discussion 350 words due june 27 responses at least 150 words due by june 30th

Access to Existing Databases on Patient Safety, Quality of Care, and Clinical Practice

Quantitative health care databases are developed and published to give health care providers and consumers information about patient quality and safety outcomes. These reports are often distributed to staff in patient care units and shared with health agencies. Understanding the variables and findings described in these databases is important.

By Day 3

Post a description of one existing source of data you found with variables related to a patient quality and safety problem in your practice. Locate the data posted for your agency/facility. If you are unable to find this information for your agency, locate a national database that can be accessed by health professionals, e.g., Medicare Hospital Compare. (Data are also available for home health and nursing homes.) Include the citation and the link to use for web access. Identify three variables found in the database that are important in better understanding a patient safety problem. Explain how you would interpret the results and how they might help improve nursing practice and patient outcomes. Explain how data is used in your own agency, including nursing involvement in the process.

Note: Post a three 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. Use the writing resources to develop your post.

By Day 7

Read two or more of your colleagues’ postings from the Discussion question.

Respond to two or more of your colleagues with a comment that asks for clarification, provides support for, or contributes additional information.

Post a Discussion entry on 3 different days of the week. See the Rubric for more information.

Click on the Reply button below to reveal the textbox for entering your message. Then click on the Submit button to post your message.

https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/About/Wha…

https://www.medicare.gov/homehealthcompare/search….

https://www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare/search…


TWO DISCUSSIONS TO RESPOND TO BY June 30th

Ashley D

RE: Discussion – Week 5

COLLAPSE

Main Discussion Post

For this week’s discussion post I used the Medicare Hospital Compare to look at the facility that I work for per diem. Hospital Compare is a website that provides potential patients with access to over 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals across the country. The information within the website allows patients to make informed decisions regarding the care provided at a specific facility and also provides feedback to these hospitals regarding the quality of care and areas of improvement. According to the website, the creation of hospital care was a collaboration that included hospitals, practitioners, employers, consumers, accrediting organizations and federal agencies. The information available to those using this website include the hospitals overall rating, general information (name, address, phone number, etc.), survey of patient experiences, timely and effective care, complications and deaths, unplanned hospital visits, use of medical imaging and payment and value of care. There is a potential of 57 quality measures shown. When I reviewed my facility, unfortunately, they only received two out of five stars, so there is obviously a need for improvement.

The three variables that I chose to discuss in order to better understand a patient safety problem were:

  1. Timely and effective care, specifically heart attack care
  2. Complications and death, specifically CLABSI/CAUTI
  3. Unplanned hospital visits, specifically MI

“Timely and effective care measures the hospital’s ability to provide the most appropriate treatments that are shown to give the best results” (Medicare.gov, 2018). The subcategory associated with timely and effective care I chose was heart attack. There are many policies and procedures in place to immediately implement when a STEMI has arrived. There is a STEMI bundle that we use that guides that practitioner in the most appropriate direction regarding lab work, EKG, medications and definitive care. The results show that there is an average of 8 minutes before the patient receives an EKG and that 90% of outpatients received Aspirin within 24 hours of arrival to the ED. There were no results for outpatients regarding the average number of minutes who needed specialized care that needed to be transferred or for patients that received medications to break up blood clots within 30 minutes of arrival. The website states that for those measures that are unavailable, “there are not enough patients or cases to report and that the results are based on a shorter time period than required” (Medicare.gov, 2018). The available results are very comparable to the Missouri and national average.

The second variable I identified was CLABSI/CAUTI which is a subcategory of complications and death. With my previous ICU experience, this is a topic that I am very passionate about. There is always the potential for hospital-acquired infections. Although they are preventable, the incidence is still concerning. There were zero reported CLABSI, and two reported CAUTI’s. The central line days were 1195 and the catheter days were 2204. The resulted number of infections is very low considering the number of indwelling days. The evaluations show that these are no different than the national benchmark.

The third variable was unplanned hospital visits, specifically MI. My hospital was ranked “no different than the national rate (Medicare.gov, 2018). The unplanned hospital visit measures included rates of readmission, hospital visits and hospital return days.

The collection periods for the above-mentioned variable spanned over one year, 7/1/2016-6/30/2017. These results provide everyone involved with facts directly related to patient care and overall satisfaction. This can lead to improvements not only to patient care but to the facility as a whole. Being aware of these results is essential in maintaining clarity and knowledge related to available resources.

Data is used in my facility to improve patient safety and quality care through several avenues. Our ED has a unit practice team (UPT) which uses core measures as it relates to these variables. The information and results are disseminated throughout our facility through newsletters, forums, and emails from upper management. By ensuring that this information is kept updated and shared among the facility, areas for improvement are identified as well as what has been accomplished through hard work and diligence.

References

Medicare.gov. (n.d.-a). Hospital compare. Retrieved June 21st, 2018, from

https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/About/Wha…

Megan D.

RE: Discussion – Week 5

COLLAPSE

For this week’s discussion, I used the website Medicare Hospital Compare (www.medicare.gov) to examine data that is used to monitor and improve quality and safety of patient care within healthcare facilities. “The information on Hospital Compare helps you make decisions about where you get your health care and encourages hospitals to improve the quality of care they provide” (Medicare.gov, 2018). The three variables I chose to compare are: patients who reported that they “always” received help as soon as they wanted, Clostridium difficile (C.diff.) intestinal infections, and patients assessed and given influenza vaccination. I chose to compare data for the hospital I currently work at with another local hospital that is located about 5 miles away.

For the first variable, (patients who reported that they “always” received help as soon as they wanted) I found that the hospital I work for is 61%, which is above the nearby hospital, and the same as the state average. The national average for all reporting hospitals is 69%, so there is room for improvement in this area of the HCAHPS survey. The second variable, (C.Diff infections) a confidence interval is used to display data. Above the graph states “lower numbers are better”. My facility is 0.830, the nearby facility 1.188 the state average was 0.940, and the national average 1.0. This data shows that my facility and the state average is greater than the national average and the compared facility is below the national average. The third variable I chose, (patients assessed and given the influenza vaccine) the data shows my facility is 99%, the local facility 88%, state average 90%, and national average 93%.

The variables I chose to compare are few of many essential topics that are vital to nurses providing safe, effective, and quality care. The purpose of the data provided on this website is to evaluate areas that we are doing well in and areas that need improvement. With this data, we can implement new changes to improve nursing care and patient outcomes. In my facility, nurses are kept up to date with new data. The data is printed and posted in the break room for viewing, with recognition in areas we are exceeding in and feedback in areas that require more work. We also take turns monitoring data for the unit on CAUTI’s, CLABSI’s, and daily weight monitoring for heart failure patients.

Resources

What is Hospital Compare? (n.d.). Retrieved June 25, 2018, from https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/About/What-Is-HOS.html

 
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