Health Care Information Review to Improve Care Outcomes for Patients Living With HIV
Health care information review is key to improving the quality of care offered to a specific patient population. Therefore, it is important to know the correct information or data to be reviewed, the data sources, and the goals or standards. Such information is important in planning for better care outcomes. One group of patients that need improved care is the patients living with HIV (Villanueva Baselga, 2020). These patients usually face various challenges, such as stigmatization which can be solved through a proper review of the quality of care offered to them. Therefore, the purpose of this assignment is to formulate a proposal for the health care information review. The data to be collected is on patients living with HIV. Some of the information includes nutritionist notes, the notes from nurses providing care, the patient surveys, discharge data, the referral information, medication list, and the laboratory results.
The highlighted data is to be collected to enable the care team to follow the nature of care the patients were offered within the specific period of interest in terms of quality and ascertain whether the patient’s health deteriorated or improved during this time. The labs will be particularly important in assessing the immunologic and virologic efficacy of antiretroviral therapy. In addition, these lab data will be key in monitoring any abnormalities connected with the antiretroviral drugs. The patient survey data will be key in knowing the patient’s opinions and attitudes as the care team continues to modify and align the care activities to suit the individual and community needs.
The Data Collection Plan
As part of the implementation plan, data collection will be undertaken. Nutritionist notes, the notes from nurses providing care, the patient surveys, discharge data, the referral information, medication list, and the laboratory results are the information to be collected.
Successful data collection heavily depends on the plan. Therefore, it is important to timeously formulate a plan. As such, the process will commence from the particular benchmarks that the leadership has settled on as the key strategies for data collection and analysis. The individuals tasked with data collection will be offered a definite time frame to work with. A maximum period of two weeks would be appropriate. The data will be obtained from the electronic health record system and the national databases such as the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (“AHRQ,” 2019). For a better plan, the data on patients diagnosed with HIV in the last five years will be obtained. The data from the two sources will be collected and compared against each other to help come up with a better plan. The office manager and the organization’s manager will be given a duration of one week to draft and review the proposal.
Working with data, especially confidential information such as patient information, requires that data integrity is guaranteed at each stage of the Data Lifecycle. Therefore, the data to be used in this project will undergo a typical data life cycle. The phases include creation, storage, usage, archival, and destruction (Rattan, 2018). In the first phase, the data will be acquired since the project will depend on the existing patient data. Besides, data entry will also be done since survey answers from patients will be collected. The storage phase will entail storage and protection while abiding by the recommended levels of security. A backup will also be key in this phase. The usage stage will entail applying the data to make decisions on how to improve care outcomes for patients living with HIV. The archival stage will involve copying the data and storying in case it may be needed. The final stage will entail destruction, where the data will safely be destroyed since it is no longer required. Information will be retrieved in the creation and usage phases.
Health information exchange can also be an important part of the project. The integration of HIE is key to enhancing the accessibility of every patient information critical in the provision of care (Payne et al., 2019). Therefore, it will enable access to patients’ past medical complications, surgeries, drug interactions, allergies, and past medical history. On the other hand, HIE can pose legal complications in cases where patient information is shared without them consenting. The personnel required to complete the health information review are professional nurses with at least an undergraduate degree in nursing, computer knowledge, and at least a two-year clinical experience.
As earlier indicated, the data is to be obtained from the EHR system, implying that the individuals involved in the data collection process have better knowledge of computer use. Therefore, some of them may require training on the benchmarks and the key medical terms to be applied when searching for the data. The information in the EHR system is usually sensitive and confidential. Therefore, the individuals to retrieve such data need to be trusted and of high integrity.
Data Security Plan
The HIPAA rules require that patient data be secure. The implication is that the organization will have to perform a review of the HIPPA rules for the staff to help them understand and also enhance their understanding of the impacts that violations may bring on the facility and the individual culprits (“U.S. Department,” n.d.). For example, violating the HIPPA rules may lead to jailing and other penalties such as financial penalties for the healthcare staff involved. Therefore, as part of this proposal, patient privacy is at the center stage of the activities to be undertaken. As such, only in the cases of informed consent will the patient data be used. The signed consent forms will be proof that the patients have allowed their data to be used in the project.
