Discussion: Measurement Systems and Methods

Discussion: Measurement Systems and Methods The process of constructing a balanced scorecard for either financial goal setting or tracking of patient and employee satisfaction can be controversial. For example, a hospital’s financial scorecard provides a snapshot of gathered data for the hospital, but the data may be out of context, which makes it difficult to identify specific problems. It is evident that both scorecards and dashboards have a place in the health care setting; however, will all organizations and accrediting bodies agree on the aspects of implementation, data analysis, and levels of effectiveness? To prepare: Consider the various uses of scorecards and dashboards presented in this week’s Learning Resources and media presentation. Reflect on how these measurement systems and measurement methods impact organizational goal setting in the areas of overall performance and financial stability. Explore the key indicators involved with scorecards and dashboards as well as the external quality standards to which they are compared. Ask yourself: What do the metrics used in the balanced scorecard and dashboard mean to my organization and nursing practice? Has my organization established goals for these metrics and are they currently being met? By Day 3 Post a cohesive scholarly response that addresses the following: Select any setting and describe the extent to which the patient’s experience of care is measured, tracked, and set for improvement goals. Evaluate whether goals at your organization are established for these metrics and whether or not they are currently being met. Describe some of the provocative issues that have or will emerge. For example, what has been the impact of CAHPS or HCAHPS in the setting described (if applicable). Discussion: Measurement Systems and Methods

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The process of constructing a balanced scorecard for either financial goal setting or tracking of patient and employee satisfaction can be controversial. For example, a hospital’s financial scorecard provides a snapshot of gathered data for the hospital, but the data may be out of context, which makes it difficult to identify specific problems. It is evident that both scorecards and dashboards have a place in the health care setting; however, will all organizations and accrediting bodies agree on the aspects of implementation, data analysis, and levels of effectiveness?

To prepare:

  • Consider the various uses of scorecards and dashboards presented in this week’s Learning Resources and media presentation.
  • Reflect on how these measurement systems and measurement methods impact organizational goal setting in the areas of overall performance and financial stability.
  • Explore the key indicators involved with scorecards and dashboards as well as the external quality standards to which they are compared.
  • Ask yourself: What do the metrics used in the balanced scorecard and dashboard mean to my organization and nursing practice? Has my organization established goals for these metrics and are they currently being met?

By Day 3

Post a cohesive scholarly response that addresses the following:

  • Select any setting and describe the extent to which the patient’s experience of care is measured, tracked, and set for improvement goals.
  • Evaluate whether goals at your organization are established for these metrics and whether or not they are currently being met.
  • Describe some of the provocative issues that have or will emerge. For example, what has been the impact of CAHPS or HCAHPS in the setting described (if applicable). Discussion: Measurement Systems and Methods

There has been increasing attention directed at issues inherent to measuring health care quality. In fact, performance measures for health care organizations, structures and providers is becoming increasingly improving in efforts to improve health care quality from the three perspectives of efficiency, effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.  However, medical facilities different on the focus on their performance indicators with the different types useful in monitoring certain quality aspects (McGinnis, Malphrus & Blumenthal, 2015). The present paper discusses and evaluates efforts to measure quality performance as reflected by patients’ experiences of care in a medical facility.

Select any setting and describe the extent to which the patient’s experience of care is measured, tracked, and set for improvement goals.

The selected setting is a hospital facility that offers outpatient and inpatient medical services. The facility recognizes that understanding patients’ experiences is important for improving health care quality. Towards this end, the facility has leveraged its electronic health records (EHR) system to include a standardized questionnaire that collects the opinions of patients and their feedback on the quality of care they receive at the facility. Towards this end, the facility delivers a Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems (CAHPS) survey that patients can choose to fill out once they are out of the facility. A link to the survey is available in each patient’s EHR page. The EHR system automatically measures, tracks and sets improvement goals based on the survey results. This is conducted periodically. The improvement goals are translated into recommendations for practice improvements with specific personnel identified and tasked with managing the improvements and associated changes. For instance, if the survey results reveals communication shortcomings, then the improvement goal would be to improve the communication skills of the primary health care provides who are engaged in direct communication with the patients (Joshi et al., 2014).

Evaluate whether goals at your organization are established for these metrics and whether or not they are currently being met.

The organization uses the survey results to set improvement goals for patients’ experiences. The EHR system includes statistical algorithms that periodically determine trends based on the collected data and identify the specific areas that require improvement. In addition, the analysis sets goals for improvement with specific metrics to help in tracking changes and evaluating improvement goals. The organization has a committee that is concerned with acting on the metrics and ensuring that the improvement goals are met. The committee appoints personnel to be in charge of the improvements and uses the EHR system to keep track of the changes. The metrics and trends from the EHR system are used to continuously refine the changes and improvements, and ensure that they are being met (Huston, 2014). Discussion: Measurement Systems and Methods

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Describe some of the provocative issues that have or will emerge. For example, what has been the impact of CAHPS or HCAHPS in the setting described (if applicable).

There are three provocative issues that have emerged with regards to improving patients’ experiences at the organization. The first issue is the expensive cost and slow speed of feedback. The process of collecting feedback from patients takes time with some of them completing the survey weeks after leaving the facility. In fact, some of the feedback is redundant as it talks of issues addressed between the time when the patient left the facility and he/she completed the survey. The second issue is benchmarking concerns and the need to keep abreast with other health care organizations. Emulating other organizations to mirror their successes is difficult as the specific measures they applied to generate their results may be difficult to determine. The third issue is the difficulty in driving patient centricity, especially in the face of financial and resource limitations. Still, the use of CAHPS survey has helped to improve patient experiences by identifying critical performance areas that are targeted for improvement (Hickey & Brosnan, 2013).

References

Hickey, J. V., & Brosnan, C. A. (2013). Evaluation of Health Care Quality in Advanced Practice Nursing. Springer Publishing Company, LLC.

Huston, C. J. (2014). Professional Issues in Nursing: Challenges and Opportunities (3rd ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins/Wolters Kluwer.

Joshi, M., Ransom, E., Nash, D., & Ransom, E. (Eds.) (2014). The Healthcare Quality Book: Vision, Strategy, and Tools (3rd ed.). Health Administration Press.

McGinnis, M., Malphrus, E., & Blumenthal, D. (Eds.) (2015). Vital Signs: Core Metrics for Health and Health Care Progress. National Academies Press. Discussion: Measurement Systems and Methods