Comparative Performance
Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read chapters 3 and 4 from the course text.
For this discussion, you are tasked with comparing two hospitals, one that is considered a safety-net hospital (public hospitals who care for a large segment of the population who are uninsured or underinsured) and one hospital from a more affluent area in the state where you live.
Visit The Joint Commission: Quality Check (Links to an external site.). the following steps to find two hospitals:
- Enter a city and state, and then select Locate.
- A list of hospitals for that city and state will populate on the page. Select View Report.
- Select View Accreditation History. Next, select the most recent Quality Report, which will open as a PDF document. Scroll down to the pages that list the National Patient Safety Goals and then the National Quality Improvement Goals. Choose one from either list.
- If you choose a National Patient Safety Goal,
- State the goal and the procedure(s) indicated in the Organization Should
- Discuss the implications to the patient, staff (physicians, nurses, medical assistance, pharmacists, etc.) and hospital if the health care professional fails to follow the procedure indicated.
- If you choose a Quality Improvement Goal,
- State the measure and explanation of that goal.
- Discuss how the hospital can improve their performance to meet the target.
- Repeat the above steps for a second hospital. Reminder, one hospital should be a safety-net hospital and one should serve an affluent community.
- Next, compare and contrast the differences between the two facilities. After review of the two hospitals, discuss your opinion about the reasons these hospitals could have disparities.
Your initial post should be 250 to 300 words and utilize at least one scholarly source from the University of Arizona Global Campus Library to justify your recommendations for improvement. Cite all sources in APA format as outlined in the Writing Center’s Introduction to APA (Links to an external site.). The Research, Keywords, Databases: An Overview (Links to an external site.) video tutorial is available to help you become more familiar with the library database search features and how to generate keywords.
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
In this assignment, we are tasked with comparing two hospitals – one safety-net hospital and one hospital from an affluent area in our state. We will compare and contrast the differences between the two facilities and discuss our opinion about the reasons for these disparities. We will also provide recommendations for improvement, citing at least one scholarly source from the University of Arizona Global Campus Library.
Answer:
The safety-net hospital I chose is the George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. and the hospital from an affluent area is the Melrose-Wakefield Hospital in Melrose, Massachusetts. My National Patient Safety Goal choice is to reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infection. The procedure indicated in the Organization Should for George Washington University Hospital is to implement evidence-based practices to prevent healthcare-associated infections. Failure to follow the procedure can lead to infections spreading within the hospital and affecting staff and patients. The National Quality Improvement Goal for Melrose-Wakefield Hospital is to improve communication with patients and families about discharge planning. The hospital can improve its performance to meet the target by providing more education and resources for patients and families about discharge planning.
When comparing the two facilities, the most significant difference is the resources available. George Washington University Hospital is a safety-net hospital serving an uninsured or underinsured population, which can lead to fewer resources available for patient care. In contrast, the Melrose-Wakefield Hospital serves an affluent community with more resources available for patient care. This difference in resources can lead to disparities in care quality and patient outcomes. Additionally, a lack of resources can cause safety-net hospitals to struggle to meet national healthcare goals.
To address these disparities, it is important to invest in safety-net hospitals and provide additional resources to support their patient care. One way to do this is through government funding, which can help these hospitals provide quality care to their community. Another option is to implement policies that ensure all hospitals are held accountable for meeting national healthcare goals regardless of their patient population. Increasing resources and implementing these policies can help reduce disparities in healthcare and improve patient outcomes for all communities.
Source:
Rosenthal, M. S., & Zaslavsky, A. M. (2016). Are Safety Net Hospitals Getting ‘Shortchanged’ by Medicare? New England Journal of Medicine, 375(19), 1813–1815. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1611498
