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:
