Write a 4-6-page report for a senior leader that communicates your evaluation of current organizational or interprofessional team performance, with respect to prescribed benchmarks set forth by government laws and policies at the local, state, and federal levels. In addition, advocate for ethical action to address benchmark underperformance and explain the potential for improving the overall quality of care and performance, as reflected on a performance dashboard.

Introduction

In the era of health care reform, many of the laws and policies set forth by government at the local, state, and federal levels have specific performance benchmarks related to care delivery outcomes that organizations must achieve. It is critical for organizational success that the interprofessional care team is able to understand reports and dashboards that display the metrics related to performance and compliance benchmarks.

Maintaining standards and promoting quality in modern health care are crucial, not only for the care of patients, but also for the continuing success and financial viability of health care organizations. In the era of health care reform, health care leaders must understand what quality care entails and how quality in health care connects to the standards set forth by relevant federal, state, and local laws and policies. An understanding of relevant benchmarks that result from these laws and policies, and how they relate to quality care and regulatory standards, is also vitally important.

Health care is a dynamic, complex, and heavily regulated industry. For this reason, you will be expected to constantly scan the external environment for emerging laws, new regulations, and changing industry standards. You may discover that as new policies are enacted into law, ambiguity in interpretation of various facets of the law may occur. Sometimes, new laws conflict with preexisting laws and regulations, or unexpected implementation issues arise, which may warrant further clarification from lawmakers. Adding partisan politics and social media to the mix can further complicate understanding of the process and buy-in from stakeholders.

Note: Your evaluation of dashboard metrics for this assessment is the foundation on which all subsequent assessments are based. Therefore, you must complete this assessment first.

Write a report for a senior leader that communicates your evaluation of current organizational or interprofessional team performance with respect to prescribed benchmarks set forth by government laws and policies at the local, state, and federal levels. In addition, advocate for ethical action to address benchmark underperformance and explain the potential for improving the overall quality of care and performance, as reflected on a performance dashboard.

Review the performance dashboard metrics, as well as relevant local, state, and federal laws and policies. Consider the metrics that are falling short of the prescribed benchmarks. Structure your report so that it will be easy for a colleague or supervisor to locate the information they need, and be sure to cite the relevant health care policies or laws when evaluating metric performance against established benchmarks.

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. If you plan on using this free service, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24–48 hours for receiving feedback.

Preparation

Choose one of the following three options for a performance dashboard to use as the basis for your evaluation:

Option 1: Dashboard Metrics Evaluation Simulation

Use the data presented in the Dashboard and Health Care Benchmark Evaluation multimedia activity as the basis for your evaluation.

Note: The writing that you do as part of the simulation could serve as a starting point to build upon for this assessment.

Option 2: Actual Dashboard

Use an actual dashboard from a professional practice setting for your evaluation. If you decide to use actual dashboard metrics, 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 your data are Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant. Do not use any easily identifiable organization or patient information.

Option 3: Hypothetical Dashboard

If you have a sophisticated understanding of dashboards relevant to your own practice, you may also construct a hypothetical dashboard for your evaluation. Your hypothetical dashboard must present at least four different metrics, at least two of which must be underperforming the prescribed 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 your data are HIPAA compliant. Do not use any easily identifiable organization or patient information.

Instructions

Note: Your evaluation of dashboard metrics for this assessment is the foundation on which all subsequent assessments are based. Therefore, you must complete this assessment first.

Write a report for a senior leader that communicates your evaluation of current organizational or interprofessional team performance with respect to prescribed benchmarks set forth by government laws and policies at the local, state, and federal levels. In addition, advocate for ethical action to address benchmark underperformance and explain the potential for improving the overall quality of care and performance, as reflected on a performance dashboard.

Review the performance dashboard metrics, as well as relevant local, state, and federal laws and policies. Consider the metrics that are falling short of the prescribed benchmarks. Structure your report so that it will be easy for a colleague or supervisor to locate the information they need, and be sure to cite the relevant health care policies or laws when evaluating metric performance against established benchmarks.

Requirements

The report requirements outlined below correspond to the scoring guide criteria, so be sure to address each main point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed. In addition, be sure to note the requirements for document format and length and for supporting evidence.

• Evaluate dashboard metrics associated with benchmarks set forth by local, state, or federal health care laws or policies.
  • Which metrics are not meeting the benchmark for the organization?
  • What are the local, state, or federal health care policies or laws that establish these benchmarks?
  • What conclusions can you draw from your evaluation?
  • Are there any unknowns, missing information, unanswered questions, or areas of uncertainty where additional information could improve your evaluation?
• Analyze one challenge that meeting prescribed benchmarks can pose for a heath care organization or interprofessional team.
  • Consider the following examples:
    • Strategic direction.
    • Organizational mission.
    • Resources.
    • Staffing.
    • Financial: Operational and capital funding.
    • Logistical considerations: Physical space.
    • Support services (any ancillary department that gives support to a specific care unit in the organization, such as pharmacy, cleaning services, dietary, et cetera).
    • Cultural diversity in the organization and community.
    • Procedures and processes.
  • Address the following:
    • Why do the challenges you identified contribute, potentially, to benchmark underperformance?
    • What assumptions underlie your conclusions?
• Evaluate a benchmark underperformance in a heath care organization or interprofessional team that has the potential for greatly improving overall quality or performance.
  • Focus on the benchmark you chose to target for improvement. Which metric is underperforming its benchmark by the greatest degree?
  • State the benchmark underperformance that is the most widespread throughout the organization or interprofessional team.
  • State the benchmark that affects the greatest number of patients. Which benchmark affects the greatest number of staff?
  • Include how this underperformance affect the community that the organization serves.
  • Include the greatest opportunity to improve the overall quality of care or performance of the organization or interpersonal team and, ultimately, to improve patient outcomes, as you think about the issue and the current poor benchmark outcomes.
• Advocate for ethical action, directed toward an appropriate group of stakeholders, to address a benchmark underperformance.
  • Who would be an appropriate group of stakeholders to act on improving your identified benchmark metric?
  • Why should the stakeholder group take action?
  • What are some ethical actions the stakeholder group could take that support improved benchmark performance?
• Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
  • Proofread your report, before you submit it, to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on the substance of your evaluation and analysis.
• Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence.
  • Be sure to apply correct APA formatting to source citations and references.

