In this final assignment, you will be asked to synthesize everything you have learned about quality and quality management and formulate a comprehen
In this final assignment, you will be asked to synthesize everything you have learned about quality and quality management and formulate a comprehensive strategic plan to address a major challenge facing quality and safety leaders today.
Assignment: Comprehensive Strategic Plan
Unit Outcomes addressed in this assignment:
Formulate a comprehensive improvement plan to position the organization for success, including data-driven methods and techniques that support continuous improvement.
Course Outcome addressed in this assignment:
HA540-4: Formulate a comprehensive improvement plan to position the organization for success.
Using your chosen setting and identified challenge, you will create a 10 to 12 page paper, not including cover or references, that includes the following sections (please use headings in your paper to denote separate sections):
Introduction
Background of the problem (SBAR)
Stakeholders
Aim/Goal
Methods/Data/Tools (PDSA)
Intervention/Plan
Potential barriers/challenges
Plan to study/re-assess the improvements
Implications for the project (quantify ROI if possible)
Recommendations
Submit your assignment to the Unit 9 Assignment Dropbox.
Assignment: Current Challenge Presentation
In this assignment you will be asked to analyze a current challenge for the quality and safety professionals in your chosen setting (the same one you have utilized thus far), which should be selected from the following:
Hospitals
Post-Acute (LTC, Rehabilitation, or SNF)
Ambulatory Care (Primary Care or Urgent Care)
Behavioral Health (Rehabilitation, Outpatient, Inpatient, Residential, or School Programs)
Examples of challenges could be: readmissions, infection rates, medication errors, colorectal screening rates, capturing Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) in an ambulatory setting, falls in long-term care facilities, etc.
Unit Outcomes addressed in this assignment:
Analyze current challenges that quality and safety professionals are facing in high reliability organizations (HROs).
Evaluate what factors create an environment of continuous quality improvement.
Course Outcome addressed in this assignment:
HA540-3:Analyze current challenges facing quality and safety professionals.
Record and upload a 4 to 5 minute PPT presentation addressing the following questions/areas (Who, What, Where, When, Why):
Background on the challenge that you identified, including history and prevalence.
Why is this an important area of focus for your chosen healthcare setting, and how would you verify that it is an issue?
What are the implications if it is not addressed?
What is the impact on the organizational triple aim (service, financial, quality)? Who does this impact and why?
What are some foreseeable challenges/barriers to doing a quality improvement project on this issue?
Submit your assignment to the Unit 7 Assignment Dropbox.
Healthcare Operations and Quality
Assignment Introduction
Students will evaluate the six National Quality Strategy priorities and how they complement the idea of quality and quality measurement in each of the healthcare environments/settings.
Assignment: National Quality Strategy Priorities Evaluation
Unit Outcomes addressed in this assignment:
Evaluate the quality indicators that are found in the various settings in health care, as well as those outlined by the applicable governing bodies.
Identify national priorities relative to improving healthcare quality.
Course Outcome addressed in this assignment:
HA540-1:Evaluate quality and quality management in multiple health care settings using various tools and measures.
Assignment Directions: The National Quality Strategy (NQS), led by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), outlines three main aims to improve healthcare quality. They focus on six priorities and nine levers that will advance these three aims in the following settings:
Hospitals
Post-Acute Care (LTC, Rehabilitation, or SNF)
Ambulatory Care (Primary Care or Urgent Care)
Behavioral Health (Rehabilitation, Outpatient, Inpatient, Residential, or School Programs)
You will need to write a 23 page paper (not including cover or references) that addresses the following:
How do the priorities support quality in each of the settings discussed and how can the nine levers be used to accomplish these goals?
How can quality management be strategically developed to measure these priorities?
How do Healthy People 2020 & 2030 support these priorities?
Are these consistent with the priorities set for by the Institutes of Medicine (IOM)?
Why are these national strategies important for quality professionals to understand?
Support your responses with a minimum of three academic sources and citations. Make sure your paper is properly formatted with an introduction, body of discussion with level headings, and a reference page in proper APA 7th edition format.
Unit 2 Discussion - 150 words and more, APA format, due every Friday
Last week you explored the definition of quality and quality management in the various settings of healthcare. This week we turn our sights to measuring quality. Based on the readings for this week, you can ascertain there is much to learn about the tools and measurements used in healthcare quality and safety, especially in the various settings that we are exploring.
Choosetwo of the following settings to evaluate this week:
Hospitals
Post-Acute Care (LTC, Rehabilitation, or SNF)
Ambulatory Care (Primary Care or Urgent Care)
Behavioral Health (Rehabilitation, Outpatient, Inpatient, Residential, or School Programs)
Answer the following questions:
Discuss the measures that are monitored in your chosen settings. What types of measures do they monitor (structure, process or outcome)?
Who sets these measures and are there reporting requirements?
