Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation
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Schizophrenia is a mental condition epitomized by interference in thought procedures, social interactions, emotional responsiveness, and perceptions. The cause of this condition differs among people, and it is tenacious and can be disabling and acute. Delusions, hallucinations, and thought disorders are some key symptoms of the mental disorder. Others comprise decreased motivation to accomplish objectives and challenges in social relationships. Experts view this condition from a developmental approach, and symptoms start in early adulthood or late adolescence. Notably, indistinct transformations in social links and cognition may herald the diagnosis by years. The condition’s prevalence is challenging to approximate because of its methodological and clinical components, like its overlap with other mental disorders, the complexity of its diagnosis, and differing techniques for establishing it. Thus, the condition is amalgamated with other disorders in prevalence approximation research. WHO contends that the illness impacts almost 24 million individuals globally ((WHO, 2022)). Further, despite its low prevalence, it is linked to social, economic, and health concerns. For instance, it may lead to disability and premature death. Moreover, lifelong therapy is required for this condition even when symptoms recede. This therapy via psychosocial and medications can control the disorder even though hospitalization is sometimes needed. Experienced psychiatrists guide patients during therapy. Social workers and psychologists may also be involved in the treatment. Antipsychotics like Asenapine and Brexpiprazole are some of the medications that can be used to treat the disorder. Adopting a quality improvement initiative is vital for the healthcare system to achieve measurable enhancements in the safety and quality of care delivery to these patients. Thus, this paper will examine a quality improvement initiative related to schizophrenia adopted at Northern Pine Mental Health Center.
Current Quality Improvement Initiative
Schizophrenia, like other mental illnesses, is linked to delivery issues due to the high degrees of clinical materials required to tackle a person’s psychosocial inhibition and to help inclusion in society. Existing routine appointment systems do not suitably promote recovery care and are not extensively capturing data suggestive of critical care. The disorder is complex meaning patients need assistance from many social and healthcare providers leading to challenges with the management and timely dispatch of all the care elements. Many people struggling with the illness do not comply with their therapy, and some disengage from services. Further, since existing routine appointments do not adequately offer instant care requirements promptly, there is a need for quality improvements in this process to cut resources and waste time. Quality improvement of technology, in this case, will be adopted (Molfenter et al., 2021). Mobile health or m-health technology is cost-effective and clinical initiative resolution to promote communication, enhance attendance, monitor signs of relapse through self-report, and guarantee medication adherence. The target areas for this initiative comprise medical adherence, meetings, and communication.
Communication is vital, and m-health will help increase the meetings between care coordinators and patients. Constant and continuous contact via this technology can help relapse patients converse with a care coordinator anytime. Some people are uncomfortable during physical sessions but may be confident providing critical data using this technology. These patients are satisfied knowing they can have frequent conversations with care coordinators without visiting them physically.
Further, medication adherence is challenging for schizophrenia patients, and having an approach that reminds them is vital. This initiative will help patients to get into the routine of ingesting medication. Patients are likely to take more responsibility for their adherence enabling them to operate autonomously. This, combined with self-management skills after discharge from inpatient care, may help in the long run.
Thus, adopting this QI initiative (m-health) will help improve meetings between coordinators and patients, frequent communication, and medication adherence. Nonetheless, the initiative did not address the issue of the digital divide. Some patients from disadvantaged communities lack access to digital media and mobile technology. This means people within these communities are unlikely to receive care like other communities.
Evaluate the Success of a Current QI Initiative Through Recognized Benchmarks and Outcome
One metric utilized at the facility was patient engagement to comprehend whether the initiative successfully enticed more patients to share the initiative’s vision (Pushparajah, 2018). This metric helps schizophrenia patients to pronounce their encounters and outlooks, building trust between them and care coordinators. This engagement shows that individuals engrossed in their health and healthcare will likely possess excellent outcomes and lower health costs in the long run.
Further, feedback was another metric utilized to comprehend the effectiveness of the quality improvement initiative. This feedback was two-fold, encompassing feedback from professionals and patients (Fulford et al., 2020). In mental health, care coordinator and patient feedback is core to development, service assessment, and delivery. It is an integral bit of planning and established as a vital component of providing recovery-focused service. Despite a few areas, the target areas received excellent feedback from both parties. The parties claimed that embracing technology in managing schizophrenia saved money and time.
