Question Description

Discussion: Application of Health Care Quality Concepts

In order to apply health care quality concepts to a health care issue or a facility using the measurement-related concept of structure, process, or outcome, it is necessary to understand that the three complement each other. In other words, one is not more important than the other. Criteria and standards are essential to evaluating the three. A criterion is typically evidence driven and based on efficacy. Standards should be set at a “minimal, ideal, or achievable level to meet the goals behind specific quality of care evaluations” (Joshi et al., 2014, p. 44).

For this Discussion, you will select a health care quality concept; apply that concept to a real health care issue; identify the issue as structure, process, or outcome; and apply it to the Six Quality Dimensions you read about in Crossing the Quality Chasm.

To prepare:

• Review the Learning Resources on health care quality concepts.
• Select a health care quality concept from the Learning Resources.

Note: For this Discussion you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleague’s postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion” link and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts, and cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking Submit!

Assignment: Improving Population Health—Letter to the Editor

There are mechanisms in place that are used to improve population health, including (1) health statuses and outcomes, (2) determinant factors, and (3) interventions that address determinant factors and improve outcomes (Joshi et al., 2014 p. 549). How health care is provided and how it can be improved is the focus of this assignment, which lends itself to a perfect opportunity for you to put your analysis skills into practice. The Learning Resources section this week provides you with data from the patient experience of care that also sheds light on expectations that have and have not been met. The Healthy People 2020 data provides measurements and goals for health care into the future, along with reasons for achieving those goals.

For this Assignment, you will read a scenario, analyze an existing problem using the data/resources provided, and make recommendations to address the issues.

To prepare:

Review all Learning Resources for the week that relate to improving population health

The Assignment:

Read the following scenario:

The community of Springfield (population approximately 100,000) is made up of hardworking, mostly older, factory laborers who contributed to both the city and county growth from the late 1950s through early 2005. Since the plant closed, many of the former workers have little to look forward to. There are few jobs available and they are now aging; most are 60 years of age or older.

The Memorial Hospital has been in existence since the mid-1950s and has several primary care physicians and nurse practitioners, a couple of general surgeons, and one cardiologist, but no cardiac surgeons.

Many nurses are recruited from the nearby community college, and the hospital serves as the facility for clinical rounds in their education.

The community is pretty sedentary, with the exception of an occasional game of horseshoes. Cigarette smoking is prominent.

Serious concerns surround the continued existence of the hospital because many residents seek and obtain health care services elsewhere.

Compare the population of this city to other problem areas using the Healthy People sources. The town’s population is approximately 100,000, making the comparison fairly straightforward.

Using the information provided in the scenario and the:HCAHPS Data and Healthy People 2020 DataFrom this week’s Learning Resources, write a 2-page Letter to the Editorof the local paper that includes:An evaluation of the issues that would be the focus on need for quality improvementAn analysis of existing problems/issues based on data/resources provided2 or 3 recommended strategies to address each quality improvement issue

In order to effectively manage their own health, individuals need to have competencies in two areas—basic literacy and basic health literacy. What is the difference? Basic literacy refers to the ability to read, even simple language. Health literacy is defined as, “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions” (National Coalition for Literacy, 2009). Unfortunately, according to a Department of Education report on health literacy, only 12% of adults aged 16 and older are considered to have a proficient level of health literacy (U.S. Department of Education, 2006). Acquiring health literacy skills has become more complicated with the explosion of online health information, some credible and some misleading.
In this Discussion, you focus on how to help individuals find credible information on the Internet and develop strategies nurses can use to increase the health literacy of their patients.
To prepare:

Think about the nurse’s role in improving the health literacy of patients.
Consider the many ways patients access health information, including blogs, social media, patient portals, websites, etc.
Reflect on experiences you have had with patients who self-diagnose using online medical sources.
Using the Internet, the Walden Library, or other trustworthy sources, identify a resource that you could introduce to patients to help them evaluate the credibility of health information found online.
What are some strategies you could employ to improve the health literacy of patients?

Post your assessment of the nurse’s role in improving the health literacy of patients. Then, identify the resource you would recommend to patients for evaluating online health information and why it would be beneficial. Describe additional strategies for assisting patients in becoming informed consumers of online health information.

Remember: need 2 assignments 40 per each, plagiarism free, on time.

