Discussion: Emphasis On Quality Of Care
Discussion: Emphasis On Quality Of Care
In the article “Managing to Improve Quality: The Relationship Between Accreditation Standards, Safety Practices, and Patient Outcomes,” the authors discuss the growing trend by medical insurance companies to eliminate reimbursement for Never Events. As these types of mistakes should be easily preventable, hospitals have developed protocols to lessen or extinguish the occurrence of these events. In addition, The Joint Commission (TJC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have developed core measures to guide health care providers’ efforts in improving patient safety and the quality of care delivered.
Health care organizations have developed strategic agendas to help meet these standards and reduce the incidence of Never Events. Nurses significantly influence the overall quality of health care provided and play a pivotal role in improving patient outcomes.
For this Discussion, you will consider the standards that are in place for nurses and how they can be used to improve quality of care.
To prepare for this Discussion:
Review the information at the Joint Commission and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services websites on the core measures and standards presented in this week’s Resources.
Consider the nurse’s role in supporting the organization’s strategic agenda as it relates to improving clinical outcomes.
Conduct an Internet search for either a Never Event or a core measure, and select one to address in your post.
By Day 3
Respond to the following:
How has the emphasis on quality of care, patient safety, and clinical care outcomes been impacted by specific standards emanating from TJC and/or CMS? Cite your selected core measure or Never Event in your response.
What is the impact of the nurse’s role in clinical outcomes for the organization?
Discuss nurse-specific challenges in influencing change in quality improvement.
How does this influence the ability of the organization to achieve its strategic agenda?
Support your response with references from the professional nursing literature.
Note Initial Post: A 3-paragraph (at least 350 words) response. Be sure to use evidence from the readings and include in-text citations. Utilize essay-level writing practice and skills, including the use of transitional material and organizational frames. Avoid quotes; paraphrase to incorporate evidence into your own writing. A reference list is required. Use the most current evidence (usually ≤ 5 years old).
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.
Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.
Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.
The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.