Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment

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Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment

C/Q paper of 500-1,000 words, describe the relationship between health care cost and quality. Address the following:

  1. Select one public agency and one private agency and differentiate their roles and major activities in addressing cost and quality in health care. See Topic 4 readings for sources regarding health care agencies.
  2. Analyze current and projected initiatives to improve quality while simultaneously controlling costs. Describe any unintended consequences. Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment
  3. Synthesize implications for staff nurses and advanced practice nurses, including evidence-based practice, relative to cost and quality.

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  5. Cost and Quality Analysis 
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75.0 %Content Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment
10.0 %Describe the relationship between health care cost and quality. Does not describe the relationship between health care cost and quality.Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment Describes issues related to health care cost and health care quality, but does not discuss the relationship between the two. Describes the relationship between health care cost and quality, but is insufficiently developed. Adequately describes the relationship between health care cost and quality. There are few inconsistencies. Few examples given. Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment Fully describes the relationship between health care cost and quality with no inconsistencies. Clear examples given.
20.0 %Differentiate the roles and major activities between one public and one private agency in addressing cost and quality in healthcare. Does not discuss the roles and major activities of public or private agencies in addressing cost and quality in health care. Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment Discusses either the roles or the major activities of one public and one private agency in cost and quality in health care, but not both. Discusses, but does not differentiate the roles and major activities of one public and one private agency in addressing cost and quality in health care. Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment Differentiates the roles and major activities between one public and one private agency in addressing cost and quality in health care, but is insufficiently developed. Minimal use of examples, supporting details, or references. Clearly and systematically differentiates the roles and major activities between one public and one private agency in addressing cost and quality in health care utilizing references, examples, and supporting details.
20.0 %Analyze current and projected initiatives to improve quality while simultaneously controlling costs. Describe any unintended consequences. Does not discuss current and projected initiatives to improve quality while simultaneously controlling costs. Does not describe any unintended consequences. Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment Discusses either current or projected initiatives to improve quality while simultaneously controlling costs, but not both. Does not describe unintended consequences. Discusses current and projected initiatives to improve quality while simultaneously controlling costs. Does not describe any unintended consequences. Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment Partially analyzes current and projected initiatives to improve quality while simultaneously controlling costs. Minimally describes unintended consequences. Comprehensively analyzes current and projected initiatives to improve quality while simultaneously controlling costs. Fully describes unintended consequences. Clear examples given.
20.0 %Synthesize implications for staff nurses and advanced practice nurses, including evidence-based practice, relative to cost and quality. Does not address any implications for staff nurses and advanced practice nurses, or evidence-based practice, relative to cost and quality .Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment Discusses implications for either staff nurses or advanced practice nurses relative to cost and quality, but not both. Does not consistently address evidence-based practice. Discusses implications for staff nurses and advanced practice nurses relative to cost and quality. Briefly addresses evidence-based practice. No examples given. Synthesizes implications for staff nurses and advanced practice nurses, including evidence-based practice, relative to cost and quality; insufficiently developed. Provides examples, but some inconsistencies present. Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment Comprehensively synthesizes implications for staff nurses and advanced practice nurses, including evidence-based practice, relative to cost and quality. Clear examples given with no inconsistencies.
5.0 %Paragraph Development and Transitions Style Paragraphs and transitions consistently lack unity and coherence. No apparent connections between paragraphs. Transitions are inappropriate to purpose and scope. Organization is disjointed. Some paragraphs and transitions may lack logical progression of ideas, unity, coherence, and/or cohesiveness. Some degree of organization is evident. Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment Paragraphs are generally competent, but ideas may show some inconsistency in organization and/or in their relationships to each other. A logical progression of ideas between paragraphs is apparent. Paragraphs exhibit a unity, coherence, and cohesiveness. Topic sentences and concluding remarks are used as appropriate to purpose, discipline, and scope. There is a sophisticated construction of paragraphs and transitions. Ideas universally progress and relate to each other. The writer has been careful to use paragraph and transition construction to guide the reader. Paragraph structure is seamless. Individually and collectively, paragraphs are coherent and cohesive ? they ?sparkle.?
10.0 %Organization and Effectiveness Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment
5.0 %Mechanics of Writing (includes spelling, punctuation, and grammar) Surface errors are pervasive enough that they impede communication of meaning. Frequent and repetitive mechanical errors that distract the reader. Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment Some mechanical errors or typos are present, but are not overly distracting to the reader. Prose is largely free of mechanical errors, although a few may be present. Writer is clearly in control of standard, written American English. Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment
5.0 %Language Use and Audience Awareness (includes sentence construction, word choice, etc.) Inappropriate word choice and/or sentence construction, lack of variety in language use. Writer appears to be unaware of audience. Use of ?primer prose? indicates writer either does not apply figures of speech or uses them inappropriately. Some distracting inconsistencies in language choice (register), sentence structure, and/or word choice are present. Sentence structure may be occasionally ineffective or inappropriate. The writer exhibits some lack of control in using figures of speech appropriately. Sentence structure is correct and occasionally varies. Language is appropriate to the targeted audience for the most part. The writer is clearly aware of audience; uses a variety of sentence structures and appropriate vocabulary for the target audience, and uses figures of speech to communicate clearly. The writer uses a variety of sentence constructions, figures of speech, and word choice in unique and creative ways that are appropriate to purpose, discipline, and scope.Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment
15.0 %Format Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment
10.0 %Evaluating and Documenting Sources (includes use of appropriate style, correct citation format in-text and in reference section Plagiarism; rarely follows any documentation format correctly; uses non-credible sources. No References section. Uses documentation, but frequent formatting/citation errors are present; some sources have questionable credibility. Reference section is not correctly cited. Sources used are credible and documented appropriately to the discipline; formatting and citation is usually correct, but some lack of control is apparent. Reference section is correctly cited. Documentation is appropriate and formatting/citations are correct, although a few errors/typos may be present; most sources are authoritative. Reference section is correctly cited. There are virtually no errors in documentation format or citation; all sources are authoritative. Reference section is correctly cited and at least 3 references are used
3.0 %Title page No title page.Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment None Title page is incomplete or inaccurate. Title page has minor errors.Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment Title page is complete.
2.0 %Page constraint Information presented does not meet minimum assigned length of 500 words. None Information presented exceeds 1000 words. None Information is presented within word limit constraints of 1000 words.