What is/are the source(s) of data that is used and why?
Name and discuss two tools that help organizations to monitor these measures.
What are two challenges that quality and safety professionals face in implementing and monitoring these measures?
Please respond to students who chose to compare and contrast different settings than you. In responding to others posts, focus on the following questions:
How do their measures align or differ from those you chose to focus on?
Are there different agencies involved or is there overlap with your settings?
Are the challenges similar to yours?
What are other things they have not considered?
Unit 3 Discussion
The Impact of Policy and Reimbursement
This week we explore the impact of healthcare policy, including the changing landscape of reimbursement models and their impact on quality and quality management. The past two units you have been asked to focus on a variety of settings, but this week you will begin to narrow your focus to one. This will allow you to delve deeper, working up to your final project in Unit 9.
Choose one of the following settings:
Hospitals
Post-Acute Care (LTC, Rehabilitation, or SNF)
Ambulatory Care (Primary Care or Urgent Care)
Behavioral Health (Rehabilitation, Outpatient, Inpatient, Residential, or School Programs)
Please research health policy and reimbursement in your chosen setting. This weeks readings will get you started. Then, answer the following questions:
What has been the impact of health policy in your chosen setting as it pertains to the quality and safety professional?
How has reimbursement changed over time in your chosen setting to what it currently looks like today?
What are the challenges that quality and safety professionals face in successfully meeting the requirements of these policies and payment models?
What is the relationship between quality and safety with the fiduciary responsibility of an organization and how can the quality and safety professional assist the organization in meeting its needs?
What are Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and Clinically Integrated Networks (CINs) and how can they assist you as the quality professional in your setting?
What do you foresee as future possibilities in reimbursement, and its impact on quality and quality management in your setting?
Please respond to one student who chose the same setting as you, and one who chose a different one. In responding to others posts, focus on the following questions:
How does the setting dictate the complexities that the quality professional faces in meeting their requirements?
How do the Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) play different roles based on the setting?
Are there stark differences in the role that the quality and safety professional plays?
Is their setting more structured than yours when it comes to quality management?
Unit 4 Discussion
Culturally & Linguistically Appropriate Care
This week we are focusing on the relationship between quality and culturally and linguistically appropriate care in preparation for the Unit 4 Assignment. The assigned reading for the week will assist you in beginning to research culturally and linguistically appropriate care, health disparities and population health, but you will want to do further research in your chosen setting.
Using the setting that your team was assigned to, answer the following questions:
How have health disparities impacted your assigned setting of healthcare?
What is the role of the quality professional to ensure health equity and reduction of health disparities?
How have CLAS standards been implemented?
What policy changes have occurred to improve the health equity and CLAS standards?
What is population health and what does it look like in your chosen setting, and then what is the role of the quality and safety professional?
What are social determinants of health (SDoH) and how do they connect to health disparities?
How is health policy and/or payer reimbursement changing to address SDoH?
What are quality and quality management initiatives that the quality and safety professional can implement to address SDoH?
Please respond to at least two other students in different assigned groups as you, keeping in mind the following questions:
Have health policy changes impacted their setting differently than yours? How is it similar?
Is the role of the quality and safety professional similar or different when it comes to health equity and health disparities, population health and addressing social determinants of health?
Do you have any recommendations on quality and quality management initiatives that your classmate could implement?
What are other things they have not considered?
Unit 5
This week we look at regulatory challenges facing quality professionals in the various settings of healthcare. Healthcare spending in the United States is more than in any other industrialized country in the world and one of the challenges we face is increasing quality while reducing expenditure.
Choose one of the following settings (the same you chose in Unit 3 and will use for the remainder of the units):
Hospitals
Post-Acute Care (LTC, Rehabilitation, or SNF)
Ambulatory Care (Primary Care or Urgent Care)
Behavioral Health (Rehabilitation, Outpatient, Inpatient, Residential, or School Programs)
After researching regulatory challenges inherent to your chosen setting, answer the following questions:
What are the main regulatory challenges facing healthcare today, particularly in your chosen setting?
What is the dynamic relationship between healthcare costs and quality?
How does the regulatory environment impact the quality and safety professionals role?
Why is it important for the quality and safety professional to stay updated on regulatory changes?
In responding to others posts, keep the following questions in mind:
Are the regulatory challenges consistent with your research in your chosen setting?
Are there factors that they have not yet considered regarding the relationship between the regulatory environment and quality?
Unit 6 Discussion
There are many articles/studies published on the impact of organizational behavior and culture on quality, particularly in high reliability organizations (HROs). But what does this mean and what can we do about it? This week you will explore the role that leadership and culture plays in the success of quality and quality management in your chosen setting of healthcare.
