Applying Measurement Tools Essay

Applying Measurement Tools Essay

As healthcare professionals, ensuring the delivery of high-quality care is of paramount importance to improve patient outcomes and enhance overall practice performance (Quentin et al., 2019). As a staff nurse in the private primary care practice, my first step is to collaborate with the facility’s staff, medical assistants, physicians, and office staff to gather information and data on diabetic patients. The steps I would utilize to find out the number of diabetics in the practice and how many meet all the components of HEDIS comprehensive diabetes care:

Reviewing existing records is the first step to be taken. Since the practice facility has historically maintained manual charts, it is crucial to begin by reviewing the existing patient records to identify those diagnosed with diabetes. This involves reviewing each patient’s chart to find relevant information related to diabetes diagnosis, type, lab results, and treatment plans.

Categorizing diabetic patients is my second step. Once the diabetic patients are identified, I would categorize them based on the type of diabetes they have, either Type 1 or Type 2, and their current treatment plan, which could be insulin therapy, oral medications like metformin, and diet-controlled for prediabetics.

The next step is to identify HEDIS components. This is achieved through a thorough review of the components of HEDIS comprehensive diabetes care to understand the specific measures that need to be met for each diabetic patient. This includes criteria such as HbA1c control, blood pressure management, eye exams, and diabetic foot screening (Attal et al., 2019). HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin) reflects long-term blood glucose control. The HEDIS measure assesses the percentage of diabetic patients who have achieved appropriate HbA1c levels, indicating effective glycemic control. Considering that hypertension is a common comorbidity in diabetes. The HEDIS measure evaluates the proportion of diabetic patients who have achieved recommended blood pressure targets, aiming to prevent complications such as cardiovascular disease and kidney damage.

Regular eye exams are essential for detecting and managing diabetic retinopathy, a common diabetes complication affecting vision and the HEDIS measure assesses the percentage of diabetic patients who have undergone an annual dilated eye examination. Additionally, the HEDIS measure focuses on lipid management, evaluating the proportion of diabetic patients who have received appropriate cholesterol screening and achieved target levels for LDL cholesterol. Foot complications, including ulcers and infections, are common in individuals with diabetes. The HEDIS measure should evaluate whether diabetic patients have received foot exams and education to prevent and detect early signs of foot problems.

After understanding the HEDIS components, I would work with the medical assistants and physicians to assess the level of compliance for each diabetic patient. This involves reviewing patient records to see if they have received the necessary screenings, tests, and interventions as per HEDIS guidelines (NCQA, 2018).

Implementing a data collection mechanism is the 5^th step. To streamline the data collection process, I would propose implementing an electronic data collection mechanism. Since the practice recently adopted an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, we can use it to record and track patient information, appointments, lab results, and interventions.

To monitor and visualize the practice’s performance on HEDIS comprehensive diabetes care measures, I would create control charts for each component. Control charts provide a graphical representation of data over time and can help identify trends, variations, and improvement opportunities.

Based on the data collected and analyzed, I will work with the medical team to identify areas of improvement, develop strategies and interventions to enhance the quality of diabetes care provided to patients and aim to meet and exceed the HEDIS benchmarks. Monitoring and reporting of the practice’s performance on HEDIS measures is crucial. This information would be shared with the physicians and other stakeholders to keep them informed of progress and to aid in decision-making. Additionally, staying up-to-date with the latest evidence-based literature and guidelines related to diabetes care is an important factor to implement. This would help ensure that the practice incorporates best practices and adapts to any changes in diabetes care recommendations.

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References

Attal, S., Mahmoud, M. H., Aseel, M. T., Candra, A., Amuna, P., Elnagmi, M., Abdallah, M., Ismail, N., Abdelrazek, A., Albaw, D., Albashir, A., & Elmahdi, H. (2019). Indicators of quality of clinical care for type 2 diabetes patients in primary health care centers in Qatar: A retrospective analysis. International Journal of Endocrinology, 2019, 3519093. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/3519093

NCQA. (2018, July 19). Comprehensive diabetes care. NCQA. https://www.ncqa.org/hedis/measures/comprehensive-diabetes-care/

Quentin, W., Partanen, V.-M., Brownwood, I., & Klazinga, N. (2019). Measuring healthcare quality. European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK549260/

 

Measurement

This week, you will examine a scenario and imagine yourself in the role of a staff nurse to respond to the issue. You will interview leaders in your practice on quality indicators.

Learning objectives

Students will:

Analyze an example of quality that was measured, assessed, and improved

Apply simple data collection techniques to a measurement problem

Design a data collection mechanism for an aspect of quality

Interpret a control chart

Synthesize the purpose, methods, and findings from the evidence-based literature that relates to a practice problem

APPLYING MEASUREMENT TOOLS

One example of a measurement tool is the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) comprehensive care measures. Review the components of HEDIS comprehensive diabetes care; then consider the following scenario.

You are a staff nurse working in a private primary care practice. It is a small practice with 2 MDs (internists), 2 nurses, 1 medical assistant, and an office staff for billing. There are approximately 1,000 patients in the practice. You have had no EHR until the last year, but all charts are manual, historically. Your physicians are starting to inquire about quality incentives, particularly regarding patients with diabetes.

Take on the role of the staff nurse in the scenario and post an explanation of how you would go about finding out how many diabetics are in your practice and how many meet all components of HEDIS comprehensive diabetes care.