The major healthcare regulatory agencies require hospitals to follow Performance Improvement programs. The Report to Congress sets national initiatives for quality and performance improvement programs. The Joint Commission evaluates hospitals on major quality-related areas called Core Measures and Accountability Measures.
The Affordable Care Act seeks to increase access to high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans. To that end, the law requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a National Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health Care (the National Quality Strategy) that sets priorities to guide this effort and includes a strategic plan for how to achieve it.
Understanding how the government requires hospitals to manage quality performance leads to better insights into the need for rigorous performance improvement programs.
Instructions
- For this assignment, review Chapters 1 and 2 of the course textbook and the Supporting Lesson Links for the “Report to Congress: National Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health Care” and “the Joint Commission Website. You should also include your own outside research (at least one additional source).
- Evaluate the effectiveness of national policy and regulatory agencies’ efforts that require hospitals to follow Performance Improvement programs. Be sure to include the following elements:
- Introduction: Why are quality improvement programs important to healthcare?
- Body: Answer the following questions:
- Summarize how the Report to Congress relates to the Core Requirements of the Institute of Medicine described in the text Introduction. Are the focus areas compatible or do they become too confusing? Do you think they are helpful for hospitals that need to plan for quality improvement, or do you think they are asking too much?
- Compare the Joint Commission’s Core Measures and Accountability Measures: do you agree with the “retiring” of certain Core Measures, or would you keep them in place?
- Evaluate how the regulatory requirements related to the Organization-wide Performance Improvement Process described in Figure 1.1 in the text. How does the Process described in Figure 1.1 fit into a hospital’s efforts to manage quality?
- Conclusion: Summarize your evaluation of the government’s effectiveness in guiding hospital quality efforts. Does the American Hospital Association support these efforts?
- Your paper should be a minimum of three pages (excluding cover and reference pages)
- Write the paper in APA style with in-text citations as appropriate.
- Be sure to address all of the elements described in the assignment. Include at least one additional outside reference in addition to your textbook and the Required Resources articles.
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
Quality improvement programs are vital to the healthcare industry because they exist to ensure that hospitals and healthcare providers deliver high-quality services to patients. The government requires hospitals to follow performance improvement programs, and this assignment evaluates the effectiveness of national policy and regulatory agencies’ efforts in this area.
Body:
The Report to Congress correlates with the Core Requirements of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) by emphasizing areas such as effectiveness, safety, patient-centeredness, timeliness, equity, and efficiency. Although the Report to Congress and IOM’s focus areas are compatible, they might become confusing in execution. Additionally, it might be challenging for hospitals to plan for quality improvement while meeting all the required focus areas. However, the Report to Congress and IOM’s focus areas are vital for enhancing the quality of healthcare services.
Regarding the Joint Commission’s Core Measures and Accountability Measures, retiring certain Core Measures is appropriate if they no longer serve their purpose. These Measures are essential for evaluating hospitals’ performance and ensuring that they provide high-quality services. Therefore, the Joint Commission’s decision to retire some measures is appropriate if they are no longer useful, although it should be done with careful consideration and consultation.
The organizational-wide Performance Improvement Process is related to regulatory requirements. It is a process that identifies opportunities for improvement and evaluates their effectiveness to ensure continuous improvement in service quality. It is essential for hospitals to implement the process described in Figure 1.1 to achieve successful quality management. The Process fits into a hospital’s efforts to manage quality by providing an organized framework for evaluating the quality of service delivery and identifying areas for improvement.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the government’s efforts to guide hospital quality improvement programs are commendable. The government has established regulatory agencies such as The Joint Commission and established national quality improvement initiatives like The National Quality Strategy. Although hospitals need to create plans aligned with Core Requirements of the IOM and the National Quality Strategy, this ensures that they provide high-quality services. The American Hospital Association supports these efforts because hospital quality improvement aligns with their mission. Ultimately, these efforts lead to healthcare service providers delivering high-quality services, which is beneficial to the patients.
References:
Joint Commission. (2021). About the Joint Commission. Retrieved from
National Quality Forum. (2019). National Quality Strategy. Retrieved from
Shi, L. (2017). Introduction to Health Policy. John Wiley & Sons.