Quality Nursing
Patient Quality Indicator
The selected quality indicator is prevention quality indicators developed by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The focus is to examine the ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (Barnett et al., 2020). The focus of prevention quality indicators is to examine the level of care that can prevent hospitalizations. Another goal is to provide early interventions to prevent adverse complications. Two significant components of PQI are timeliness and effectiveness (Woldhek et al., 2017). For example, if patients have access to high-quality outpatient care, the hospitalization rate in a specific area will reduce significantly. PQI serves as an essential indicator of the unmet community needs affecting patients and how outpatient care prevents different health conditions (Woldhek et al., 2017). PQI assessment is vital in determining the level of interventions to prevent various health conditions.
PQI has the potential to improve the quality, safety, and patient outcomes. Identifying preventable hospitalizations is vital in determining the unmet community health needs (Barnett et al., 2020). Recognizing the community health needs helps healthcare workers to plan and act to alleviate the health risks. For example, state and federal governments are responsible for studying the unmet needs according to the PQI and allocating resources appropriately (Barnett et al., 2020). Healthcare workers allocate time and resources to educate the public about the risks of their lifestyles. Another responsibility of the practitioners is to examine the patient outcomes to determine the preventable health conditions (Woldhek et al., 2017). An assessment of the patient quality indicators will improve the decision-making and determination to provide quality care.
Healthcare workers can use PQIs to improve the health conditions of patients and families. For instance, family involvement in providing care is vital in reducing the risk of non-adherence (Woldhek et al., 2017). Family members should support drug and alcohol addicts by encouraging behavior change. Medication adherence is effective when family support is available (Woldhek et al., 2017). Family therapy interventions improve the capacity to prevent health conditions.
Current Data and Leadership Goal
Statistics indicate that the number of people who die or suffer from preventable illnesses annually is high. In America alone, 300 children and 42,000 adults die annually from vaccine-preventable diseases. The statistics indicate one of the unmet community health needs is the penetration of healthcare services such as vaccination (Woldhek et al., 2017). Statistics indicate that communities with under-vaccinated and unvaccinated populations are at a higher risk of infections. Statistics indicate that since Americans started vaccinating the population over a century ago, life expectancy has doubled and improved quality of care (Woldhek et al., 2017). For example, the cases of mumps, diphtheria, and tetanus declined by 90 percent when the vaccination started in the 1980s. Today, pediatric vaccination is 90 percent effective in preventing illnesses (Woldhek et al., 2017). During the current pandemic, healthcare workers encourage the public to receive the jab to prevent severe complications.
The leadership’s goal is to train the healthcare workers to ensure they take a proactive role in eliminating preventable diseases. For example, creating a culture of patient education in outpatient care will reduce the rate of hospitalization (Barnett et al., 2020). Another goal is to collect and analyze data on the unmet health needs in the population. The focus is to identify the neglected health needs and the emerging issues. Healthcare leaders are responsible for identifying the barriers to the provision of quality care among diverse communities (Barnett et al., 2020). Healthcare education and sensitization are vital in eliminating the barriers to lifestyle changes and cultural bias that increase preventable illnesses.
References
Barnett, M. L., Lau, A. S., Lind, T., Wright, B., Stadnick, N. A., Innes-Gomberg, D., … & Brookman-Frazee, L. (2020). Caregiver attendance as a quality indicator in the implementation of multiple evidence-based practices for children. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 49(6), 868-882.
Woldhek, A. L., Rijkenberg, S., Bosman, R. J., & Van Der Voort, P. H. (2017). Readmission of ICU patients: A quality indicator?. Journal of Critical Care, 38, 328-334.
