Assignment

Implementation of healthcare reform, government mandates, patient safety and quality, and care for the uninsured, among others.

1-For the first of your two capstone components, you should first conduct a preliminary search of literature to help you define gaps in existing knowledge pertinent to healthcare in the United States. Limit yourself to evidence-based sources only. Select a specific issue confronting your healthcare organization that you can effectively address through your capstone program proposal. Examples might include financial challenges, implementation of healthcare reform, government mandates, patient safety and quality, and care for the uninsured, among others. Determine whether the issue involves a specific target population or populations. If so, be sure that the target population's need that you investigate is supported by literature. In the event that your issue does not address a target population's needs, you may investigate healthcare issues that impact specific organizations, or your specific interests in the area of healthcare.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes: · Demonstrate interpersonal skills, effective collaborative practices, and cultural competence through meaningful verbal and written communication in individual and group interactions · Assimilate principles and functions of management to foster organizational development, promote effective use of human resources, enhance operations, and position the organization through application of market analysis · Integrate knowledge of microeconomic, macroeconomic, and financial principles to monitor, analyze, and interpret healthcare financial and economic data for decision making and strategic planning · Appraise the effectiveness, utilization, and integration of information management systems within the microsystems and mesosystems of the organization · Translate the knowledge of the U. S. healthcare delivery system, healthcare reimbursement, health policy, governance, and ethical considerations to promote population health and strategic planning at the organizational level.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Introduction This should include a brief statement of the problem, purpose of program, and its impact on your selected healthcare issue. Identify the issue to be addressed and include an accurate and detailed overview of the issue, including a discussion of the effect of your identified issue on population health outcomes, vulnerable populations, and your organization's healthcare reimbursement policies and procedures. In general, include all information that you think is necessary to establish a comprehensive analysis and foundation for understanding your chosen issue and proposed program. This section should also describe your target audience (such as healthcare executives, administrators, and clients) in relation to this proposal and why your proposal would be relevant for this audience. For example, how might your proposal help hospital administrators make effective and ethical decisions surrounding patient safety and quality?

II. Needs Assessment Develop a statement of need that allows the reader to learn more about your selected issue, presents evidence that supports the need for your program, and demonstrates that your organization understands the need and can address the issue. If the issue involves a specific target population, be sure to identify that population's specific needs. Discuss specific management theories that guided your identification of the issue.

III. Resource Allocation Provide an in-depth description of the resources required to implement your program, such as qualified staff, information management systems, other technology and equipment, and financial resources, among others. Also describe your plan for accessing and assigning available resources in the most economical way to achieve your program's future goals. In other words, how will you schedule activities and acquire the resources required for those activities while considering both resource availability and the project timeline?

IV. Planning Provide a comprehensive program plan that includes its objectives (that is, measurable improvements in behavior, performance, process, or a tangible item that will result from your program); ethical and legal considerations and their anticipated effect on healthcare reimbursement, policy, and governance; anticipated issue-related outcomes and your plan to address them; how your identified resources will support the success of the program; target population being served (if applicable); and a timeline for meeting program objectives.

V. Implementation Provide a detailed description of the activities leading to achieving the objectives identified, including your rationale behind their selection, their sequence, and your reasoning behind why these methods may work.

VI. Evaluation Methodologies Provide a comprehensive description of how your organization (and potential funders) will know the program is successful. Items to consider include methods for measuring success, who will be performing the evaluation, and how the methods will be selected. You should also include your plan for gathering data, using test instruments, analyzing data, using evaluation for program improvements, and any specific evaluation reports that should be produced. Your program proposal should be submitted in a professional format.

The final product is suggested to be in the range of 15 to 20 pages; however, design and proper professional presentation are more important than page count, because in the real world there are usually not any page-length requirements.

Therefore, the 15- to 20-page range is a suggestion, and you should use your best professional judgment regarding the length of your proposal.