Discussion: Outcome Measures Issues & Opportunities in Healthcare Organizations

Draft a 6-page report on outcome measures, issues, and opportunities for the executive leadership team or applicable stakeholder group.

Note: Each assessment in this course builds on the work you completed in the previous assessment. Therefore, you must complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.

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As a nurse leader, you may be called upon to submit a detailed report to your executive leadership team and key stakeholders that describes a quality or safety problem and its effects on outcomes, fully supported by relevant and credible data.

This assessment provides an opportunity to draft such a report in which you can call attention to quality and safety issues and opportunities, effectively support your position, and lay out a plan for change.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

Competency 1: Analyze quality and safety outcomes from an administrative and systems perspective.

Identify typical quality and safety outcomes and their associated measures.

Competency 3: Determine how specific organizational functions, policies, processes, procedures, norms, and behaviors can be used to build reliability and high-performing organizations.

Analyze organizational functions, processes, and behaviors in high-performing organizations.
Determine how organizational functions, processes, and behaviors support and affect outcome measures for an organization.
Identify performance issues or opportunities associated with particular organizational functions, processes, and behaviors and the quality and safety outcomes they affect.

Competency 4: Synthesize the various aspects of the nurse leader’s role in developing, promoting, and sustaining a culture of quality and safety.

Outline a strategy for ensuring that all aspects of patient care are measured and that knowledge is shared with the staff.

Competency 5: Communicate effectively with diverse audiences, in an appropriate form and style, consistent with applicable organizational, professional, and scholarly standards.

Write coherently and with purpose, for a specific audience, using correct grammar and mechanics.
Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.

Competency Map

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Use this online tool to track your performance and progress through your course.

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Questions to Consider

As you prepare to complete this assessment, you may want to think about other related issues to deepen your understanding or broaden your viewpoint. You are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community.

Note that these questions are for your own development and exploration and do not need to be completed or submitted as part of your assessment. Organizational functions, processes, and behaviors can include leadership practices, communications, quality processes, financial management, safety and risk management, interprofessional collaboration, strategic planning, using the best available evidence, and questioning the status quo on all levels.

What are some examples of organizational functions, processes, and behaviors related to the outcome measures and performance issues discussed in your executive summary?
How would you implement change in addressing particular issues and opportunities?
In what ways do stakeholders support outcome success?

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Discussion: Outcome Measures Issues & Opportunities in Healthcare Organizations Resources

REQUIRED RESOURCES

The following resources are required to complete the assessment.

APA Style Paper Template [DOCX]. Use this template for your report.

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SUGGESTED RESOURCES

The resources provided here are optional. You may use other resources of your choice to prepare for this assessment; however, you will need to ensure that they are appropriate, credible, and valid.

The MSN-FP6212 Health Care Quality and Safety Management Library Guide can help direct your research, and the Supplemental Resources and Research Resources, both linked from the left navigation menu in your courseroom, provide additional resources to help support you.

Discussion: Outcome Measures Issues & Opportunities in Healthcare Organizations Outcomes Measures and Process Improvement

The following resources provide context and background information that will help you with this assessment.

Fessele, K, Yendro, S., & Mallory, G. (2014). Setting the bar: Developing quality measures and education programs to define evidence-based, patient-centered, high-quality care. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 18, 7–11.

In this article, the authors discuss how one group developed and then tested relevant quality measures.

Goll, C. & Cahill, S. (2014). Leading the way: Enculturating the value of process improvement. American Nurse Today, 9(8), 1–4.

In this article, the authors contend that the importance of a culture of accountability and ownership is crucial to attaining organizational outcomes.

Huffstutler, C.D. & Thomsen, D. (2015). A framework for performance excellence and success. Frontiers of Health Science Management, 32(1), 45–50.

In this article, the authors present a framework that describes the behaviors and beliefs of high-performing organizations.

Masica, A. L., Richter, K. M., Convery, P., & Haydar, Z. (2009). Linking Joint Commission inpatient core measures and National Patient Safety Goals with evidence. Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, 22(2), 103–111.

In this article, the authors summarize the relationships between Joint Commission core measures, safety goals, and patient outcomes.

The Joint Commission (n.d.). National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI). Retrieved from http://nursingandndnqi.weebly.com/index.html

Explore this resource and examine the indicators related to the effects of nursing on safety, quality, and outcomes.

Vila Health: Quality and Safety Gap Analysis | Transcript.

The following interactive exercise suggests an approach to drafting a detailed report for executive leaders addressing outcome measures and performance issues or opportunities, which may help you with the assessment.

Change Theory

Mitchell, G. (2013). Selecting the best theory to implement planned change. Nursing Management, 20(1), 32–37.
- This article may help you in outlining a strategy for change.

Risk Management

Risk Management and Patient Safety Drag and Drop | Transcript.
- In this interactive exercise, you will examine the fundamental differences between risk management and patient safety.

Suggested Writing Resources

You can use the following additional resources to improve your writing skills and as source materials for seeking answers to specific questions.

Capella Resources

- Guiding Questions: Outcome Measures, Issues, and Opportunities.
  - This document includes questions to consider and additional guidance on how to successfully complete the assessment.
- Example Outcome Measures Spreadsheet.
- ePortfolio.
  - This resource provides information about ePortfolio, including how to use the product’s different features.

Discussion: Outcome Measures Issues & Opportunities in Healthcare Organizations Assessment Instructions

This assessment is based on the executive summary you prepared in the previous assessment.

PREPARATION

Your executive summary captured the attention and interest of the executive leadership team, who have asked you to provide them with a detailed report addressing outcome measures and performance issues or opportunities, including a strategy for ensuring that all aspects of patient care are measured.

Note: Remember that you can submit all or a portion of your draft report to Smarthinking for feedback before you submit the final version for this assessment. However, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24–48 hours for receiving feedback, if you plan on using this free service. Discussion: Outcome Measures Issues & Opportunities in Healthcare Organizations

REQUIREMENTS

Note: The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the Outcome Measures, Issues, and Opportunities Scoring Guide. Be sure that your written analysis addresses each point, at a minimum. You may also want to read the Outcome Measures, Issues, and Opportunities

Scoring Guide and Guiding Questions: Outcome Measures, Issues, and Opportunities (linked in the Resources) to better understand how each criterion will be assessed.

Drafting the Report

Analyze organizational functions, processes, and behaviors in high-performing health care organizations or practice settings.
Determine how organizational functions, processes, and behaviors affect outcome measures associated with the systemic problem identified in your gap analysis.
Identify the quality and safety outcomes and associated measures relevant to the performance gap you intend to close. Create a spreadsheet showing the outcome measures.
Identify performance issues or opportunities associated with particular organizational functions, processes, and behaviors and the quality and safety outcomes they affect.
Outline a strategy, using a selected change model, for ensuring that all aspects of patient care are measured and that knowledge is shared with the staff.

Writing and Supporting Evidence

Write coherently and with purpose, for a specific audience, using correct grammar and mechanics.
Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Format your document using APA style.

Use the APA paper template linked in the resources. Be sure to include:
- A title page and reference page. An abstract is not required.
- A running head on all pages.
- Appropriate section headings.
- Properly-formatted citations and references.
Your report should be 6 pages in length, not including the title page and reference page.
Add your Quality and Safety Outcomes spreadsheet to your report as an addendum.

Portfolio Prompt: You may choose to save your report to your ePortfolio.