Comparing, or benchmarking, outcomes is an important means by which health care providers strive to improve quality of care.

Although this concept applies to all kinds of clinical care facilities, for this Discussion you focus on hospitals so that you can make use of data on the CMS's "Hospital Compare" website to conduct some basic benchmarking analysis.

Using this analysis as a launching point, you then evaluate priorities for improvement and consider how to create a motivating environment that supports significant, lasting change.

To Prepare

Enter search criteria and click "Find Hospitals." Select a hospital on which to focus for this Discussion.

Review all of the data on this hospital, which should include the various Process of Care Measures and the Survey of Patients' Hospital Experiences (HCAHPS scores).

Compare the data for your selected hospital with data from other institutions in the area and across the country, as you think appropriate. (To do this, repeat the steps described above, but this time include these other institutions in your comparison.)

Based upon your first selected hospital's comparative scores, what do you think is the most important area related to patient satisfaction/clinical outcomes to improve, and why? It may be helpful to consider what other steps you would take to get a clearer picture of this quality issue.

Think about how you as a leader and manager would communicate change at the point of care (front line) to provide service that improves one or more patient satisfaction/clinical outcomes in your selected hospital.

Post a brief description of the hospital and your selected outcome, including indications of the needed improvement. Then, provide a short, persuasive statement demonstrating how you would communicate and motivate a nurse at the point of care (front line) to provide service that improves the selected outcome. Support your statement with evidence and strategies from the literature.