Module 04 Project – Ethical Considerations

Goes off attached papers.

A strategic plan is a document used to structure and communicate organizational goals. It is also used to mitigate risks and alleviate the potential for legal cases. Barbara receives information that there is an additional, more pressing issue at a satellite clinic that is not documented in the original UCCO case. This issue relates to the emergency care clinic, which is used to treat patients with trauma-related injuries. The clinic has been over-utilized for the past year, resulting in stressed staffing, overwhelming costs, and decreasing quality of patient care and customer satisfaction. Staff productivity is affected by use of personal cell phones and clinic equipment is often used for social media.   In one particular case, a 13-year old patient was seen for trauma care by the UCCO Emergency Clinic. The patient’s parents make it clear to the staff that they are not willing to give consent to any procedure involving blood products or transfusion. The risks are explained to the parents. The patient arrived unconscious but shortly regains consciousness. After the parents leave the room, the patient tells the nurse that she is afraid of dying and would like any care, including blood procedures and products, to save her life. The nurse later finds out that the rejection by the parents was due to religious reasons. The nurse quickly discusses the case with fellow employees, one of which posts comments on her social media page using a clinic-owned computer. The nursing director give a verbal warning to all involved nurses and staff.   Visit the Rasmussen online Library and search for a minimum of 3 articles covering the topics of ethics, healthcare professionalism, and federal legislations.

In the databases use basic search languages (controlled vocabulary/keywords) to determine ethics laws specific to this situation. Some keywords to consider are healthcare professional code of ethics. Then, refine your searches based on your search results. Make sure to include a minimum of 3 credible, academic sources in your paper.  Using your research, address the following points in a minimum of 3-page report and reference page with at least 4 references:

•Was the nursing manager legally compliant with to protect patient information? Explain the legal risks and support with federal legislations and professional expectations, such as HIPAA and professional codes of ethics.  

•What bearing does the age and religious requests have on the patient’s case? Are there medical and ethical laws that supersede the parent’s requests? 

•What is the role and importance of communication among UCCO facilities, particularly in reference to compliance and ethical standards? 

•What are the ethical and professional factors of using social media? 

•Were the reactions to the patient’s case illegal, or just unethical? How does this align with UCCO’s mission, values, and strategic action plans? How does it compare to your own personal beliefs and values?  

Remember to integrate citations accurately and appropriately for all resource types; use attribution (credit) as a method to avoid plagiarism. Use NoodleBib to document your sources and to complete your APA formatted reference page and in-text citations.

Running Head: THE PLANNING PROCESS
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THE PLANNING PROCESS
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The Planning Process

Krista Kim

Rasmussen College

Author Note

This paper is being submitted on January 3rd, 2018, for Kim Sanders’s H490/HSA4922 Section 01 Healthcare Management Capstone – Online Plus – 2018 Winter Quarter

The Planning Process

In the dynamic healthcare environment, medical organizations are facing a wide range of problems because of two main reasons,

1.) The ever-increasing difficulty in satisfying demanding users who are also highly informed and the need to ensure that the internal organization is streamlined to keep pace with the rapid technological and methodological changes. The second reason is the continuous increase of sophistication, and the ability of practitioners may not meet the fundamental needs of consumers. Therefore to meet the needs of customers, St Mary’s healthcare should come up with a revolutionary strategy that is focused on 1.) Shifting from a physician-centered institution to a care process that is organization driven. 2.) Maximizing value for care seekers through quality and low-cost strategy (Harrison, 2010).

However, sophisticated systems are conservative and are resistant to change, and the healthcare industry is no exception to this. The challenge is that practitioners have to be central in the revolution of the healthcare system of the facility and whatever strategy that they don’t agree with will not be successful. This means that a piecemeal approach may not work. Engaging practitioners are creating change may need the use of motivational tools and focus on shared goals. But the first point of initiating change is the formulation of a strategic plan. In order meet the set objectives, the mission, and the goals, the organization, has to formulate a plan (Perera et al., 2012).

Through planning, the organization can achieve the following,

1.) Set strategic targets

2.) Analyze the internal context: the expertise, structure of the organization, quality and quantity of services to be provided to reach set goals.

3.) Formulate primary targets to enable change to occur.

REFERENCES

Harrison, J. P. (2010). Essentials of strategic planning in healthcare. Health Administration Press.