The protection of patient information is usually a top priority of healthcare organizations. Therefore, it is important to consider it as part of the data collection plans. As such, as part of the project, various strategies will be applied. As earlier indicated, written consent from the patients will be obtained to help enhance confidentiality and privacy (Cohen & Mello, 2018). Again, only a specific and selected number of staff will be allowed to access the patient data and records. Therefore, permission will have to be sought from the facility. This will also ensure that the data access rules and laws are not broken and that the patient data is only accessed and shared with the right and authorized persons.
As part of the data security plan, the staff will only use the electronic medical records as information written on paper can easily be lost, damaged, or left at someplace unknowingly, leading to unauthorized access. The importance of using electronic medical records is that they are usually encrypted to help in patient information security, and the staff has to infeed passwords to enable them to access the data (Cohen & Mello, 2018). When the process of the proposal is complete, the individuals who were granted access to help in data collection retrieval and no longer require access to the facility’s electronic medical records will have their access deactivated to ensure further data protection and confidentiality.
The Benchmarking Plans
Benchmarking is key in making adequate comparisons to trigger relevant adjustments. As such, benchmarking with the information from the national database is key. This will help in the process of standardization. Specific benchmarks are key even though the number of patients attended to in the hospital is not as many as those captured in the national database. In drawing the national data, the plan is to use the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality database and look for the benchmarks connected to HIV (“AHRQ,” 2019). Specific patient data will be considered, including the sex, race, deaths, and diagnosis. As such, these data will be compared to the data obtained from the facility.
Quality and Change Management Strategies
The data outcomes can be key in performing quality improvement reviews and recommending evidence-based best practices for procedures and policies. The quality assessment reviews can be undertaken using the data collected. When performing the data review, the project team has a better chance of finding the evidence-based practice that can be used to improve patient care quality. The data review will also show if the patients living with HIV have been getting the appropriate and adequate care (“AHRQ,” 2019). Reviewing the national data is also appropriate in finding out the data trends, whether numbers are decreasing or increasing, and a possible reason for the same. The possible causes can be appropriate in coming up with better management strategies. The data comparison will also trigger sharing of the found information with the facility leadership to enable the formulation of necessary patient education strategies that can improve outcomes.
Data from the sources will also be important in finding out where the facility is falling short when it comes to meeting the patient’s needs. Some of these barriers can be financial or material. Therefore the facility will be able to source funding that can be used to help the patients better manage their condition. The result will be an improvement in the quality of the current patient care practices used in managing the patients living with HIV. Workflow is key when it comes to implementing changes in the disease management strategies (Stime et al., 2019). Therefore, the project will need a proper workflow. As such, the senior leaders and the office manager will undertake the review and submission of the final plan. An adequate time will then be offered to staff to review the proposed changes. In addition, the senior leaders and office managers will provide reviews and the necessary training to further improve the chances of meeting the set goals and objectives. Follow-ups are also to be done so that if any of the team members did not get an aspect clearly, then one-on-one sessions are to be arranged.
Implementation
Implementation is one of the most important steps in a project, and therefore it is also key regarding the review study. Therefore, it is important to consider suitable timelines. After data collection, the implementation process may take up to four weeks. Training of the employees and review of the procedures and policy will be carried out within two weeks. The reviews and training will be performed by the senior leaders (Shuman et al., 2020). The training will be important to ensure that everyone has a considerable understanding of the review process. After training, the actual implementation will then be accomplished. This phase is expected to take a further two weeks.
Conclusion
The health care information review is one of the best strategies that can be applied in improving patient care outcomes. Therefore, this proposal is to assist HIV patients in obtaining care from our facility and the community at large. The patients living with HIV usually experience stigma, which negatively impacts the disease management process. Therefore, this review information proposal will use the obtained information to improve patient outcomes and reduce stigmatization. Therefore, the quality of care offered by my physician group will have an enhanced chance of improvement to ensure that every patient adheres to the antiretroviral therapy strategies, access care at affordable rates, and experience less stigma.
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2020) Nationwide HCUP Databases, Databases, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Rockville, MD Retrieved from: https://www.hcupus.ahrq.gov/databases.jsp.
