safety?. BMJ Quality & Safety, 29(3), 185-188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2019-009730
Jazieh, A. R. (2020). Quality measures: Types, selection, and application in health care quality improvement projects. Global Journal on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, 3(4), 144-146. https://doi.org/10.36401/JQSH-20-X6
Kampstra, N. A., Zipfel, N., van der Nat, P. B., Westert, G. P., van der Wees, P. J., & Groenewoud, A. S. (2018). Health outcomes measurement and organizational readiness support quality improvement: A systematic review. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3828-9
Martinez, D. A., Zhang, H., Bastias, M., Feijoo, F., Hinson, J., Martinez, R., … & Prieto, D. (2019). Prolonged wait time is associated with increased mortality for Chilean waiting list patients with non-prioritized conditions. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6526-6
Monaghesh, E., & Hajizadeh, A. (2020). The role of telehealth during COVID-19 outbreak: A systematic review based on current evidence. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09301-4
Upadhyay, S., Stephenson, A. L., & Smith, D. G. (2019). Readmission Rates and Their Impact on Hospital Financial Performance: A Study of Washington Hospitals. Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing, 56, 46958019860386. https://doi.org/10.1177/0046958019860386