Perera, F. D. P. R., & Peiró, M. (2012). Strategic planning in healthcare organizations. Revista Española de Cardiología (English Edition), 65(8), 749-754.

Running Head: ANALYSIS PAPER

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ANALYSIS PAPER

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Analysis Paper

Krista Kim

Rasmussen College

Author Note

This paper is being submitted on January 14th, 2018, for Kim Sanders’s H490/HSA4922 Section 01 Healthcare Management Capstone – Online Plus – 2018 Winter Quarter

Analysis Paper

What is the current economic situation for UCCO? What suggestions can Barbara make to help mitigate financial issues? Use the financial review provided in the UCCO case.  

While the move to implementation of more Electronic Health System is necessary and also commendable since it would help to increase the level of efficiency, effectiveness, quality of care and also enhance the patient outcome, there are a lot of costs that are associated with its implementation. For example from the scenario, we are told that a situational analysis will be needed and therefore the organization will be required to invest a lot of resources in research to conduct a comprehensive review and also the purchase and maintenance also EHR systems also demand extra costs. The healthcare currently may not be in the economic position to meet what the UCCO want. This is because the whole process is expensive and the organization may not that much money in store to see this through from the beginning to the end.

To mitigate financial issues, there is a need for proper financial planning. Business planning, in this case, involves the identification and estimation of all costs that the healthcare is bound to suffer, budgeting and also seeking alternative sources of funding enable them to meet the various values. For example, they can find government funding.

Situational/SWOT Analysis

Table 1: Allscripts EHR

Internal and External Influences Strengths: Good electronic prescribing, one can run multiple ERA, offers versatility in features and good security and data protection. Weaknesses: It is slow, not intuitive and poor patient support. Opportunities: It can be made more automated. Threats: Competition from other systems which have proven more effective in some areas of disadvantage.

Trends that can impact clinic performance, market and financial position   The software allows for data to be taken from multiple sources and put together in one source and this ensures that patients are able to access their medical data from different treatment centres (Glenn, 2013). It offers different forms of pricing and financial options that allow healthcare centres to be able to choose according to their financial position. Currently this is the software that has grabbed the biggest market share.

EHR System functions and capabilities  Despite having a lot of capabilities in terms of normalizing, analysing, access and storage of data that system has poor functionality since it crashes easily and needs high maintenance.

EHR End-user requirements and ease of use The software is not very user friends

Table 2: eClinicalWorks EHR

Internal and External Influences Strengths: It does not mix data from different practices and hence making it highly organized, it is fast and has standout features. Weaknesses: Poor usability and lacks features such as charting. Opportunities: Increase ease to use Threats: High competition	Trends that can impact clinic performance, market and financial position   The service has made storage of the bulky medical records more secure and more accessible and also transferable. It also offers very low and affordable pricing with low set up and maintenance cost thus lowering the cost for health facilities.
EHR System functions and capabilities  This is a very effective system since it offers features that enhance optimum use and access of data by physicians and patients. For example Healow the patient portal patients can input their wellness data and interact with physicians easily (Glenn, 2013).	EHR End-user requirements and ease of use There are too many clicks needed when using it and thus not easy to use but easier compared to AllScripts.

What type of electronic record system should Barbara recommend for the company?

The EHR that she should be one that meets the optimum goal for EHR implementation that is making medical record keeping more efficient and also optimizing the use and access of data(Hodgkins, 2017).

What is her best option?

From the two choices analysed above, eClinicalWorks would be the best fit in fulfilling the general EHR objective.

What are the financial implications?

The cost of implementing this system as discussed in the analysis table is meagre starting from the start-up cost to the maintenance cost.

Explain the choice based on what the system can provide in comparison to the organizational challenges?

This system can be able to promote efficiency and patient outcome optimally. Other than secure storage of data and easy access of data, physicians can be able to track the medical condition of patients without physical visits, and patients can be able to arrange referrals and also request refills through the system. This helps to lower the cost of healthcare while improving quality. The organization is also able to save on value due to the low costing of the system.

References

Glenn, B. (2013). Top 10 most popular EHR systems for small practices. Medical Economics. From: http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/medical-economics/EHR/HIT/10-most-popular-ehr-systems-small-practices?page=full

Hodgkins, M. (2017). Electronic Health Record (EHR) Implementation. Step Forward. From: https://www.stepsforward.org/modules/ehr-implementation

Hodgkins, M. (2017). Electronic Health Record (EHR) Implementation. Step Forward. From:

https://www.stepsforward.org/modules/ehr-implementation

Sinha, P., Sunder, G., Bendale, P., Mantri, M. & Dande, A. (2013). Electronic health record : standards, coding systems, frameworks, and infrastructures. Piscataway, NJ Hoboken, New Jersey: IEEE Press John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Running head: ANALYSIS PAPER 1

ANALYSIS PAPER 2

Analysis Paper

Krista Kim

Rasmussen College

Author Note

This paper is being submitted on January 21st, 2018, for Kim Sanders’s H490/HSA4922 Section 01 Healthcare Management Capstone – Online Plus – 2018 Winter Quarter

Analysis Paper

Based on the results of the SWOT analysis, what should Barbara recommend as an overall strategy?

From the SWOT analysis, the overall strategy that Barbara should recommend is a system that is capable of meeting the needs of the healthcare facility effectively and efficiently. The strategy focuses on having systems that are fast to allow for easy processing of information and offer quality support to the patients. It should also have a high level of functionality to allow for the normalizing, analyzing, access and the storage of the entire patient’s data and saving it for easy retrieving in the future. The system should also be user-friendly so that the professionals and the staff using it can be in a position to easily maneuver in the process of care delivery. The other component of the system that the company should consider is that it should have a wide range of features to enhance maximum utilization and the ease of data access by the patients and physicians. Finally, the medical professionals should also be trained on how to use the system upon implementation.

How will the selection of the chosen EHR system contribute to the strategy? Further explain why it was the best choice.

One of the ways in which the selection of eClinical works EHR will contribute to strategy is that it is the ability to maintain highly organized data; it’s fast and also has amazing features. The EHR system adapted for use in the organization should be in a position to increase effectiveness, efficiency, achieve quality in the delivery of care and also enhance the patient’s outcomes (Sinha et al., 2013). Due to its organization, the system will make it easy for the health care professionals to retrieve the patients’ information while at the same time ensuring security to prevent access of the patient information by unauthorized persons. The e-Clinical works will also contribute to the strategy because it offers low and affordable prices and has low maintenance costs and this aids in the reduction of the costs that the healthcare facilities incur in the maintenance. The other way in which the system will contribute to the strategy is that it has a wide scope of features which make it easy for the patients and the physicians to login into their portals and interact with each other.

On what basis should she develop actions items? What should the action items be, as they directly relate to the strategy?

The action items should be developed based on their importance in meeting the organizational goals and objectives. The organization aims at implementing an Electronic Health System that will assist in the improvement of the level of effectiveness, efficiency in the delivery of care and also quality. The actions items that should be taken and directly relating to the strategy are; creation of an implementation team, configuration of the software, identification of the hardware needs, transfer of the data, optimization of the workflows in the pre-launch, consideration of the layout of the rooms, deciding of the approach that will be used in the launching of the system, development of the procedures to be followed when the EHR system is down and lastly initiating the training plan (Hodgkins, 2017).

What should the recommended outcomes and/ or long-term goals be, based on the action items?

One of the recommended outcomes based on the action items is that all the medical professionals and the patients should be trained on how to use the system effectively. The patient should be shown how they are supposed to login in the system so that they can post their wellness information and get a chance to interact with the medical providers online. The other recommendation is that the hospital should be adequately prepared to ways in which they will carry out normal activities in case the system goes down to avoid halting of services. Lastly, training should be a long-term activity to ensure that all people are acquitted with the skills needed for online interaction with the medical providers. All this will aid in the increasing of the efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of care.

References

Hodgkins, M. (2017). Electronic Health Record (EHR) Implementation. Step Forward. From:

https://www.stepsforward.org/modules/ehr-implementation

Sinha, P., Sunder, G., Bendale, P., Mantri, M. & Dande, A. (2013). Electronic health record : standards, coding systems, frameworks, and infrastructures. Piscataway, NJ Hoboken, New Jersey: IEEE Press John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Glenn, B. (2013). Top 10 most popular EHR systems for small practices. Medical Economics. From:

http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/medical-economics/EHR/HIT/10-most-popular-ehr-systems-small-practices?page=full

Hodgkins, M. (2017). Electronic Health Record (EHR) Implementation. Step Forward. From: https://www.stepsforward.org/modules/ehr-implementation