Quality Improvement Measures

Quality Improvement Measures

Week 3: Part 2: Interview

Step 1 Interview the healthcare administrator you identified in Part 1 (due Week 2). Record the interview or take detailed notes (refer to Step 2).

In your interview, cover the following topics and the additional questions that you developed as part of your practicum assignments:

1. Quality Improvement Measure (QIM) being implemented or currently identified in his/her organization
2. Why the QIM is needed/required (core measure improvements, increased rate of falls, poor pain control surveys, etc.)
3. History of the proposed QIM
   1. Any previous change agents?
   2. Any attempts to implement similar measures?
   3. Any possible obstacles to the implementation of the QIM or any resistance to change?
4. Stakeholders affected by the QIM and outcomes sought (nurses. CNA’s, MD’s patients)
5. Overall goals of the QIM
6. Alternatives/recommended options available as a backup plan

Step 2 In two to three typed pages, provide the dialogue of the conversation you had during your interview with the chosen healthcare administrator. Include all topics discussed.

Sample Paper

Quality Improvement Measures

In this interview, I choose to interview one of the healthcare administer. The preferred individual for the interview is a clinical manager. A clinical manager is in charge of maintaining responsibilities for administrative aspects of the clinical facility. On the other hand, a clinical manager is responsible for the clinical operation, budgeting, and reviewing treatment plans, among other operations (Øyri et al., 2020). The above factors are why I found a clinical manager to be the best for the interview. Below is an interview conducted between a clinical manager and I. The clinician’s name is Mr. Darwin Oliver.

(YOUR NAME): Hello and welcome, Mr. Darwin. I am glad you honored my invitation.

Mr. Darwin: hello, thank you for having me.

(YOUR NAME): What are some of the Quality Improvement Measures being implemented in your organization?

Mr. Darwin: Currently, at our institution, we aim to reduce some of the existing factors that have caused adverse patient outcomes, such as medical error. For instance, due to some of the existing cases of medical errors, major re-admission cases have been reported, thus affecting patient outcomes. Some of the Improving patient outcomes in our healthcare system have been prioritized, such as the use of EHR to reduce these cases while articulating for keenness within the organization. Therefore, I can confirm that it is the primary QIM intervention on our table right now.

(YOUR NAME): Why is the QIM important to your organization? Is it beneficial?

Mr. Darwin: First and foremost, QIM helps in increasing the likelihood of the desired health outcome. For us, better patient outcome is our number one priority, and thus it is evident why QIM initiatives are essential to us. Additionally, I can confirm that it is beneficial to both patients and professionals and thus helps us push for better patient outcomes.

(YOUR NAME): According to you, what is the history of the current Quality improvement measure to the facility?

Mr. Darwin: In our institution, the history of QIM has been in place for a while now. Its initiation comes as a result of the need to improve healthcare outcomes and, at the same time, reduce medical errors that have been recurrent in the institution. Therefore, I can state that the QIM initiative has been in place to ensure better patient outcomes and minimize medical errors that have resulted in adverse outcomes for the patients.

(Your Name): Alright, and what would you say about the issue of agent change in your organization? Additionally, who are the most affected by QIM, and what outcomes are sought?

Mr. Darwin: That is an excellent question. I would like to state that we have maintained the same agents in the department of outpatient services for the longest time as they have done superb jobs in making the facility a better place for patients. These agents have served the purpose of checking on the patient to ensure that they receive the right healthcare services and at the same time attend to some of the existing causes of medical errors to mitigate them in the future. I would also want to state that patients and nurses have been affected in the long run by the QIM initiatives whereby some of the initiatives have been forfeited, thus adversely affecting these individuals.

(Your Name): How about the idea of implementing similar measures to what you have currently?

Mr. Darwin: For now, I can say no. But going forward-looking into the possibility for change would not be a bad attempt, don’t you think?

(Your Name): Yeah, as we advance, it is a good approach. According to you, what are some of the obstacles to implementing QIM?

Mr. Darwin: For instance, in my work area, different individuals have partially resisted using EHR as they are opposed to technology based on different factors. Again, when it comes to data collection and implementation of the solutions at hand, major resistances have been recorded in the acceptance of the new approach, thus affecting the overall attempts to implement QIM.

(Your Name): What can you say about the stakeholder effects and the overall goals of QIM?

Mr. Darwin: Different stakeholders have different obstacles in any managerial approach. For instance, promoting better patient safety has been affected by factors such as the acceptability of EHR, among other factors, thus crippling the advances to reduce negative effects on the patients. However, it has not been a problem for us since we have inclusivity in decision-making and, thus, better implementation of QIM (Dixon et al., 2016). Additionally, QIM has goals such as standardizing the process and reducing variations while improving patient outcomes.

(YOUR NAME): Finally, give your recommendation on the issue of QIM?

Mr. Darwin:  Given the benefits of QIM, in our case, I believe that we understand the nature of the harm that medical errors can cause. Therefore, I believe that we are on our way to enhance unique socio-technical probabilistic risk assessment approaches to review historical errors. Through the review of historical errors, we can minimize similar errors in the future and thus better patient outcomes.

(Your Name): That’s all for today. Thank you, sir, for your time; I hope to see you in the future.

Mr. Darwin: You are welcome. Thank you for having me; it was a pleasure.

 

References

Dixon-Woods, M., & Martin, G. P. (2016). Does quality improvement improve quality?. Future Hospital Journal, 3(3), 191.

Øyri, S. F., Braut, G. S., Macrae, C., & Wiig, S. (2020). Hospital managers’ perspectives with implementing quality improvement measures and a new regulatory framework: a qualitative case study. BMJ open, 10(12), e042847.