HCA375 All Weeks Discussions

HCA375

Week 1 Discussion

DQ 1 Management versus Leadership

After completing this week’s reading answer the following questions:

a. What role does management play in continuous quality improvement?

b. How is managing different from leading?

c. In your opinion, which role is more effective in implementing changes that improve quality outcomes: managing or leading? Why?

Your initial post should be 250-300 words and utilize a minimum of two scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library, cited in APA format.

DQ 2 Implementation and Barriers

Select one of the following organizations and the associated quality improvement initiative:

a. The Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals

b. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Never Events

Describe the overarching goal of the initiative. Describe key strategies this organization has recommended to improve quality in the healthcare setting. In your opinion, what are the potential barriers associated with implementing this strategy in the healthcare setting?

Your initial post should be 250-300 words and utilize a minimum of two scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library, cited in APA format

 

HCA375

Week 2 Discussion

DQ 1 Measurement

According to Berwick 1996, “measurement is only a handmaiden to improvement but improvement cannot act without it” Sollecito & Johnson, p.78.

Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why or why not? Provide at least three specific reasons to support your position.

Your initial post should be 250-300 words and utilize a minimum of two scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library, cited in APA format.

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

DQ2 Quality and Outcomes

According to Sollecito & Johnson it is more meaningful to analyze outcomes data, as opposed to structures and processes, because improving outcomes is the end goal of health care services.

After viewing the “Defining Quality”: Aiming For a Better Health Care System video, develop a description of quality as it relates to health care; then answer the following questions:

a. How would one go about measuring outcomes based on your definition of quality? Provide at least three specific reasons to support your position.

b. What role does customer satisfaction play in your definition and outcomes measurement?

Your initial post should be 250-300 words and utilize a minimum of two scholarly sources

                                            

HCA375

Week 3 Discussion

DQ 1 Teamwork in Health Care

According to Sollecito & Johnson 2013, healthcare organizations have moved away from focusing on technical expertise to focusing on clinical teams that focus on patients’ needs and organizational systems thinking.

After completing this week’s reading, answer the following questions:

a. Why are organizations focusing on teamwork as opposed to skill acquisition?

b. How are new health care professionals being trained on systems thinking and teamwork/collaboration? Do you think this will make a difference in quality outcomes? Why or why not?

Your initial post should be 250-300 words and utilize a minimum of two scholarly sources, cited in APA format.

DQ 2 The Impact of Nursing

After completing this week’s reading, consider the following statement:

Never before has nursing been so important to a health care organization. Nurses are responsible for upholding the public’s trust as well as their health care organization’s reputation and its financial viability.

Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why or why not? Provide at least three specific reasons to support your position.

Your initial post should be 250-300 words and utilize a minimum of two scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library, cited in APA format as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts

 

HCA375

Week 4 Discussion

DQ 1 Medical Errors

According to Sollecito & Johnson 2013, “Organizations do not suddenly start making mistakes. They tend to slide imperceptibly into a set of conditions that produce medical errors” p. 327. After completing this week’s reading discuss this concept as it relates to quality patient outcomes. Answer the following questions:

In your opinion, do you believe that errors in the hospital setting are inevitable? Why or why not?

b. If the most frequent type of error is omitting a step in delivering care Sollecito & Johnson, 2013, p. 312, would it be better to focus on the individual who omitted the step or the system in which they work? Explain your answer.

c. What role could being a “learning organization” play in reducing errors?

Your initial post should be 250-300 words and utilize a minimum of two scholarly sources, cited in APA format.

DQ 2 Disclosure and Litigation

Complete the week’s reading and view the Safe Patient Project video about Linda: Katy,TX, then answer the following questions:

a. What was the errors in the case presented in the video?

b. Why do you think the errors happened? What might the contributing factors be in this situation?

c. Imagine you are this patient’s physician and are meeting with the family member to describe what happened. How would you communicate the error?

d. Do you believe there is a link between how the error was disclosed and the actions the family member took afterward? Explain your answer.

Your initial post should be 250-300 words and utilize a minimum of one scholarly source from the Ashford University Library, cited in APA format.

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts

 

HCA375

Week 5 Discussion

DQ 1 Quality Improvement Organizations

After completing this week’s reading, answer the following questions:

a. What is the role and function of the Quality Improvement Organization program?

b. In your opinion, has the quality of health care received by Medicare beneficiaries improved or declined over time as a result of the QIO program?

Explain your answers and provide concrete examples. Your initial post should be 250-300 words and utilize a minimum of two scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library, cited in APA format.

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

DQ 2 Accreditation

Accreditation is a formal process wherein a health care organization is deemed credible by an external organization. Standards of practice are used to assess the credibility. According to Sollecito & Johnson 2013, health care professionals, “have been known to be skeptical about the purpose, value, and benefits [of accreditation]”. After completing the week’s reading, answer the following questions:

a. In your opinion, why are some health care professionals skeptical about the accreditation process? Explain your answer.

b. What role, if any, does professional certification play in the accreditation of an organization?

c. How could you describe the role that accreditation plays in continuous quality improvement to increase buy-in for the process from members of the health care team?

Your initial post should be 250-300 words and utilize a minimum of two scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library, cited in APA format.