NUR 621 Wk 5 Quality Improvement Essay

/0 Comments/in /by

Quality Improvement

When patients visit health care organizations for medical assistance, they always look forward to a comprehensive evaluation of their health problems and treatment. As a result, health care organizations must be adequately resourced and committed to delivering quality care. Accreditation stamps an organization’s ability to provide quality care. It demonstrates that a health care organization’s performance meets the required threshold, implying that patients receive health care services in safe settings with qualified health professionals. Various organizations engage in managed care accreditation and regulation, including the National Committee for Quality Insurance (NCQA), Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC), and The Joint Commission (TJC/JC). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the body appropriate for my health care organization, accreditation requirements, relevant performance metrics, and the impact of quality performance on the organization.

Accrediting Body: The Joint Commission

TJC would be the most appropriate accrediting body for my health care organization. The independent, not-for-profit organization dominates standards-setting and accreditation in the United States. According to Wadhwa and Huynh (2021), TJC was established in 1951 and accredits over 20,000 health care plans and organizations seeking to optimize care outcomes. Besides quality assurance for patients, TJC also ensures that health care organizations prevent harm and improve patient advocacy.

TJC suits my organization since it emphasizes more on patient safety. Approximately 70-80% of TJC responsibilities and everyday activities address patient safety (Wadhwa & Huynh, 2021). TJC’s mission also aligns with my organization’s mission. TJC strives to continuously improve public health through collaboration with stakeholders and evaluating performance standards for health care programs and organizations. Based on the performance, TJC inspires health care facilities to provide safe and effective care. Beik and Pepper (2021) noted that TJC’s visits are unannounced, considering that TJC visits the organization the day a visit is announced. As a result, an organization must observe the entire TJC’s standards to pass the accreditation test.

Requirements to Obtain Accreditation

Accreditation is a rigorous process whose outcomes depend on the standards that an accreditation body has set. TJC standards are based on an objective evaluation process that primarily seeks to empower health care facilities to measure, assess, and enhance performance (The Joint Commission, 2021). The primary focus is on the critical individual, system, and program-specific functions. Beik and Pepper (2021) explained that TJC standards are based on the reported adverse events in health care facilities with a high potential of harming the patients. Such events include miscommunication and medication errors. Quality measures that guide the assessment focus on population-focused commonalities such as readmissions and hospital-acquired infections (Wadhwa & Huynh, 2021). Irrespective of the standard, health care facilities must be committed to delivering quality care to satisfy TJC requirements.

The basic requirement of TJC accreditation is the successful completion of an on-site survey. To meet the necessary validity and reliability threshold, trained TJC surveyors conduct the survey. Alternatively, it can be conducted by a team of trained surveyors. During the survey, medical records from randomly selected patients are used to assess an organization’s compliance with the commission’s standards (The Joint Commission, 2022). As the survey progresses, the trained surveyors interact with health care providers who interact with the patient. They further observe how care is provided.

Broadly, TJC accreditation focuses on the safety aspect. The commission uses a tracer methodology to assess an organization’s compliance with safety. During the on-site survey process, TJC identifies performance issues using the individual, system, and program-specific tracers. As Finkelman (2020) posited, individual tracer focuses on a patient’s experience when obtaining care in a health care facility. In this case, it traces the patient’s experience while utilizing a health care facility’s treatment and services. A suitable illustration is tracing a patient after arriving in the emergency department through admission, triage, and screening.

System-focused tracing is more extensive than individual tracing. Although it traces a patient’s experience while obtaining care, it focuses more on care coordination, communication, medication management, and other elements affecting the outcome and quality of patient-provider interaction (Wadhwa & Huynh, 2021). For instance, the tracing can start when a patient arrives for surgery and survey how care providers within and across the departments communicate and coordinate. System tracing can also focus on the discharge process and how the patient is transferred across units.

Besides individual and system-focused tracing, TJC also relies on program-specific tracing. According to Wadhwa and Huynh (2021), program-specific tracing primarily involves a detailed evaluation of a program’s risks and safety concerns. Particular attention is on high-risk services or programs dealing with high-volume patient populations. A suitable example is a comprehensive cardiac care program since it is high-risk.

