Assignment 1: Measuring Quality Guidelines and Grading Rubric
By Day 7 in Week 5
In an 8 to 10 page paper, describe three rate based measurements of quality.
Select three rate based measurements of quality that you will use as the primary basis for this paper.
These measurements must relate to some aspect of clinical or service quality that directly relates to patient care or the patient’s experience of care. For the purposes of this assignment, an analysis of staffing levels is not permitted. You can find useful information on quality indicators that are of interest to you on these websites and resources. You may choose only one of the three measures to be some form of patient satisfaction measure.
Deconstruct each measure to include descriptions of the following:
- The definition of the measure
- The numerical description of how the measurement is constructed (the numerator/denominator measure counts, the formula used to construct the rate, etc.)
- Explain how the data for this measure are collected
- Describe how the measurement is compared externally to other like settings; differentiate between the actual rate and a percentile ranking.
- Explain whether the measure is risk adjusted or not. If so, explain briefly how this is accomplished.
- Describe how goals might be set for each measure in an aggressive organization, which is seeking to excel in the marketplace.
Describe the importance of each measure to a chosen clinical organization and setting.
Using these websites and resources you can choose a hospital, a nursing home, a home health agency, a dialysis center, a health plan, an outpatient clinic or private office; a total population of patient types is also acceptable, but please be specific as to the setting. That is, if you are interested in patients with chronic illness across the continuum of care, you might hone in a particular healthplan, a multispecialty practice setting or a healthcare organization with both inpatient and outpatient/clinic settings. Faculty appointments and academic settings are not permitted for this exercise. For all other settings, consult the instructor for guidance. You do not need actual data from a given organization to complete this assignment.
Relate each measure to patient safety, to the cost of poor quality, and to the overall cost of healthcare.
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
This assignment requires the students to select three rate based measurements of quality that relate to some aspect of clinical or service quality that directly relates to patient care or the patient’s experience of care. The following answer provides a comprehensive approach to addressing all the questions raised in the assignment.
Answer:
Three rate based measurements of quality that the students can select are:
1) Hospital-Acquired Infection Rate
2) 30-Day Readmission Rate
3) Patients’ Perception of Care Survey
Deconstruction of the Measures:
1) Hospital-Acquired Infection Rate:
– Definition: The Hospital-Acquired Infection Rate measures the number of patients who acquire an infection as a result of their hospital stay.
– Numerical Description: The numerator is the number of patients who acquire infections during their hospital stay whereas the denominator is the total number of patients admitted to the hospital. The rate is calculated by dividing the numerator by the denominator and multiplying by 100.
– Data Collection: The data for this measure is collected by infection control specialists who monitor patient outcomes and track the incidence of hospital-acquired infections.
– Comparison: The Infection Rate is compared externally to other like settings using percentile ranking.
– Risk Adjustment: Yes, this measure is risk-adjusted. The patients’ age, gender, underlying health conditions, and other clinical factors are taken into account.
– Goal Setting: In an aggressive organization, goals might be set to achieve a minimal HAI rate or to reduce the current rate by a certain percentage.
2) 30-Day Readmission Rate:
– Definition: The 30-Day Readmission Rate measures the percentage of patients who are readmitted to the hospital within 30-days of being discharged.
– Numerical Description: The numerator is the number of patients who are readmitted to the hospital within 30-days whereas the denominator is the total number of patients discharged from the hospital. The rate is calculated by dividing the numerator by the denominator and multiplying by 100.
– Data Collection: The data is collected through electronic health records and claims data submitted by hospitals.
– Comparison: The Readmission Rate is compared externally to other like settings using percentile ranking.
– Risk Adjustment: Yes, this measure is risk-adjusted. The patients’ age, gender, underlying health conditions, and other clinical factors are taken into account.
– Goal Setting: In an aggressive organization, goals might be set to achieve a lower Readmission Rate than the national average.
3) Patients’ Perception of Care Survey:
– Definition: Patients’ Perception of Care Survey measures patients’ satisfaction with their care received during their hospital stay.
– Numerical Description: The survey consists of various questions that patients answer on a scale of 0-10. The scores are added and a percentage is calculated, which represents the overall satisfaction with care.
– Data Collection: The data is collected through surveys and interviews with patients.
– Comparison: The survey results are compared externally to other like settings using percentile ranking.
– Risk Adjustment: No, this measure is not risk-adjusted.
– Goal Setting: In an aggressive organization, goals might be set to achieve a higher percentage of patient satisfaction than the national average.
Importance of each measure:
– Hospital-Acquired Infection Rate: This measure is important as it ensures that patients do not acquire infections as a result of their hospital stay. It also reflects the hospital’s commitment to patient safety and quality of care.
– 30-Day Readmission Rate: This measure helps to assess the quality of care provided by hospitals during a patient’s initial stay. It also ensures that patients do not have to return to the hospital as a result of inadequate care or complications.
– Patients’ Perception of Care Survey: This measure provides insight into patients’ experience and satisfaction with care, which is an important aspect of patient-centered care. It also helps hospitals to identify areas for improvement and to provide better care to patients.
Relation to Patient Safety, Cost of Poor Quality, and Overall Cost of Healthcare:
– Hospital-Acquired Infection Rate: A high infection rate can lead to increased patient morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Therefore, reducing the infection rate can lead to improved patient safety, reduced costs of poor quality, and overall lower healthcare costs.
– 30-Day Readmission Rate: A high Readmission Rate indicates that patients are not receiving adequate care during their initial stay or that there are complications after discharge. This can lead to increased costs for the patient and overall healthcare system. Therefore, reducing the readmission rate can lead to improved patient safety, reduced costs of poor quality, and overall lower healthcare costs.
– Patients’ Perception of Care Survey: Improving patients’ experience and satisfaction with care can lead to improved patient outcomes, reduced healthcare costs, and increased patient loyalty. Therefore, focusing on patient satisfaction can lead to improved patient safety, reduced costs of poor quality, and overall lower healthcare costs.