Choose one of the following settings (this will be the same setting you chose in Units 3 & 5 and will continue to use until your final project):
Hospitals
Post-Acute Care (LTC, Rehabilitation, or SNF)
Ambulatory Care (Primary Care or Urgent Care)
Behavioral Health (Rehabilitation, Outpatient, Inpatient, Residential, or School Programs)
Please answer the following questions:
How significant of a role does culture play on an organizations ability to have continuous improvement, or to be a high reliability organization (HRO)?
Do you believe a culture of safety is truly attainable?
We have seen a recent case in the headlines of the nurse who was charged with negligent homicide - do you believe this type of event will impact organizations and their ability to have a culture of safety?
Are there leadership styles that promote this type of environment better than others?
What can leadership do to promote a culture of safety, or one that thrives on continuous improvement?
When responding to others, keep the following questions in mind:
Are there other facts/literature that they have not considered?
Unit 7 Discussion
This week we continue our discussion on high reliability organizations (HROs) and explore the challenges that quality and safety professionals face today. You will be using this topic for your Unit 9 Assignment, so choose something that you are interested in exploring further.
Choose one of the following settings (consistent with units 3, 5 & 6):
Hospitals
Post-Acute Care (LTC, Rehabilitation, or SNF)
Ambulatory Care (Primary Care or Urgent Care)
Behavioral Health (Rehabilitation, Outpatient, Inpatient, Residential, or School Programs)
Discuss a common challenge that quality and safety professionals face in your chosen setting. This is your chance to receive feedback from your classmates for your Unit 7 Assignment:
Why is this an important area of focus for your chosen healthcare setting, and how would you verify that it is an issue? Please provide some context/history of this issue and the prevalence.
How can continuous quality improvement or a high reliability organization create an environment that reduces this common challenge?
What are the implications if it is not addressed?
What is the impact on the organizational triple aim (service, financial, quality)?
Please provide feedback to two other classmates as this will be used to refine their topic for their final assignment.
Unit 8
This week we are going to build upon the common issue that you identified last week and discuss how we can analyze/approach a quality improvement project to address the issue.
How would you discuss with stakeholders the urgency of this issue?
Who would you involve in these discussions and why?
What are your goals in doing this quality improvement project?
How can continuous quality improvement create an environment that reduces this common challenge?
What resources will be needed?
What tools can the quality and safety professional use to effectively address this issue?
What barriers can you anticipate that you will need to address?
What would your timeline be?
What is the impact on the organizational triple aim (service, financial, quality)?
Please provide feedback to two other classmates as this will be used to refine their topic for their final assignment.
Unit 9
This week we are building the last section of your quality analysis, using the common issue that you identified last week. Using the tools you identified, you will create a PDSA another relevant tool to share with your classmates.
Using the six steps of ongoing quality improvement (PDSA) or another tool, map out what the process may look like to follow the process of an improvement project.
What is the problem?
What data would be pertinent to gather and review? Is there a specific measure that you will monitor?
What goals and actions would be important for improvement?
What intervention would you implement?
How would you analyze the results for progress?
Respond to at least two others and provide constructive feedback on the model they have chosen, as well as the approach that they plan to take.
Unit 10
Drawing upon everything you have learned in this course, answer the following questions:
What are your takeaways?
What skills or strategies can you leverage to lead in a High Reliability Organization?
What did you find particularly helpful in this course to assist you in your future role?
Is there anything additional you wish you had learned in this class?
Is there anything you would change?
Assignment Introduction
The role of the quality professional in addressing population health is dependent on the setting of healthcare and the organization; however, the work we do is always impacted by the need for culturally and linguistically appropriate care. This has been highlighted even more during the pandemic, where we saw health disparities become more pronounced.
Assignment: Infographic
Unit Outcomes addressed in this assignment:
Assess the changing trends in health policy that focus on culturally and linguistically appropriate care.
Evaluate the role of quality in ensuring health equity and the reduction of health disparities.
Course Outcome addressed in this assignment:
HA540-2:Assess the influence of health policy on quality and safety.
PC-4.3:Apply concepts* of multiculturalism and diversity to become an agent of change. *Examples of concepts may include personal beliefs and values, the benefits of a diverse perspectives, the importance of tolerance, etc.
Your team will be assigned one of the following settings:
Hospitals
Post-Acute Care (LTC, Rehabilitation, or SNF) My team is assigned with this settingsAmbulatory Care (Primary Care or Urgent Care)
Behavioral Health (Rehabilitation, Outpatient, Inpatient, Residential, or School Programs)
As a team you will create an Infographic that highlights the relationship between health disparities and culturally and linguistically appropriate care. Also, illustrate the role that the quality and safety professional has with health disparities and the various ways that they might address the need for culturally and linguistically care in your assigned setting. Additionally, show the connection with social determinants of health and how the quality and safety professional can reduce health disparities through population health. Keep in mind the lens of the healthcare setting and the population that would be served.
Submit your infographic to the Unit 4 Assignment Dropbox.
Preview theUnit 4 Assignment Rubric.
