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Healthcare Law and Policy Dashboard Metrics Evaluation
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Healthcare Law and Policy Dashboard Metrics Evaluation
Benchmarking involves evaluating the organization's products or performance-based
the specific needs. Organizations use benchmarking to enhance their performance value.
Value in healthcare is measured by the outcomes and not the quantity of care delivered
(Willmington et al., 2022). The primary objective of healthcare providers includes delivering
quality care to improve patient outcomes. Notably, healthcare organizations utilize
benchmarks to analyze internal healthcare delivery data and comparing with local and
international data. Moreover, benchmarking in healthcare organizations includes evaluating
the organization’s internal processes to build the foundation for quality healthcare delivery.
This paper will use Mercy Medical Center to demonstrate benchmark evaluation.
Dashboard Metrics Evaluation for Mercy Medical Center
Mercy Medical Center (MMC) is among the top healthcare organizations that deliver
quality care to patients, including children, adults, and the elderly. MMC was ranked the top
organization for delivering safe and effective surgery (Mdmercy.com, n.d.). The MMC chief
finance officer has evaluated the public health dashboard for diabetes and the fact sheet from
the quality assurance department (Mdmercy.com, n.d.). Thus, the information presented
would be essential in identifying underperforming metrics and comparing them with state and
local government laws and policies. The organization’s leadership will also identify
shortcomings and develop strategies to collaborate with staff to promote quality
improvement.
The public health dashboard for diabetes during the last quarter of 2020 reports an
increase in the number of diabetic patients across all races, ages, and gender. According to
race metrics, there were 350 whites, 75 Indian Americans, 18 African Americans, and 13
individuals from other minority groups (Villa Health, n.d.). Gender metrics report 213 male
and 346 female patients (Villa Health, n.d.). There were 117 patients aged 20 and below, 50
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patients aged 21 to 44, 6100 patients aged 45 to 64, and 2372 patients aged 65 and above
(Villa Health, n.d.). MMC serves a culturally diverse patient population, including 28,530
whites, 3822 Asians, 2890 Hispanic-Latino, 1601 African Americans, 430 Indian Americans,
and 11660 other minority groups (Villa Health, n.d.).
Benchmarks Set by Local, State, or Federal Healthcare Policies
Helminski et al. (2022) mentioned that dashboards are used to document critical care
assessment, trends, and patterns. They also identify care quality concerns and issues related to
staffing and other factors affecting healthcare delivery. Mercy Medical Center uses
benchmarks to analyze patient safety, readmission, medication errors, and demographic
factors affecting healthcare delivery. The organization has developed metrics that are used to
meet benchmark standards. For example, Mercy Medical Center developed benchmarks to
identify the local and international chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart
failure, and pneumonia rates. The organization also uses benchmarks to evaluate patient fall
rates, patient injuries, pressure scores, and patient information documentation errors within
the organization. It is worth noting that local governments utilize quality collaboration where
the community health departments collect public health data and compare the performance
(Agarwal et al., 2019). The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) identifies
benchmark sources at the federal level, including national quality assurance organizations,
health information technology systems, and health administration and data systems.
The national healthcare quality and disparities report (NHQDR) evaluate states’
performance in diabetes care quality. Thus, NHQDR identifies benchmarks for each state,
including 80% of diabetic patients for annual eye or foot exams (Ahrq.gov, 2019).
Specifically, the annual foot exam should be 85% and the eye exam should be 75.2
(Ahrq.gov, 2019). According to MMC dashboard metrics, areas of interest include the low
HgbA1c test and foot exam (Villa Health, n.d.). Still, the HgbA1c test and foot exam are
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useful in determining potential health complications related to diabetes. 18 African
Americans were identified as new patients in the last quarter in MMC, and the number of
Hispanics was not identified. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
there is a high prevalence of diabetes among African Americans than whites (CDC, 2020).
The patient fall rate in the United States hospital is about 6 falls in 1000 bed days
(Heng et al., 2020). Heng et al. (2020) added that factors contributing to patient fall in US
hospitals include incomplete assessment, a lack of adherence to patient safety protocols, poor
communication structure, a lack of effective leadership, and inadequate staff training on
patient safety protocols. MMC scored 120 in quality leadership and staffing and 100 in
nursing skills and competence (Villa Health, n.d.). It also scored 100 in the ICU physicians’
skills (Villa Health, n.d.).