A suitable example of a TJC standard that guides evaluation is the performance improvement accreditation standard. TJC has established a performance improvement standard for various health programs and organizations, including nursing care centers, ambulatory care, hospitals, and home care centers. Complying with this standard requires the facility’s leaders to establish performance improvement priorities in a written plan (The Joint Commission, 2021). The plan must contain five essential elements. The first element is the defined processes requiring improvement. The second element is the method that a facility uses to measure performance. The other three elements include analysis methods, interventions implemented to address deficiencies, and methods for processes monitoring and sustenance (The Joint Commission, 2021). The requirements vary depending on the standard.

NUR 621 Wk 5 Quality Improvement Essay

Assessment Description

Write a 1,250-1,500-word essay about quality improvement. Include the following points in your essay:

  1. Evaluate which accrediting body would be most appropriate for your health care organization.
  2. Summarize the requirements to obtain accreditation.
  3. Based on your research and experience, what performance or quality metrics could you focus on for a quality improvement project to present to the accrediting body?
  4. How does the quality performance financially impact the organization?

Include at least three references, including the textbook.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.

Resources

A Mixed-Methods Study to Explore the Impact of Hospital Accreditation

Read “A Mixed-Methods Study to Explore the Impact of Hospital Accreditation,” by Al-Alawy et al., from Inquiry: A Journa

… 

Promoting Patients’ Rights Through Hospital Accreditation

Read “Promoting Patients’ Rights Through Hospital Accreditation,” by Sperling and Pikkel, from Israel Journal of H

… 

In the New Healthcare, Payers and Providers Look to Redefine Quality

Read “In the New Healthcare, Payers and Providers Look to Redefine Quality,” by Leventhal, from Healthcare Informatics (

… 

Towards a Triadic Quality Measurement Framework for U.S. Healthcare

Read “Towards a Triadic Quality Measurement Framework for U.S. Healthcare,” by Chakraborty, from Quality Management Jour

… 

Economics and Financial Management for Nurses and Nurse Leaders

Read Chapter 3 in Economics and Financial Management for Nurses and Nurse Leaders and review Chapter 2.

Quality Improvement Essay – Rubric

Appropriate Accrediting Body

Criteria Description

Appropriate Accrediting Body

5. Target

16.2 points

The essay skillfully describes in a well-researched manner what accrediting body would be most appropriate for the selected health care organization.

4. Acceptable

14.9 points

The essay soundly describes in a well-researched manner what accrediting body would be most appropriate for the selected health care organization.

3. Approaching

14.26 points

The essay clearly describes what accrediting body would be most appropriate for the selected health care organization. Some relevant and supportive research is included.

2. Insufficient

12.96 points

The essay vaguely describes what accrediting body would be most appropriate for the selected health care organization. Little relevant or supportive research is included.

1. Unsatisfactory

0 points

The essay does not adequately describe what accrediting body would be most appropriate for the selected health care organization. No relevant or supportive research is included.

Obtaining Accreditation

Criteria Description

Obtaining Accreditation

5. Target

16.2 points

The essay substantially summarizes the requirements to obtain accreditation.

4. Acceptable

14.9 points

The essay soundly summarizes the requirements to obtain accreditation.

3. Approaching

14.26 points

The essay clearly summarizes the requirements to obtain accreditation.

2. Insufficient

12.96 points

The essay does not clearly summarize the requirements to obtain accreditation.

1. Unsatisfactory

0 points

The essay does not adequately summarize the requirements to obtain accreditation.

Quality Improvement

Criteria Description

Quality Improvement

5. Target

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

  • Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
  • There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
  • Include in-text citations in your response
  • Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
  • Follow APA-7th edition
  • Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

  • A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
  • Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
  • Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
  • Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
  • Follow APA 7th edition
  • Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
  • Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
  • Here are some helpful links
  • The is a great resource

 

 

15.3 points

The essay thoroughly and skillfully identifies what performance or quality metrics could result in a quality improvement project to present to the accrediting body.

4. Acceptable

14.08 points

The essay thoroughly identifies what performance or quality metrics could result in a quality improvement project to present to the accrediting body.

3. Approaching

13.46 points

The essay clearly identifies what performance or quality metrics could result in a quality improvement project to present to the accrediting body.

2. Insufficient

12.24 points

The essay does not clearly identify what performance or quality metrics could result in a quality improvement project to present to the accrediting body.

1. Unsatisfactory

0 points

The essay does not sufficiently identify what performance or quality metrics could result in a quality improvement project to present to the accrediting body.

Financial Impact

Criteria Description

Financial Impact

5. Target

15.3 points

The essay comprehensively describes how the quality performance can financially impact the organization.