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Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis

Healthcare quality and cost enjoy a complex and contentious connection. In fact, there is a consensus that improving quality and containing cost is critical in healthcare. The complexity arises from the fact that any attempt at improvement quality will typically be accompanied by an increase in costs with the reverse being equally true such that reducing cost results in quality reduction. The contention arises from an argument that improving quality will initially require higher costs but will then cause a reduction in hospital admissions and complications that cause overall healthcare costs to reduce. Between the complexity and contention (as extremes), the reality about the actual link between healthcare cost and quality falls somewhere between the two extremes such that there are occasions when improving care quality will result in an overall increase in costs while there are occasions when improving care quality will result in an overall decrease in costs. Whatever the relationship between the quality and cost, it is undeniable that where the money spent moderates that relationship (Hussey, Wertheimer &Mehrotra, 2013). This relationship is evident in the US where it is reported that although spending growth has lessened, the national per capita spending exceeds what is reported in other first world countries by between 50% and 200%. Despite spending more than any other country in healthcare, the US ranks 26th for life expectancy to imply that its costs are high while its quality is low (Burke &Ryna, 2014). In this respect, the relationship between health cost and quality can be considered as complex and contentious. Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment

Select one public agency and one private agency and differentiate their roles and major activities in addressing cost and quality in healthcare.

The Institution for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is a private agency that identifies itself as an independent non-profit organization that collaborates with other agencies to achieve its goals. Based in Boston, the organization touts itself as an entity with the capacity to drive, partner, convene and innovate improvements to health care. At its core is the conception that every person is entitled to the best possible health care. To achieve this objective, IHI has focused on quality and costs. In fact, it has identified five principal areas to address costs and quality. These include improving care and health while reducing costs per capita, improving quality to drive sustainability and affordability, preventing mortality and reducing harm to ensure patient safety, applying a patient-centered approach to care, and investing in scientific research to drive health care improvements (Institute of Healthcare Improvement, 2018).Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is a government (federal) agency that is tasked with addressing patient safety, care outcomes, costs and quality issues. In fact, it is the research department of the US Department of Health and Human Services and works in concert with the National Institute of Health to improve care quality while reducing costs in the US. This is evidenced by the fact that AHRQ specializes in six research areas. First, it seeks to improve quality and patient safety. Secondly, it aims to evaluate care effectiveness and quality. Thirdly, it conducts an assessment of technology and clinical practice. Fourthly, it evaluates health delivery systems and organizations. Fifthly, it assesses primary care. Finally, appraises health care payment sources and costs. Overall, AHRQ takes in the identity of a science partner that collaborates with public and private agencies to identify the more cost-effective ways to deliver, finance, manage and organize high-quality health care, improve patient safety and reduce medical errors (US Department of Health & Human Services, 2018).Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment

Analyze current and projected initiatives to improve quality while simultaneously controlling costs. Describe any unintended consequences.

Initiative to improve health care quality recognizes that achieving such a goal must be aligned with achieving better care outcomes even as unnecessary costs are avoided. The reality is that costs are rising and causing insurance premiums to similarly rise. The issue is exacerbated by the fact that medical facilities are shifting most of these costs to their patients since insurance reimbursement does not cover some of the cost. Merely promoting care access by expanding the coverage for insurance is not enough to achieve such a goal. Nor is cost reduction by reducing the number of services that are covered by the insurance or even the insurance price. Such efforts would not achieve the best care or even reduce overall costs. Instead, the focus should be on improving care delivery as a strategy for achieving the set goals. Perhaps, the best strategy should focus on engaging all stakeholders in forums where they present their views on how best to lower costs while simultaneously improving quality. Still, the strategy of collecting opinion from stakeholders is limited by existing regulations, traditional insurance benefit designs and fee-for-service payments (Ross, 2013).Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment

Synthesize implications for staff nurses and advanced practice nurses, including evidence-based practice, relative to cost and quality.

Nurses must understand that any efforts to improve care quality while reducing costs must be addressed at four levels. The first level is the environments of accreditation, regulation, payment, and policy as factors that peripherally shape the way in which care is delivered. The second level is facility-specific practices. The third level is the functioning of medical care teams. The final level is the patients’ experiences within the care environment. For instance, different structural and performance measures will have varied cost and quality implications as is seen in eth case of increasing nurse staffing per patient to improve patient outcomes while increasing costs in terms of salaries. It is enough for nurses to understand that aligning costs with quality requires fundamental changes in how work is designed and personnel are deployed. These changes necessitate the nurses to adopt leadership positions to transform their practices and beliefs when providing care even as their practice shape the environment (Duffy, 2013).Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment

Conclusion

One must accept that health care quality and cost topics receive a lot of attention. That is because they enjoy a complex and contentious relationship. The complexity is seen in the inverse relationship between quality and cost whereby improving quality increases costs and vice versa. The contention is seen when spending to improve quality ultimately results in overall cost reduction since admissions and complications are reduced. This is an awareness that both public (such as AHRQ) and private (such as IHI) health agencies take into account. In addition, one must acknowledge that initiative to improve health care quality recognize that achieving such a goal must be aligned with achieving better care outcomes even as unnecessary costs are avoided. Besides that, nurses to understand that aligning costs with quality requires fundamental changes in how work is designed and personnel are deployed, necessitating them to adopt leadership positions to transform their practices and beliefs when providing care even as their practice shape the environment. Therefore, the relationship between health cost and quality can be considered as complex and contentious. Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment

References

Burke, L. & Ryan, A. (2014). The complex relationship between cost and quality in US health care. Virtual Mentor: American Medical Association Journal of Ethics, 16(2), 124-130.

Duffy, J. (2013). Quality caring in nursing and health systems: implications for clinicians, educators, and leaders (2nded.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.

Hussey, P., Wertheimer, S. &Mehrotra, A. (2013). The association between health care quality and cost: a systematic review. Ann Intern Med., 158(1), 27-34. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-158-1-201301010-00006

Institute of Healthcare Improvement (2018). About IHI. Retrieved from http://www.ihi.org/about/Pages/default.aspx

Ross, T. (2013). Health care quality management: tools and applications. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

US Department of Health & Human Services (2018). What is AHRQ? Retrieved from https://archive.ahrq.gov/about/whatis.htm. Healthcare Cost and Quality Analysis Assignment