Final Paper

The final assignment for this course is a Final Paper. The purpose of the Final Paper is for you to culminate the learning achieved in the course by applying your knowledge in the field of health care ethics and medical law through the analysis of an actual case regarding an ethical dilemma.

Focus of the Final Paper

Review the three scenarios below. Choose one of them and address the questions asked within your selected scenario in the form of a written analysis.

Scenario No. 1: HIPAA Privacy Rule

Case Study:Imagine that you are the privacy officer for a small town hospital. You receive a report that there is a breach of privacy. You are informed that a 15-year-old girl is received at the emergency with an emergency labor. The baby is delivered in the emergency room as there is no time to move the patient to the obstetrics (OB) department. In addition to the emergency delivery, the baby is born with multiple medical problems. Once the mother and baby are moved to obstetrics and neonate, care is given to both.

The OB nurse who took care of the mother and baby completes her shift, and she goes home to her own daughter to have a talk with her. She sits her daughter down and pleads with the girl to tell her if she ever has any problems, especially when it comes to pregnancy. The nurse tells her daughter the story about the young patient who delivered that evening, and she accidentally mentions the patient’s name. The patient’s name is one of those odd names that immediately triggers the nurse’s daughter to relay that she knows the patient. The mother/nurse, realizing that she made a big mistake by mentioning the patient’s name, pleads with her daughter not to say anything. Needless to say, word shoots through the four high schools in the town the next day.

The nurse returns to work the following evening, and she contacts you to hand in her badge and keys, stating that she knows she made a mistake by breaching the young patient’s privacy and she knows she is going to be fired. In addition to the breach of the obstetrics nurse, you learn that the patient hid her pregnancy from her family, and to make matters worse, her aunt and mother are both nurses at the hospital. You know both of these nurses on a professional and personal level.

Scenario No. 1 HIPAA Privacy Rule Project Assignment:

Research the HIPAA Privacy Rule here:

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2013).Health Information Privacy.Retrieved fromhttp://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/introduction/index.html

Then, perform additional research regarding the HIPAA Privacy Rule and prepare your Final Paper by analyzing the issues through these questions in regards to the above scenario:

• Analyze the specific requirements needed to perform this investigation.
• Identify whether this incident was an actual breach of privacy according to the HIPAA law.
• Examine the differences and similarities between the hospital’s stance and HIPAA as to whether the nurse should be fired from her job.
• Explain why you would fire or not fire the nurse immediately or whether you would put her on administrative leave awaiting the details of the investigation.

Scenario No. 2: DNR

Project Assignment:Review your State Government’s website and search for its official Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Form. Along with the form will be information and instructions regarding the form. In addition, research three area hospitals to determine if they provide separate DNR forms. Then, perform additional research regarding DNR and prepare your Final Paper by analyzing the issues through these steps:

• Analyze the requirements of your State Government’s DNR.
• Identify the requirements of the three hospital’s DNRs.
• Examine the differences and similarities between the state’s and the three hospital’s DNR requirements, and address the following questions:
• What are they?
• Which one should you follow?
• Explain how a DNR is applied if a patient is under hospice care and EMTs are called.

Scenario No. 3: Institutional Code of Ethics

Project Assignment:Codes of ethics are standards that outline how individuals or groups of people are to act. The healthcare/medical community has its own code of ethics, which is outlined in the American Medical Association’s Code of Medical Ethics. Review the following:

• AMA’s Code of Medical Ethics here:
• American Medical Association. (2013).AMA’s code of medical ethics.Retrieved fromhttp://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-ethics.page.

• Three local or regional hospitals’ codes of ethics.
• Various scholarly research on healthcare codes of ethics (at least seven additional sources).

Then, prepare your Final Paper by analyzing the issues through these steps:

• Analyze the specific requirements of a code of ethics.
• Identify three critical elements of the AMA’s code that you believe are most important.
• Examine the differences and similarities between the AMA’s Code of Medical Ethics requirements and the code requirements of the three hospitals that you researched.
• Explain why certain individuals and/or groups (please name these) should follow a hospital’s code of ethics.

Writing the Final Paper

The Final Paper:

• Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length, excluding title and reference pates, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a title page with the following:

· Title of paper

· Student’s name

· Course name and number

· Instructor’s name

· Date submitted

• Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
• Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
• Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
• Must use at least eight scholarly sources that were published within the past five years, including a minimum of four from academic journals found in the Ashford University Library.
• Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writin