Dashboard and Health Care Benchmark Evaluation

Dashboard and Health Care Benchmark Evaluation with Sample Solutions

Running head: DASHBOARD BENCHMARK EVALUATION

Dashboard Benchmark Evaluation of ABC Hospital

Danielle Ferrante

Capella University

Health Care Law and Policy

November 2019

Dashboard Benchmark Evaluation of ABC Hospital

In terms of size, ABC Hospital (not its real name) is set on 300,300 square feet of land. It has 685 employees and a total bed capacity of 271. This hospital is specifically focused on diagnosing and treating cancer disease. The hospital serves up to a total of 500, 000 patients every year. Of the total number of patients served, 42% are African Americans while 22% are Whites. Other ethnicities served to include Hispanics (16%), Mexican (10%) and Irish 10% (Portela, 2016). Most of the population served are employed individuals with an annual income average of $6000.

Some of the metrics that are below the mandated benchmarks in ABC Hospital include the nurse to patient ration and bed capacity. The hospital has failed to meet the 1:2 nurse to patient ratio rule as stipulated by the existing federal laws set by the U.S Department Of health and human services. Additionally, the hospital has failed to meet the 400-bed capacity that hospitals of its size are required to have according to the federal regulations that have been set by the same health department (Gabel, 2017). One of the factors that have prevented the hospital from meeting regulations is having inadequate finances.

The disadvantage of having a lower nurse to patient ratio is that it has contributed to poor healthcare services in the hospital. The too much workload that nurses in the hospital experience have contributed to a lower employee retention rate in the health care facility. The too much workload in the hospital has influenced potential staff members to avoid applying for vacancies in the hospital (Dowding, 2015). The potential healthcare providers fear that they will be overworked just as the current staff members are being overworked. The poor services delivered in the hospital has contributed to a negative image.

The disadvantage of having a lower bed capacity is that it has contributed to congestion in most of the rooms that patients are admitted. Moreover, this has contributed to poor hygienic conditions since there is poor circulation of air. Nurses and physicians attending to the patients also find it difficult to move when they are attending to the patients (Portela, 2016). The negative impact of this is that it demoralizes them from their activity of delivering medical services to the patients. This further contributes to the poor quality of healthcare services in the hospital.

Some of the challenges that meeting prescribed benchmarks can pose for the hospital include strained financial resources and the inability to purchase new equipment required in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The negative effect of this is that it makes the hospital to rely on old equipment to diagnose and treat cancer. Some of the treatment options such as radiations are ineffective in eradicating the cancer cells due to their inefficiencies brought about by the process of wearing out (Gabel, 2017). This contribute to the negative image of the hospital which also makes potential staff members avoid it.

A few of the opportunities that ABC organization has that can enable it to meet the above two benchmarks include outsourcing for more capital financing from nongovernmental organizations and increasing the number of its staff. Continuing to experience the challenge of enough capital will prevent the hospital from building more patient wards that can help it expand its bed capacity. In any case, the hospital will continue to experience the challenge of having a low nurse to patient ration, its rate of retaining its employees will decrease (Dowding, 2015). Furthermore, this will contribute to a continued decline in the quality of healthcare services delivered in the hospital.

A benchmark underperformance in the hospital that has the potential for greatly improving overall quality and performance is understaffing. Having a low number of nurses to patient ratio is the most underperforming benchmark by degree. It is also the most widespread throughout the hospital that affects the greatest number of patients and staff. The staff get affected in the sense that they have to perform too much workload while the patients get affected in the sense that they receive poor health care services (Portela, 2016). Many of the patients who visit the hospital for the first time end up not visiting it again due to the experience that they normally have in the hospital.

The underperformance of the organization of the nurse to patient ratio affects the community in the sense that locals are forced to wait for too long when they go to seek medical services in the hospital. Some locals are forced to go to distant hospitals that offer similar services. The negative impact of this is that it increases their medical expenses due to the transportation expenses involved. Having a low number of healthcare providers affects the services delivered by the hospital in the sense that their quality is compromised (Gabel, 2017). This is due to the fatigue problem that the few healthcare providers experience due to too much workload.

The greatest opportunity in the overall quality for performance lies in outsourcing for more financial donations from non-governmental organizations. The significance of seeking more capital is that it will enable the hospital to build more patient wards to expand its bed capacity. Additionally, getting enough capital will enable the hospital to hire additional staff members that will be working in the new patient wards that will be built (Dowding, 2015). The benefit of having more healthcare providers is that it will help solve the problem where patients are forced to wait for too long. This is because there will be enough professionals to attend to the patients.

The best ethical action that can help the hospital overcome its benchmark underperformances is offering scholarship opportunities to local students that want to pursue healthcare-related courses. The stakeholder group that this advocacy needs to be directed is the government. One of the issues that have been identified to be contributing to the shortage of staff workers in the hospital is the low number of locals that have trained as healthcare providers (Portela, 2016). The hospital avoids hiring healthcare professionals from other areas since it is very expensive to do so.

Some of the ethical actions that the government can take as a stakeholder group to enable ABC hospital to improve on the benchmarks that it is performing poorly on include offering scholarship opportunities to local students to train on health-related courses and also participating in the fundraising activities to enable the hospital raise the capital that it is requiring to employ enough staff and also build more patient ward facilities to expand its bed capacity (Gabel, 2017). The stakeholder group needs to take action to reduce the workload burden on the hospital’s management.