Cohen, I. G., & Mello, M. M. (2018). HIPAA and protecting health information in the 21st century. Jama, 320(3), 231-232. Doi: 10.1001/jama.2018.5630.
Payne, T. H., Lovis, C., Gutteridge, C., Pagliari, C., Natarajan, S., Yong, C., & Zhao, L. P. (2019). Status of health information exchange: a comparison of six countries. Journal of Global Health, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.7189%2Fjogh.09.020427
Rattan, A. K. (2018). Data integrity: history, issues, and remediation of issues. PDA Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, 72(2), 105-116. https://doi.org/10.5731/pdajpst.2017.007765
Stime, K. J., Garrett, N., Sookrajh, Y., Dorward, J., Dlamini, N., Olowolagba, A., … & Drain, P. K. (2018). Clinic flow for STI, HIV, and TB patients in an urban infectious disease clinic offering point-of-care testing services in Durban, South Africa. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3154-2
Shuman, C. J., Ehrhart, M. G., Torres, E. M., Veliz, P., Kath, L. M., VanAntwerp, K., … & Aarons, G. A. (2020). EBP implementation leadership of frontline nurse managers: validation of the implementation leadership scale in acute care. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, 17(1), 82-91. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12402
Description
Write an executive summary (1-2 pages) for senior leaders that highlights key information about the proposed health care information review of the quality of care given to a specific population. Detail the proposed implementation steps and associated time frames in a Gantt chart (1-page chart).
INTRODUCTION
As the office manager of your physician group, you realize that obtaining funding for your proposal will require the approval of the physician group’s senior leaders. You and the others helping you implement the proposal will need the details your proposal contains. From experience, however, you have learned the senior leaders will not take the time to review all the details. For them to approve your proposal, they simply want the highlights of what you plan to do, a brief explanation of how it will identify the quality of patient care, and the amount of time it will take to complete the study. In this final assessment, you will prepare an executive summary for the senior leaders of your physician group. Your executive summary is an abbreviated version of your proposal.
Please carefully review this assessment’s scoring guide to better understand the performance levels relating to each criterion on which you will be evaluated.
DEMONSTRATION OF PROFICIENCY
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Outline the steps of the health care information life cycle.
Create a Gantt chart detailing the steps and time frames for study implementation.
Competency 2: Apply laws governing health information confidentiality, privacy, and security.
Describe how the plan will implement data security measures.
Competency 3: Assess system applications used to operationalize health information.
Explain rationale for proposed health care information review study.
Specify what information will be collected and from which applications.
Summarize how the proposed study will improve the quality of care delivered by the physician group.
Competency 4: Determine how a health information exchange (HIE) affects the management of patient data, clinical knowledge, and population data.
Design evidence-based best practices to ensure data meet interoperability standards with an HIE.
Competency 5: Integrate quality and change management strategies.
Incorporate evidence-based quality and change management strategies.
Competency 6: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others, and consistent with the expectations for health care professionals.
Write clearly, with correct spelling, grammar, syntax, and good organization.
Apply proper APA formatting and style to your citations and references.
INSTRUCTIONS
Download and use the Executive Summary Template [DOCX]. You will complete this assessment by replacing all italicized instructional text with your own words.
Executive Summary
Overview
State your proposal’s big idea in the Overview.
Explain the information you plan to collect and the reasons why it is important to collect it.
Describe how this information could validate the quality of care delivered by your facility.
Note: Your Overview needs to be shorter than the Introduction from your proposal. Remember the entire narrative portion of your Executive Summary needs to be less than two pages. You will have an additional page for your Gantt chart.
Key Study Components
Include a subheading labeled, Data Collection Plan.
Distill down into 1–2 sentences the most important information about your implementation plan and the information you plan to collect at your facility.
Include a subheading labeled, Data Security Plan.
Highlight in 1–2 sentences the most important information about your plan to ensure data security that your senior leaders need to know.
Include a subheading labeled, Benchmarking Plan.
Provide a 1–2-sentence overview about the best practices (benchmarks that will be used) and procedures your study will use to ensure the data you collect meets standards for interoperability with an HIE.