This initiative has some benefits for Northern Pine Mental Health Center. Patient outcomes tend to improve. This initiative (m-health) can foster easy access to services for many patients with access to digital media. When clients can use smartphones or computers to communicate and obtain data from healthcare providers, navigating the system to get quality care becomes easy improving outcomes. When a facility generates positive outcomes, its reputation rises. Another benefit is cost reduction. Most readmissions are because of preventable conditions, meaning when care providers excellently utilize this initiative, readmissions will be reduced, leading to decreased healthcare costs.
Inter-professional Aspects
The inter-professional team I interacted with at Northern Pine Mental Health Center comprise a psychiatrist, care coordinator, and mental health nurse. These mental health professionals offered interesting outlooks on this QI initiative. The psychiatrist claimed that timely responses to schizophrenia patients could help them avoid severe episodes since they will be prescribed medication once diagnosed. The psychiatrist also contends that it is vital to possess all necessary data regarding the patient. For instance, understanding family history is crucial.
The mental health nurse claimed there was a need for patients to be apprised of the significance of self-management. The nurse appreciated the role conducted by care coordinators but claimed that the critical part of managing and controlling schizophrenia lies with the patient’s self-management endeavors. Supportive intercessions by these mental health professionals are crucial to assist the patient in making excellent decisions like medical adherence that would enhance quality care. Thus, having a modern QI initiative like m-health will help enhance communication and collaboration among schizophrenia patients and professionals.
Extra Indicators and Protocols to Enhance and Expand Quality Improvement Initiative
Various ideas can be used to expand and enhance the QI initiative. One idea is benchmarking, and within the healthcare spheres, it is elucidated as the collaborative and continuous discipline of juxtaposing and measuring the results of work procedures with the best performers. Such a perspective assists a healthcare institution in acknowledging whether the adopted initiative is working as projected. This benchmarking could be external or internal; internal means comparing the best performers within the healthcare sector. On the other hand, external benchmarking means comparing the best performers with others in other sectors of the economy.
Another protocol and gauge that would guarantee enhanced results for the initiative is malleability. The healthcare sector is undergoing many transformations. Malleability is, therefore, a vital protocol and barometer that would require to be discerned in the QI initiative to guarantee that the adopted initiative and outcomes can accommodate future transformations.
Lastly, the sustainability of the initiative is crucial. This protocol involves having an initiative or system that enhances health, restores and maintains health, and facilitates the patient’s well-being. This benchmark assists in reducing adverse effects and capture chances to enhance practice guaranteeing the well-being and health of existing and future generations.
In conclusion, schizophrenia leads to psychosis and is linked to substantial disability. It impacts many areas of life, including educational, social, family, occupational and personal. Violation of human rights and stigma are common and most people do not get the necessary care to reduce these impacts and negative instances. Nonetheless, there are various ways the illness can be managed. This can be through psycho-education, medication, or family interventions. A lot more can be done, particularly by mental health centers, to help schizophrenia patients overcome adverse impacts. Quality improvement initiatives linked to technology can help patients with self-management and medical adherence. These initiatives offer a meaningful mechanism to enhance the quality of life of these clients and the care they get.
References
Fulford, D., Mote, J., Gard, D. E., Mueser, K. T., Gill, K., Leung, L., & Dillaway, K. (2020). Development of the Motivation and Skills Support (MASS) social goal attainment smartphone app for (and with) people with schizophrenia. Journal of behavioral and cognitive therapy , 30 (1), 23-32.
Molfenter, T., Heitkamp, T., Murphy, A. A., Tapscott, S., Behlman, S., & Cody, O. J. (2021). Use of telehealth in mental health (MH) services during and after COVID-19. Community Mental Health Journal , 57 (7), 1244-1251.
Pushparajah, D. S. (2018). Making patient engagement a reality. The Patient-Patient-Centered Outcomes Research , 11 (1), 1-8.