To conclude, ABC hospital has a better opportunity to improve on it’s the benchmarks that it is currently underperforming. The greatest opportunity in the overall quality for performance lies in outsourcing for more financial donations from non-governmental organizations. Some of the challenges that meeting prescribed benchmarks can pose for the hospital include strained financial resources and the inability to purchase new equipment required in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The best ethical action that can help the hospital overcome its benchmark underperformances is offering scholarship opportunities to local students that want to pursue healthcare-related courses. Continuing to experience the challenge of enough capital will prevent the hospital from building more patient wards that can help it expand its bed capacity.

References

Dowding, D., Randell, R., Gardner, P., Fitzpatrick, G., Dykes, P., Favela, J., … & Currie, L. (2015). Dashboards for improving patient care: review of the literature. International journal of medical informatics, 84(2), 87-100.

Gabel, F., O’hanlon, K., Brankin, P., Bryce, R., Trescher, A. L., Haux, C., … & Listl, S. (2017). Linkage of health care claims data and apps data: The ADVOCATE oral health care dashboard. International Journal of Population Data Science, 1(1).

Portela, M. C. A. S., Camanho, A. S., Almeida, D. Q., Lopes, L., Silva, S. N., & Castro, R. (2016). Benchmarking hospitals through a web-based platform. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 23(3), 722-739.

Hypothetical Dashboard Based on a Professional Practice Setting

If you have a sophisticated understanding of dashboards that are  relevant to your own practice, you may also construct a hypothetical  dashboard for your evaluation based on that setting. Your hypothetical  dashboard must present at least four different metrics, at least two of  which must be underperforming the relevant benchmark set forth by a  federal, state, or local laws or policies. In addition, be sure to add a  brief description of the organization and setting that includes:

• The size of the facility that the dashboard is reporting on.
• The specific type of care delivery.
• The population diversity and ethnicity demographics.
• The socioeconomic level of the population served by the organization.

Note: Ensure that your data is HIPAA compliant. Do not use any easily identifiable organization or patient information.

Report Requirements

Structure your report in such a way that it would be easy for a  colleague or supervisor to locate the information they need. Be sure to  cite relevant local, state, or federal health care laws or policies when  evaluating metric performance against prescribed benchmarks. Cite an  additional 2–4 credible sources to support your analysis and evaluation  of the challenges in meeting the benchmarks, the potential for  performance improvement, and your advocacy for ethical action.

Note: The tasks outlined below correspond to grading criteria in the scoring guide.

In your report, be sure to:

• Evaluate dashboard metrics against the benchmarks set by local, state, or federal health care laws or policies.      
  • Which metrics are below the mandated benchmarks in the organization? Evaluate weaknesses within the entire set of benchmarks.
  • What are the local, state, or federal health care laws or policies that set these benchmarks?
• Analyze challenges that meeting prescribed benchmarks can pose for the organization or for an interprofessional team.      
  • What are the specific challenges or opportunities that the  organization or interprofessional team might have in meeting the  benchmarks? For example, consider:        
    • The strategic direction of the organization.
    • The organization’s mission.
    • Available resources:          
      • Staffing.
      • Operational and capital funding.
      • Physical space.
      • Support services (any ancillary department that supports a  specific care unit in the organization, such as a pharmacy, cleaning  services, and dietary services).
    • Cultural diversity in the organization.
    • Cultural diversity in the community.
    • Organizational processes and procedures.
  • How might these challenges be contributing to benchmark underperformance?
• Evaluate a benchmark underperformance in the organization or  interprofessional team that has the potential for greatly improving  overall quality or performance.      
  • Which metric is underperforming its benchmark by the greatest degree?
  • Which benchmark underperformance is the most widespread throughout the organization or interprofessional team?
  • Which benchmark affects the greatest number of patients?
  • Which benchmark affects the greatest number of staff?
  • How does this underperformance affect the community the organization serves?
  • Where is the greatest opportunity for improvement in the  overall quality or performance of the organization or interpersonal  team—and ultimately in patient outcomes?
• Advocate for ethical action in addressing the benchmark  underperformance that has the potential for greatly improving overall  quality or performance.      
  • At which group of stakeholders should your advocacy be  directed? Which group could be expected to take the appropriate action  to improve the benchmark metric?
  • What are some ethical actions that the stakeholder group could take that support improved benchmark performance?
  • Why should the stakeholder group take action?
• Communicate your findings and recommendations in a professional and effective manner.      
  • Ensure that your report is well organized and easy to read.
  • Write clearly and logically, using correct grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
• Integrate relevant sources to support your arguments, correctly  formatting source citations and references using current APA style.      
  • Did you cite relevant local, state, or federal health care laws or policies when discussing the mandated benchmarks?
  • Did you cite an additional 2–4 credible sources to support your analysis, evaluation, and advocacy?

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

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Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, including a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. One or two-sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

• Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. Dashboard and Health Care Benchmark Evaluation

• APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with the APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in Loud-cloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

• Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage over-utilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Master’s level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

• LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to Lopes Write, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in Loud-cloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

• Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is a 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading. Dashboard and Health Care Benchmark Evaluation

• Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

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