Example Assessment: You may use the following to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like:

• Assessment 1 Example [PDF].

Report Format and Length

Format your report using APA style.

• Use the APA Style Paper Template [DOCX]. An APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] is also provided to help you in writing and formatting your report. Be sure to include:
  • A title page and references page. An abstract is not required.
  • A running head on all pages.
  • Appropriate section headings.
• Be sure your report is 4–6 pages in length, not including the title page and references page.

Supporting Evidence

Cite 4–6 credible sources from peer-reviewed journals or professional industry publications to support your analysis of challenges, evaluation of potential for improvement, and your advocacy for ethical action.

Note: Faculty may use the Writing Feedback Tool when grading this assessment. The Writing Feedback Tool is designed to provide you with guidance and resources to develop your writing based on five core skills. You will find writing feedback in the Scoring Guide for the assessment, once your work has been evaluated.

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

Competencies Measured

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

• Competency 1: Analyze relevant health care laws, policies, and regulations; their application; and their effects on organizations, interprofessional teams, and professional practice.
  • Analyze challenges that meeting prescribed benchmarks can pose for a heath care organization or interprofessional team.
• Competency 2: Lead the development and implementation of ethical and culturally sensitive policies that improve health outcomes for individuals, organizations, and populations.
  • Advocate for ethical action, directed toward an appropriate group of stakeholders, to address a benchmark underperformance.
• Competency 3: Evaluate relevant indicators of performance, such as benchmarks, research, and best practices, to inform health care laws and policies for patients, organizations, and populations.
  • Evaluate dashboard metrics associated with benchmarks set forth by local, state, or federal health care laws or policies.
  • Evaluate a benchmark underperformance in a heath care organization or interprofessional team that has the potential for greatly improving overall quality or performance.
• Competency 5: Produce clear, coherent, and professional written work, in accordance with Capella’s writing standards.
  • Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
  • Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence.

 

Vila Health: Dashboard and Health Care Benchmark Evaluation

• Introduction
• Scatterdesk
• Conclusion

Dashboard and Health Care Benchmark Evaluation

Dashboards and other reports can provide crucial information about how well an organization is meeting benchmarks set by local, state, and federal laws and policies. Healthcare organizations need to be able to use this information to determine the most effective strategies for quality and performance improvement. This activity asks you to review a diabetes dashboard and fact sheet used by Mercy Medical Center, a Vila Health affiliated hospital, and determine where the organization is falling short.

Scatterdesk

Public Health Dashboard – Diabetes

 

Fact Sheet

Mercy Medical Center (Shakopee, MN)

Mercy Medical Center is one of the region’s top choices for high quality health care. Don’t just take our word for it, though. Here are some of the accolades we’ve received:

• Highest Safe Surgery Rating by a consumer advocacy magazine.
• Healthgrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award.
• Shakopee Ledger Top 20 Workplaces 2020 and 2021.
• Women’s Choice Award for the Best Hospital for Patient Experience in Emergency Care.

 

Eye Exam

Foot Exam

HgbA1c

2020 Patients by Race

2020 Patients by Age

2020 Patients by Gender

 

Now that you’ve reviewed the data answer the following questions:

What are the biggest areas of concern with regards to the information in Mercy Medical Center’s Public Health Dashboard – Diabetes?

Your response:

This question has not been answered yet.

While there are a few areas of concern present in the diabetes public health dashboard, the two biggest areas of concern are the declining HgbA1c exams and the low foot exam rate. Both of these tests are important tests to help identify potential diabetes related complications early.

Some areas that are not concerns, or there is not enough data to say for sure are as follows

The number of eye exams has fluctuated over the last two years. It is about 6 times what it was in first quarter of 2018. and it is four to nine times more than the foot and HgbA1c exams. It could probably be better, but it is not one of the biggest areas of concern.

With regard to the data on new diabetes patients, this dashboard has no information on the total number of new patients in previous quarters. So the new patient numbers cannot definitively be called an issue based on the data available.

Looking at the statement regarding patients aged 20 or younger, similar to the new patient statement, there is not enough data within this dashboard to label it as one of the biggest areas of concern.

Select one of the underperforming metrics. Why and how would improving this metric contribute to the overall success of Mercy Medical Center?

Your response:

This question has not been answered yet.

There is no one right answer for this question. When looking for areas to improve within a care setting it is important to consider factors such as:

• The severity of the issue.
• The number of patients affected.
• Any financial impacts.
• Stakeholders involved.
• Measureable outcomes.

By building an objective, evidence-based case around these considerations, in addition to any legal or regulatory factors, it is possible to reach a good decision about improvement projects to pursue.

Conclusion

In this activity, you had the opportunity to review various dashboards and other reports in order to evaluate Mercy Medical Center’s performance against local, state, and federal requirements. Use the information you acquired here as well as external research into appropriate standards to complete your course assignment.