Include a subheading labeled, Quality and Change Management Strategies.
Summarize in 1–2 sentences how your plan incorporates quality and change management strategies.
Conclusion
State how your proposed study will improve the quality of patient care delivered by your physician group. You Conclusion needs to be one paragraph of no more than five or six sentences.
Reference
List one reference in APA format to benefit your senior leaders.
Gantt Chart
Include with your Executive Summary a one-page Gantt chart that specifies the major steps in your implementation plan and the time frame associated with each step. Microsoft Excel is one tool you can use to create your chart. Your suggested readings supply additional information about how to create a Gantt chart in Excel. Please feel free to use other tools. The only requirement is that your Gantt chart specify the major steps in your implementation plan and the time frame associated with each step.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Written communication: Your executive summary must be concise, clear and well organized, with correct spelling, grammar, and syntax, to support orderly exposition of content. Use the Executive Summary Template.
Assessment Title: You may devise your own title of 5–15 words for the executive summary or use Executive Summary – Health Care Information Review. Enter the other required information specified on the template.
References: Specify one peer-reviewed reference that will benefit your senior leaders in the appropriate space on your template. Your reference should conform to APA formatting.
Length: 1–2 typed, single-spaced pages. The narrative portion of your executive summary should be preferably one page; it should not exceed two pages. You will have an additional page containing your Gantt chart.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
Health Care Information Review Proposal Scoring Guide
CriteriaNon-performanceBasicProficientDistinguishedExplain rationale for proposed health care information review procedures.Does not propose health care information review procedures.Proposes health care information review procedures, but does not explain rationale in all instances.Explains rationale for proposed health care information review procedures.Concisely evaluates options for proposed health care information review procedures and explains rationale for choices.Map the flow of health record information.Does not map the flow of health record information.Maps the flow of health record information, but there are some errors or omissions.Maps the flow of health record information.Maps an efficient and comprehensive flow of health record information, clearly and concisely.Plan procedures and human resource requirements to manage the information.Does not plan procedures and human resource requirements for an information system.Plans procedures and human resource requirements for an information system, but significant elements are missing.Plans procedures and human resource requirements for an information system.Plans cogent, efficient, and complete procedures and human resource requirements for an information system.Plan data security measures.Does not plan data security measures.Plans data security measures, but significant elements are missing.Plans data security measures.Plans efficient, achievable, and comprehensive data security measures.Plan evidence-based best practices or procedures to ensure data meet standards for interoperability with an HIE.Does not plan practices or procedures to ensure data meet standards for interoperability with an HIE.Plans practices or procedures to ensure data meet standards for interoperability with an HIE, but some elements are missing or are not evidence-based.Plans evidence-based best practices or procedures to ensure data meet standards for interoperability with an HIE.Plans clear, comprehensive protocols based on evidence-based best practices or procedures to ensure data meet standards for interoperability with both benchmarking and quality standards from an HIE.Plan evidence-based quality and change management strategies.Does not plan quality and change management strategies.Plans quality and change management strategies, but does not cite relevant evidence-based strategies.Plans evidence-based quality and change management strategies.Evaluates evidence-based quality and change management strategies, and plans implementation of those deemed to be most effective.Detail steps and time frames for implementing a study.Does not outline steps and time frames for implementing a study.Outlines steps and time frames for implementing a study, but there are errors or omissions.Details steps and time frames for implementing a study.Details efficient steps and achievable time frames for implementing a study, and plans contingencies for risks.Write clearly, with correct spelling, grammar, and syntax, and good organization.Does not write clearly, and there are errors in spelling, grammar, syntax, and organization.Writes clearly overall, but there are some errors in spelling, grammar, syntax, or organization.Writes clearly, with correct spelling, grammar, and syntax, and good organization.Writes concisely with excellent clarity and organization, with no errors in spelling, grammar, or syntax, and employing critical or analytical reasoning as needed.Apply proper APA formatting and style to citations and references.Does not apply proper APA formatting and style to citations and references.Applies APA formatting and style to citations and references inconsistently and with significant errors.Applies proper APA formatting and style to citations and references.Consistently applies proper APA formatting and style to citations and references without errors.