4. Acceptable

14.08 points

The essay soundly describes how the quality performance can financially impact the organization.

3. Approaching

13.46 points

The essay clearly describes how the quality performance can financially impact the organization.

2. Insufficient

12.24 points

The essay does not clearly describe how the quality performance can financially impact the organization.

1. Unsatisfactory

0 points

The essay does not sufficiently describe how the quality performance can financially impact the organization.

Thesis, Position, or Purpose

Criteria Description

Communicates reason for writing and demonstrates awareness of audience.

5. Target

6.3 points

The thesis, position, or purpose is persuasively developed throughout and skillfully directed to a specific audience.

4. Acceptable

5.8 points

The thesis, position, or purpose is clearly communicated throughout and clearly directed to a specific audience.

3. Approaching

5.54 points

The thesis, position, or purpose is adequately developed. An awareness of the appropriate audience is demonstrated.

2. Insufficient

5.04 points

The thesis, position, or purpose is discernable in most aspects but is occasionally weak or unclear. There is limited awareness of the

NUR 621 Wk 5 Quality Improvement Essay

appropriate audience.

1. Unsatisfactory

0 points

The thesis, position, or purpose is not discernible. No awareness of the appropriate audience is evident.

Development, Structure, and Conclusion

Criteria Description

Advances position or purpose throughout writing; conclusion aligns to and evolves from development.

5. Target

7.2 points

The thesis, position, or purpose is coherently and cohesively advanced throughout. The progression of ideas is coherent and unified. A convincing and unambiguous conclusion aligns to the development of the purpose.

4. Acceptable

6.62 points

The thesis, position, or purpose is logically advanced throughout. The progression of ideas is coherent and unified. A clear and plausible conclusion aligns to the development of the purpose.

3. Approaching

6.34 points

The thesis, position, or purpose is advanced in most aspects. Ideas clearly build on each other. Conclusion aligns to the development of the purpose.

2. Insufficient

5.76 points

Limited advancement of thesis, position, or purpose is discernable. There are inconsistencies in organization or the relationship of ideas. Conclusion is simplistic and not fully aligned to the development of the purpose.

1. Unsatisfactory

0 points

No advancement of the thesis, position, or purpose is evident. Connections between paragraphs are missing or inappropriate. No conclusion is offered.

Evidence

Criteria Description

Selects and integrates evidence to support and advance position/purpose; considers other perspectives.

5. Target

4.5 points

Comprehensive and compelling evidence is included. Multiple other perspectives are integrated effectively.

4. Acceptable

4.14 points

Specific and appropriate evidence is included. Other perspectives are integrated.

3. Approaching

3.96 points

Relevant evidence that includes other perspectives is used.

2. Insufficient

3.6 points

Evidence is used but is insufficient or of limited relevance. Simplistic explanation or integration of other perspectives is present.

1. Unsatisfactory

0 points

Evidence to support the thesis, position, or purpose is absent. The writing relies entirely on the perspective of the writer.

Mechanics of Writing

Criteria Description

Includes spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, language use, sentence structure, etc.

5. Target

4.5 points

No mechanical errors are present. Skilled control of language choice and sentence structure are used throughout.

4. Acceptable

4.14 points

Few mechanical errors are present. Suitable language choice and sentence structure are used.

3. Approaching

3.96 points

Occasional mechanical errors are present. Language choice is generally appropriate. Varied sentence structure is attempted.

2. Insufficient

3.6 points

Frequent and repetitive mechanical errors are present. Inconsistencies in language choice or sentence structure are recurrent.

1. Unsatisfactory

0 points

Errors in grammar or syntax are pervasive and impede meaning. Incorrect language choice or sentence structure errors are found throughout.

Format/Documentation

Criteria Description

Uses appropriate style, such as APA, MLA, etc., for college, subject, and level; documents sources using citations, footnotes, references, bibliography, etc.,

5. Target

4.5 points

No errors in formatting or documentation are present. Selectivity in the use of direct quotations and synthesis of sources is demonstrated.

4. Acceptable

4.14 points

Appropriate format and documentation are used with only minor errors.

3. Approaching

3.96 points

Appropriate format and documentation are used, although there are some obvious errors.

2. Insufficient

3.6 points

Appropriate format is attempted, but some elements are missing. Frequent errors in documentation of sources are evident.

1. Unsatisfactory

0 points

Appropriate format is not used. No documentation of sources is provided.

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *