Outcome Measures, Issues, and Opportunities

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcome measures are morbidity rate, re-hospitalization rate, mortality rates, patient satisfaction, and quality of care. Limited access to health care services, poor patient knowledge about self-care and involvement in a treatment plan, and economic inequality among distinct socioeconomic and racial communities are all concerns related to CVD (Riegel et al., 2017).

NURS FPX 6212 Assessment 3 Outcome Measures, Issues, and Opportunities

Implementing community-based programs to encourage healthy behaviors, the availability of preventive facilities, and attempting to address the health determinants of society that fuel discrepancies in cardiovascular diseases are all possible ways to address these problems. Moreover, there have been encouraging advancements in technology and pharmacology for diagnosing and treating cardiovascular diseases. These developments include new medicines and guidelines, telehealth, remote patient management, and monitoring technology, which can positively affect patient outcomes and decrease healthcare costs (Kędzierski et al., 2022).

Organizational Functions, Processes, and Behavior in a High-Performance Organization

The American Nurses Association is the nation’s largest nursing organization and a powerful voice for nurses in the US. It is responsible for creating and disseminating standards of nursing practice that serve as principles and guidelines for nursing staff to implement in practice in the work environment and enhance better patient outcomes like decreasing hospitalization, reducing medication errors, and improving patients’ experience and satisfaction. The ANA also helps nurses further their academic achievements and careers by providing them with tools and opportunities to network. The ANA’s actions are planned to be expertly conducted by the highest standards of ethics and for the public’s benefit (American Nurses Association, 2019). 

For healthcare settings to be successful, they need to implement policy practices for patient safety and care quality, administrative efficiency, operational effectiveness, interprofessional collaboration, risk mitigation, and long-term planning (McGowan et al., 2021). Patients get good healthcare and have their healthcare demands fulfilled faster once healthcare professionals function effectively. On the other hand, inefficient healthcare settings do not have the necessary professionals, infrastructure, and tools, which affects patients’ quality of care (WHO, 2018). Implementing evidence-based approaches and bringing the concerns to top leadership recognition is necessary to resolve these healthcare problems. 

Weill Cornell Medicine had a higher incidence of CVD re-hospitalizations due to substandard and insufficient healthcare facilities. The safety and well-being of CVD patients are of utmost importance to the nurses caring for them, and they must evaluate their care according to established protocols (Ramadhani et al., 2019). Concerns over patient safety, care and quality, expected health consequences, and increasing medical costs due to diseases are among healthcare practitioners’ top concerns. EHR and telehealth technology can help doctors and nurses communicate with patients to keep track of patients’ treatment and educate patients and nurses about self-monitoring BP and behavioral therapy (Omboni et al., 2020). Nurses should also be informed about the long-term effects of hospitalization for cardiovascular disorders.

Knowledge Gaps and Areas of Uncertainty

The best approaches to giving high-quality care, patient security, and care are still not fully understood, despite the advancements accomplished in the healthcare sector. This is seen most clearly in managing long-term health problems like CVD. Extensive studies and cutting-edge technology are required to develop better therapies for CVD (Błyszczuk et al., 2020). The ability of diverse clinical experts to collaborate to provide optimal treatment for patients is another area for development. If the knowledge gap can be addressed, healthcare professionals can better treat their patients.

Organizational Functions that Affect the Outcomes Measures

The effectiveness of the healthcare system depends on its nurses’ ability to diagnose problems, determine their causes, and implement practical solutions (CDC, 2010). The objective of Weill Cornell Medicine is to give CVD patients care and treatment while minimizing their hospitalization requirements. The proper management and monitoring of patient care and treatment can be accomplished by implementing telehealth technology by medical professionals such as physicians, specialists, nurses, and technicians (Haimi & Gesser-Edelsburg, 2022). The effectiveness and efficiency with which an organization’s functions and processes are carried out directly and impacted by organizational behavior. Organizational strengths like cooperation, strong leadership, and open lines of interaction boost productivity and accomplish other positive goals such as reducing hospitalization, decreasing medication errors, and enhancing patients’ quality of care. Healthcare practitioners must improve their knowledge about the risks of CVD and teach nurses and patients about behavioral therapy, self-monitoring, and its consequences. Healthcare effectiveness metrics and efforts to save healthcare costs have emphasized preventing hospitalizations. Patients with cardiovascular disease are more likely to be admitted to the hospital if they have a poor socioeconomic background, belong to a disadvantageous ethnic group are admitted to emergency units, and have a previous hospitalization for cardiovascular disease (Davari et al., 2019).

The extent of the positive impacts on outcome metrics can vary depending on the organization. Moreover, positive organizational outcomes, include effective interaction, inter-professional coordination, and effective leadership. Negative organizational behavior such as lack of collaboration, poor interaction,  and poor leadership can hurt outcome measures, contributing to lower nurses’ performance, higher nurse turnover, and poor overall outcomes. 

Assumptions and Reasons

Nurses are trained to think logically, discuss problems, and identify healthcare issues with the assistance of training and education, so they may better help their patients. Following diagnosis, the optimal treatment strategy for the patient can be determined (Sutton et al., 2020). Heart disease patients are increasingly being admitted to hospitals, which is quite distressing.  The significantly higher ER visits, hospitalizations, and mortality rates in the US can be directly attributed to disease and related comorbidities. Inadequate care or consequences from cardiovascular disorders such as severe heart attack, heart disease, high blood pressure, or strokes might lead to hospitalization. ‘Self-monitored blood pressure monitoring’ (SMBPM) can help individuals with CVD better understand their health and prevent unnecessary hospitalizations.

Quality and Safety Outcomes of the Organization and Associated Measures 

A spreadsheet is provided in the appendix for the outcome measures related to CVD. In CVD patients, self-management has been associated with improved blood-pressure maintenance, higher patient experience and satisfaction levels, and fewer adverse health complications. An analysis of the requirements of patients is necessary to determine the areas in which a healthcare setting system’s quality and safety regulations and approaches are deficient (Christensen & Fagan, 2019). 

NURS FPX 6212 Assessment 3 Outcome Measures, Issues, and Opportunities

Encouraging multidisciplinary teamwork between different departments to increase awareness in patients on treating CVD is important for achieving critical safety and quality goals such as fostering healthy lifestyle practice, lowering misdiagnosed and prescription errors, and reducing hospitalization among cardiovascular disease patients (Department of Health, 2021).

The administrations should conduct comprehensive efforts to develop and use outcome indicators and efficient policies and practices to guarantee the highest standard of care for their patients at all times. Metrics like in-hospital mortality, hospitalization rate, readmission rates, and safety and security percentages can be used to evaluate the efficacy and safety of cardiovascular patient treatment in a healthcare setting. Healthcare data quality can be assessed by investigating where the information came from, how it was collected, and how accurate and reliable the results are. 

Performance Issues or Opportunities of the Proposed Functions

Improving cardiovascular disease patient safety and care while decreasing hospitalization rates involves implementing strategies and policies like telehealth technology, SMBPM, and behavioral therapy. Training and education are the best way to ensure that healthcare workers make good use of available resources and tools. To reduce the maintenance burden on nursing staff and healthcare professionals, there is a significant requirement to expand telehealth technology, enhance nurses’ training and education and boost raising attention to SMBPM (Bashir & Bastola, 2018).

This is possible because nursing programs enable new nurses to acquire and develop new competencies responding to changes in CVD patient care delivery. These actions may result in better patient treatment and diagnosis, resulting in fewer hospitalizations. Most nurses find it difficult to participate in education and training sessions on the weekend because of commitments and family responsibilities. Therefore, it is recommended that brief hands-on practice training and informational and instructional sessions are held regularly. Additionally, healthcare professionals can engage in online programs from their homes by using recorded lessons and various internet conferences tools such as audio-video clips, short huddles, and regular meetings with nursing staff by nurse managers. Consequently, a nurse’s absence will not have an impact on the administration of the hospital setting. The use of telehealth also allows for the rapid examination of patient information, which helps nurses and doctors make more well-informed recommendations and reduces the likelihood of making a wrong diagnosis (Bashir & Bastola, 2018).

Knowledge gap and area of uncertainty

Medical errors can only be avoided if healthcare workers are conscious of their knowledge and experience limitations. Nursing staff may help patients’ safety and security while utilizing updated technology by putting transformational strategy and evidence-based management practices into practice.

Selected Change Model to Improve Care and Quality Issues 

Evidence-based practice is the preferred method for change. The nurses will be instructed in the correct implementation of evidence-based practices. The evidence-based practice model (EBPM) considers patients’ characteristics, requirements, and preferences by integrating the findings of the most current technical studies (Kelly, 2022). Excellent treatment, expert knowledge, and extensive study all lend credence to the efficacy of evidence-based practices. The care of patients will benefit significantly from the efficient implementation of this knowledge. The important factors include low nurse retention rates and high job satisfaction levels for nurses. Training programs should also adhere to a curriculum that is supported by research. The “magnet assessment” process centers on training programs grounded in research, which reduces nursing burnout and turnover and increases nurses’ job satisfaction. An evaluation of a healthcare setting’s preparedness for EBPM is the preliminary step in the process of adopting EBPM (Haller et al., 2018). This evaluation determines the areas where a health service performs best and the areas where it falls short. Scholar nurses do more than just share their findings with the public and other professionals. In this approach, highly experienced diagnostic and therapeutic nurses work together at each and every turn to evaluate, assess, and keep tabs on the patient’s progress.

Inter-professional collaboration

Encouraging stakeholder collaboration with nurses and other healthcare professionals boosts the implementation of the plan. Team members can use the plan to work through their differences and come to an agreement. The technique helps team members see the bigger picture and effectively work through disagreements. Nurses need to establish interactions with patients and other system participants before collaborating on a change model that will improve healthcare delivery.

Conclusion

The use of telehealth and other evidence-based practice models has been shown to enhance patient care and decrease unnecessary hospitalizations significantly. For these methods to be effective, healthcare providers need to be educated and trained adequately, and the public needs to be made aware of self-management techniques. The evidence-based approach considers patients’ preferences and requirements while incorporating the most up-to-date scientific evidence.  For the implemented program to be successful, the cooperation and participation of stakeholders, patients, and nurses must important. Nursing staff should work to establish deep connections with patients to foster teamwork and produce better results.

NURS FPX 6212 Assessment 3 Outcome Measures, Issues, and Opportunities

References

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Błyszczuk, P., Boheler, K. R., & Kania, G. (2020). Editorial: Cutting edge methodologies in experimental cardiovascular research. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2020.621900

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Kelly, R. (2022). Evidence-based practice. Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/nursing/center-nursing-inquiry/nursing-inquiry/evidence-based-practice.html

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