DISCUSSION: Using Evaluation Tools to Assess Quality Improvement Efforts

Like most other things in life, outcomes are the bottom line with respect to measurement of success along the path of quality improvement. However, without a careful analysis of the link between access, process, and structure of care, improvements in outcomes seem unattainable.

-Sadeghi, Barzi, Mikhail, & Shabot, 2013

In this Discussion, you consider how to collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate the results of quality improvement initiatives. In addition, you discuss the significance of evaluation and how you, as a nurse leader-manager, can contribute in an organization to the large-scale goal of facilitating quality improvement.

To prepare:

· Review methods for measuring and evaluating quality improvement efforts presented in the Learning Resources. Pay particular attention to how and why it is important to measure outcomes.

· Select one evaluation tool and analyze its benefits and relevance for the quality improvement plan you are developing for your Course Project.

· Consider how you, as a nurse leader-manager, can use the results from the evaluation to support the organization's overarching goals for quality improvement.

Write a brief description of the evaluation tool that you selected. Explain the benefits of applying this tool as part of your quality improvement plan in the Course Project. Also explain how you could use the results from the evaluation to support the organization's overarching goals for quality improvement.

PROJECT: Course Project: Promoting Health Care Quality

Section 5: Evaluation Plan

With the recognition of the bidirectional link between quality and finance in a healthcare organization, it follows that any changes to one can have an echo in the other. To determine the net result of a change in overall performance status of the organization, one must determine the point where the results of echoes will reach equilibrium.

-Sadeghi, Barzi, Mikhail, & Shabot, 2013

You have been examining evaluation tools and how they can be used as part of a plan to promote quality and safety. As you develop an evaluation plan for your Course Project, consider the insights you have gained through your analysis of your selected organization, as well as the highly regulated and competitive health care environment.

To prepare:

· Review the information on evaluation, including data representation and quality monitoring, presented in the Learning Resources.

· Review your work on the Course Project thus far, particularly Sections 3 and 4.

· Think about how your quality improvement initiative could be evaluated. Consider the following:

o Which stakeholders need information related to this initiative? What do they need this information for?

o How would you assess the outcomes in the short-term and long-term?

o How would you analyze related processes, including but not limited to the one you redesigned in Section 4?

o How should an analysis of organizational structures be integrated into your evaluation?

o How would you identify and evaluate any unintended consequences that may arise?

o What metrics should the organization use to gauge progress and the effectiveness of the quality improvement initiative? How would these metrics incorporate the measures and indicators that you identified in Section 3? Are there additional measures and indicators that you now think should be included?

o How should the organization track and display data for an interdisciplinary audience? How could the use of a dashboard or balanced scorecard be of value?

o How could the organization create an integrated view of performance that links finance and quality?

To complete:

Develop a 2- to 3-page evaluation plan that includes the following:

· An outline of the methods that you would propose for evaluating the quality improvement initiative and the financial implications

· A description of specific metrics that integrate your previously identified measures and indicators and any others that you have deemed important

· A recommendation of how the organization could represent data related to this quality improvement issue for ongoing monitoring and to determine the value or success of the initiative

· An explanation of how the organization could create an integrated view of performance that links finance and quality

Section 6: Quality Improvement Action Plan

An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly is the ultimate competitive advantage.

-Jack Welch as quoted by Kerrigan

Think back to when you first identified the quality improvement issue for your Course Project. What insights related to quality measurement, improvement strategies, and evaluation have you gained since then? How have these insights informed your view of the issue and shaped your understanding of how to promote positive outcomes for your selected organization? How would you suggest the organization proceed based on the outcomes of your investigation?

In this section of the Course Project, you synthesize your analysis and recommendations into an action plan for implementing the quality improvement initiative.

To prepare:

· Begin to develop a plan for implementing your quality improvement initiative, including the redesigned process that you identified in Section 3. Consider the following:

o How would you undertake the process of determining a timeline for planning, implementing, and evaluating this quality improvement plan?

o What are some reasonable milestones for this initiative? What are the daily, weekly, monthly steps/goals?

To complete:

· Write a 2- to 3-page summary of your quality improvement action plan.

REMINDER: Course Project: Promoting Health Care Quality.