WHO. (2022, January). Schizophrenia . World Health Organization. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/schizophrenia
Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation Example
Prepare an evaluation (5-7 pages) of an existing QI initiative to determine if the initiative is effective.
Introduction
Too often, discussions about quality health care, care costs, and outcome measures take place in isolation—various groups talking among themselves about results and enhancements. Nurses are critical to the delivery of high-quality, efficient health care. As a result, they must develop their skills in reviewing and evaluating performance reports. They also need to be able to communicate outcome measures related to quality initiatives effectively. Patient safety and positive institutional health care outcomes mandate collaboration among nursing staff members to ensure the integration of their perspectives in all quality care initiatives Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation Example
Overview
In the first assessment, you analyzed an adverse event or a near miss, and outlined a QI initiative to address it. This assessment will give you practice and the confidence to evaluate a quality care initiative in much the same way you might in your health care setting to help determine if the initiative is effective.
Too often, discussions about quality health care, care costs, and outcome measures take place in isolation—each group talking among themselves about results and enhancements. Because nurses are critical to the delivery of high-quality, efficient health care, it is essential that they develop the proficiency to review, evaluate performance reports, and be able to effectively communicate outcome measures related to quality initiatives. The nursing staff’s perspective and the need to collaborate on quality care initiatives are fundamental to patient safety and positive institutional health care outcomes.
Instructions
Imagine you have been asked to prepare and deliver an analysis of an existing QI initiative at your workplace. The QI initiative you choose to analyze should be related to a Mental health disease, condition, or public health issue. The purpose of the report is to assess whether the specific quality indicators point to improved patient safety, quality of care, cost and efficiency goals, and other desired metrics. Your target audience is nurses and other health professionals with specializations or interest in your chosen condition, disease, or public health issue.
In your report, you will:
Analyze a current QI initiative in a health care setting.
Identify what prompted implementation of the QI initiative.
Evaluate problems that arose during the initiative or problems that were not addressed.
Evaluate the success of a current QI initiative through recognized benchmarks and outcome measures as required to meet national, state, or accreditation requirements.
Identify the core performance measurements related to successful treatment or management of the condition.
Evaluate the impact of the quality indicators on the health care facility.
Incorporate interprofessional perspectives related to the success of actions used in the QI initiative as they relate to functionality and outcomes.
Recommend additional indicators and protocols to improve and expand outcomes of a current quality initiative.
Ensure your analysis conveys purpose, in an appropriate tone and style, incorporating supporting evidence and adhering to organizational, professional, and scholarly writing standards.
Be sure to address all of the bullet points. You may also want to read the Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation Scoring Guide to better understand the performance levels that relate to each grading criterion. Additionally, be sure to review the Guiding Questions: Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation [DOCX] document for additional clarification about things to consider when creating your assessment.
Additional Requirements
Your assessment should also meet the following requirements:
Length of submission: A minimum of five but no more than seven double-spaced, typed pages, not including the title page and References section.
Number of references: Cite a minimum of four sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your evaluation, recommendations, and plans. Current source material is defined as no older than five years unless it is a seminal work. Review the Nursing Master’s Program (MSN) Library Guide for guidance Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation Example.
APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style. Review the Evidence and APA section of the Writing Center for guidance.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
Competency 2: Plan quality improvement initiatives in response to routine data surveillance.
Recommend additional indicators and protocols to improve and expand outcomes of a quality initiative.
Competency 3: Evaluate quality improvement initiatives using sensitive and sound outcome measures.
Analyze a current quality improvement initiative in a health care setting.
Evaluate the success of a current quality improvement initiative through recognized benchmarks and outcome measures as required to meet national, state, or accreditation requirements.
Competency 4: Integrate interprofessional perspectives to lead quality improvements in patient safety, cost effectiveness, and work life quality.
Incorporate interprofessional perspectives related to the success of actions utilized in a quality improvement initiative as they relate to functionality and outcomes.
Competency 5: Apply effective communication strategies to promote quality improvement of interprofessional care.
Convey purpose, in an appropriate tone and style, incorporating supporting evidence and adhering to organizational, professional, and scholarly writing standards Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation Example