Consequences of Not Meeting Prescribed Benchmarks and Impacts It Has on
Healthcare Organization
Inadequate staffing is the most significant barrier to meeting the prescribed
benchmarks. Thus, MMC faces challenges, such as inadequate staffing and a lack of
diversity. Another challenges that MMC faces include medication errors which increased
from 4 to 8 in the last quarter. Factors contributing to medication errors include inadequate
staffing and a high workload. Thus, a lack of prescribed benchmarks in MMC would
negatively impact patient outcomes. Not meeting prescribed benchmarks means a healthcare
organization would not identify areas of quality improvement. In this case, MMC lacks
cultural diversity, which is crucial for meeting prescribed benchmarks since many healthcare
organizations and local and state public health leverage cultural diversity to ensure quality
improvement. Nair and Adetayo (2019) maintained that a lack of cultural diversity is a
significant challenge for attaining care quality standards because of communication barriers.
Evaluating Underperforming Benchmark
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MMC reported issues of interest through the public health dashboard for diabetes.
These areas included reducing HgbA1c tests and foot exams (Villa Health, n.d.). The number
of eye exams in MMC has declined in the last quarter, which can affect the overall health
outcomes of diabetic patients (Villa Health, n.d.). Moreover, MMC experienced high patient
falls based on the national patient fall rates. Foot exam in MMC was low based on the public
health diabetes dashboard, which should be at least 84% according to the NHQDR. The
benchmarks affect staff and patients, but declining Hgb1Ac tests and foot exams significantly
affect patient outcomes. A lack of diversity in healthcare undermines the patient’s health and
trust. Therefore, MMC must establish healthcare delivery standards that will streamline the
performance across all levels, including departments and nursing units. It is essential to
achieve a high patient flow and improve patient healthcare outcomes and experience.
Various underperformances have been addressed by introducing programs that would
enhance healthcare delivery and ensure culturally competent and patient-centered quality
care. Departments that appear not to meet prescribed benchmarks include medical and
surgery, bariatric services, and orthopedics. On that note, these departments are faced with
inadequate nurse staffing. The nursing shortage is associated with increased medication errors
and higher morbidity and mortality rates. These factors are associated with the lower
benchmarks in these departments. It is worth mentioning that MMC must identify or develop
strategies for addressing the high rate of patient falls to meet the prescribed benchmarks.
Ethical and Sustainable Actions
MMC must develop quality improvement strategies to improve underperforming
benchmarks. Still, the organization must identify ethical implications and sustainable actions.
Staff and stakeholders must collaborate to realize quality improvement. For example,
collaboration is critical to addressing medication errors due to inadequate staffing. Quality
improvement initiatives contribute to quality healthcare delivery, but how it also influences
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patient care raises ethical considerations regarding respect, justice, and dignity (Hunt et al.,
2021). Promoting diversity in healthcare can also raise ethical implications, such as autonomy
and respect. For instance, MMC must expand its marketing to promote cultural diversity.
Expanding marketing includes advertising quality and safe healthcare delivery, which can
lead to the disclosure of patient health information. MMC also faces high patient
readmission, which can be avoided by reducing medication errors and encouraging
collaboration among stakeholders and healthcare professionals. MMC should also prioritize
fall prevention by following patient safety protocols. The healthcare organization should
identify fall prevention programs across all departments to achieve universal results. Nurse
leaders must develop the cultural competence to encourage patients to promote privacy and
confidentiality of patient health information when developing and implementing strategies for
addressing underperforming benchmarks.
Conclusion
Benchmark is fundamental to evaluating a healthcare organization's quality healthcare
delivery standards. Mercy Medical Center’s public health dashboard metrics have been
evaluated throughout this paper. The public health dashboard metrics were evaluated by
comparing them with the local, state, and federal levels. Thus, MMC has utilized public
health dashboard metrics to areas of concern and develop quality improvement strategies.
Areas of concern identified included patient falls, medication errors, readmission, inadequate
staffing, and a lack of cultural diversity. Departments that do not meet prescribed benchmarks
included medical and surgery, bariatric services, and orthopedics.
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CDC. (2020, August 7). CDC. Prevalence of Diagnosed Diabetes.
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