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Quality Healthcare: Measuring NP Performance
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) was formed to ensure quality of patient care and measurement of patient outcomes with set standards.
Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) is a performance measurement tool used by millions of health insurance plans. There are 6 domains of care:
Effectiveness of Care.
Access/Availability of Care.
Experience of Care.
Utilization and Risk Adjusted Utilization.
Health Plan Descriptive Information.
Measures Collected Using Electronic Clinical Data Systems
You may access the 6 domains of care by clicking this link:(NCQA, n.d. https://www.ncqa.org/hedis/ (Links to an external site.))
As an APN, productivity will be an important measurement for the practice to determine reimbursement and salary. Fee-for-service practices will require a set number of patients per day to maintain productivity. A capitated practice will require the APN to have a large panel of patients but also will focus on controlling costs. This can be accomplished through effective primary care that is accessible, convenient for the patients and has a method of measuring quality of care.
Write a formal paper in APA format with title page, introduction, the three required elements below, conclusion and reference page.
You are now employed as an NP in primary care. Choose one performance measure from one of the six domains of care, i.e. Adult BMI Assessment, Prenatal and Postpartum care, etc.
Develop three different patient interventions for that one performance measure and how you would specifically implement the intervention and measure the outcomes for that particular performance measure in clinical practice.
How would these primary care interventions result in improved patient outcomes and health care cost savings?
How can these interventions result in improved NP patient ratings?
| Subject | Nursing | Pages | 5 | Style | APA |
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Answer
Quality Healthcare: Measuring NP Performance
Quality information is simpler to understand if the user relies on a mental model or framework for thinking about the quality of care. Healthcare should be effective, safe, timely efficient, equitable and patient centered (NCQA, 2021). Categorizing quality domain is important since it is effective in establishing a map of the measures that gauges the level of acceptable quality to be considered within a healthcare environment. This paper explores the case of prenatal and postnatal care for a patient who delivered a baby through a C-section procedure, a performance measure under the access/availability of care.
Prenatal and Postnatal care
Prenatal and Postnatal Care Interventions
As an APN, the first management intervention that I will consider for a pregnant woman within the prenatal phase is engaging in patient education on the importance of prenatal visits and healthy eating (NCQA,2021). The goal is to ensure that the patient is well-informed about the benefits of the visits to the care facility to the unborn child and herself during the pregnancy period.
The second intervention to be considered includes encouraging the patient to engage in early and active ambulation with a focus of facilitating blood flow and reducing instances of blood clots. According to Mawson et al. (2019), early ambulation after the C-section procedure is effective in promoting the health of the patient by ensure that the organs function accurately as required. Moreover, early ambulation procedure reduces instances of abdominal discomfort and stimulates peristalsis and flatus passage which are critical towards fostering a desirable abdominal comfort after the surgical process.
The third intervention for consideration is the provision of psychosocial support for the patient to foster a positive mental health outcome. Delivering newborn changes to the mother’s life bearing in mind that she is now required to care for another person. The process can cause an emotional disruption to the new mom, especially if she is struggling with coping with the idea of having to care for another person. In this case, engaging the patient in constant communication and suggesting diversional activities suitable for encouraging relaxation can be effective for the woman.
Measuring the Outcomes
The outcomes of the interventions can be measured in various ways. The first one is timeliness in the delivery of prenatal care. If the patient had her first prenatal care visit during her first trimester, then the intervention will be considered as effective, suggesting that the availability of care to pregnant women at the prenatal phase which is suitable for the safe development of the fetus and the maintenance of the positive health of the mother (NCQA,2021). Another measuring outcome to be considered is the nature of the postpartum care obtained by the mother after delivery of the child through the C-section process. NCQA (2021) states that if more women access postnatal care within the mentioned period, then the availability of care will be considered as desirable in this case.
How the Interventions Result to Improved Patient Outcomes
The first intervention of patient education about the importance of early antenatal visits is important since it informs the patient about the importance of the process to the health of their unborn child and themselves during the pregnancy period. This intervention positively results in improved outcome in that it increases the number of pregnant women seeking prenatal and postnatal care (NCQA, 2021). This intervention further saves on the costs of healthcare by reducing instances of complications and poor health for the mother during the course of the pregnancy and after birth. Notably, the constant visits to access care makes it possible to diagnose any maternal complication likely to be experienced, thus facilitating an early treatment and management.
The second intervention of encouraging ambulation is desirable in promoting the woman’s health during the postnatal phase suggesting improved patient outcome. This intervention also reduces costs in that it prevents instances of the development of clots that may be difficult to treat, particularly if discovered at a late phase. The third intervention of facilitating coping after child-birth also improves the patient outcomes by reducing instances of depression. Reducing depression saves on healthcare costs by eliminating the number of resources that the patient has to invest on treatment if the condition is experienced by the patient at a later phase.
Improved NP Ratings
The proposed interventions under the prenatal and postnatal care measure are effective in improving the NPs’ ratings by ensuring that the they remain true to their obligation of maintaining patient satisfaction. Additionally, the NP ratings are also enhanced as the interventions will reduce the number of hospital readmissions or instances of emergency care visits to the facility after the patients are discharged.
Conclusion
In a primary care setting, the NP has an effective role to play in ensuring patient satisfaction, enhancing the quality of care and promoting clinical outcomes. Different patient interventions can be considered in the case of prenatal and postnatal care with a focus on enhancing the patient’s health and quality outcomes. Interventions such as encouraging coping, advising frequent ambulation after a C-section procedure, and educating pregnant women to consider early prenatal and antenatal care visits are desirable interventions that improve NP ratings.
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References
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Mawson, A. L., Bumrungphuet, S., & Manonai, J. (2019). A randomized controlled trial comparing early versus late oral feeding after cesarean section under regional anesthesia. International Journal of Women's Health, 11, 519-525. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S222922 The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). (2021). Prenatal and Postpartum Care (PPC). https://www.ncqa.org/hedis/measures/prenatal-and-postpartum-care-ppc/
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