Examine Electronic Report Cards for HealthCare - Essay Example

Electronic Report Cards for HealthCare Introduction For a long time, various organizations have relied on papers and similar materials in the documentation of data. These kinds of records to-date are still being used in a number of organizations, hospitals being no exception. Paper-based records have numerous disadvantages especially with regard to the retrieval of information where vast amounts of records are dealt with on daily basis. Closely associated with retrieval is the bulkiness of paper which means that they occupy a lot of space. Yet again, paper records are not as long lasting as they are known to degrade over time. With the advent of the computer and other computer based technologies, different organizations have sought to store records electronically, taking advantage of the efficiency, ease of retrieval of information, and other associated benefits of electronic technology. In the healthcare sector, many hospitals have adopted electronic health report cards in place of the traditional (paper-based) ones. Electronic health report cards are used in the healthcare sector for various purposes including storing patient health records, evaluating the performances of various departments of a healthcare institution and evaluating the performances of various healthcare organizations in various areas. The following sections of the paper discuss two measures used by Partners HealthCare in evaluating its performance against the average scores achieved by hospitals in the surrounding area. The two measures considered here below are inpatient quality and patient experience. Partners HealthCare Inpatient Quality The Brigham and Women’s Hospital together with Massachusetts General Hospital have developed an electronic health report card that is used to evaluate the hospitals’ performances based on various factors and measures. The institutions under the umbrella name Partners HealthCare recognize the importance and benefits of electronic medical records (EMRs) over paper-based records. The organization states that EMRs help in boosting patient safety, improving efficiency and managing chronic diseases (Partners Healthcare1 par 1). Some of the benefits of the electronic records include easy prevention of drug interactions and allergies as noted by Partners Healthcare (par 2). The records also are known to help in the saving of costs as drugs are prescribed by medical officers with cost being a factor in such considerations. One of the measures used by Partners HealthCare is Inpatient quality. According to the organization’s report card which considers inpatient quality, the institution performs exceptionally well in various areas. The organization rates itself as currently holding a high score of 96% in opening blocked arteries within a period of one and half hours (Partners Healthcare2 par 3). This is against a reference point of 90 percent. Furthermore, the organization boasts of having achieved a 99% score in delivering recommended care to patients suffering from heart attack against a similar reference point. Very closely related to the above factor, is the delivery of recommended care to patients with pneumonia and heart failure with current scores of 96% and 98% respectively (Partners Healthcare2 par 3). The reference points for the two measures are 95% and 96% respectively. Yet another factor that is considered when it comes to inpatient quality is the delivery of recommended care aimed at avoiding surgical infections. In this respect, Partners HealthCare has a current score of 97% which is at par with the reference point. The organization also boasts of having the capacity to help tobacco users overcome their addiction with a current score of 99% against a similar reference point (Partners Healthcare2 par 3). These are only but a few of the scores recorded by the healthcare institution as it offers a wide variety of services to inpatients. The high scores achieved by the different hospitals in maintaining inpatient quality include the use of modern technology and well trained staff. Patients are adequately diagnosed using various machines and equipment before decisions are made on what kind of treatment is best assigned. The medical equipments used in service delivery are properly maintained so as to ensure that they work optimally thereby helping in boosting effective service delivery. The hospitals tend to higher well trained staff who are given a good orientation before being fully admitted to practice. Partners HealthCare Patient Experience One of Partners HealthCare’s commitments is providing high quality services and care to the sick and their families (Partners Healthcare3 par 1). Through surveys, the hospitals have managed to collect data relating to the patients’ experiences and have integrated their findings to ensure that quality is improved in this area. One of the factors considered in measuring patient experience is the hospital’s overall rating in which the reference point stands at 67% (Partners Healthcare3 par 4). In this respect, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital scored the highest (BWH) attaining a score of 79%. Communication with nurses is another factor that is considered in this respect the reference point set by Partners HealthCare is 77%. In this area, BWH scored 79% which is above the reference point (Partners Healthcare3 par 4). Communication with doctors has a reference point of 79% against which BWH has a score of 81% (Partners Healthcare3 par 4). Other factors in this category include staff responsiveness, pain management, discharge information, cleanliness of the hospital, communication about prescriptions and quietness of the hospital, each of these factors with a unique reference point (Partners Healthcare3 par 4). In practically all the above mentioned areas, the hospitals under the umbrella of Partners Healthcare score above the reference point, an indication that the hospitals are committed to maintaining high quality standards in patient care. The high scores achieved by Partners HealthCare in patient experience may be attributed to the training given to medical practitioners in so far as patient handling is concerned. Being primary caregivers, nurses have to build the capacity and tolerance needed to handle various ailments. Patient experience being directly related to communication may also be impacted by the patient’s cultural background. This is so considering that different cultures communicate in different ways and interpret verbal and non-verbal cues differently. Low scores on the other hand may also be caused by several issues including bias due to age, ethnicity and cultural backgrounds. Other Factors that Impact Performance Scores The performance of a hospital in terms of quality of service depends on several factors apart from those highlighted in the sections above. Apart from doctors and nurses who directly participate in patient care, there are support staff and management that work toward the realisation of goals. When healthcare services are well delivered but the environment (as maintained by support staff) is poor, the rating of the hospital may end up being poor. Furthermore, the resources and equipment available in the healthcare facility could easily impact on the hospital’s performance in the perspective of the patient. Physician and patient preference, disease stage, stage of technology, and age could also impact the quality performance of the hospital (Myhealthfinder par 3). A hospital for example may be rated highly by a child and lowly by an elder person when offered service by the same medical practitioners due to their different preferences that may be a factor of age (Myhealthfinder par 3). In consideration of the state of technology, a hospital that offers effective and high quality services could be easily rated poorly just by the mere fact that it lacks certain medical equipment that are present in other hospitals whose services are not as good. Yet again, the performance of a hospital may be impacted by the recommendations of friends and family, convenience and health plan covers, without true consideration of its actual performance in terms of effectiveness and quality of service as noted by Myhealthfinder (par 3). Also, a hospital may be bias in providing or presenting information regarding its score so as to attract or maintain customers. There are various ways that this could be done such as by omitting scores that present the hospital in negative light and publishing only information that uplift the reputation of the organization. Conclusion and Recommendations Several factors impact a hospital’s performance as rated by the hospital itself, patients and third parties. The main measure of hospital performance should be based on whether or not the health institution provides and is consistent with standards of care. However, there are cases where quality indicators are assumed without disregard to hospital performance. Appropriate measures should be taken in such cases to avoid the bias presentation of data. In coming up with electronic report cards, adjustments ought to be made to compensate for any kind of bias that may be present. Furthermore, in the design of questionnaires and electronic reports, a clear explanation of the considerations and assumptions should be availed so that there is clarity of information regarding how the reports should be interpreted. In dealing with the problem related to age, respondents that are sampled in coming up with electronic reports should be adults and not children or minors. Doctors and nurses on the other hand should be encouraged to act and communicate in a friendly manner so as to encourage patients to be at ease as they make strides toward recovery. Works Cited Myhealthfinder. Consumer Guide to Understanding the Hospital-Specific Quality Reports. 2009. Web. 29 April, 2011 http://www.myhealthfinder.com/wa09/doc/consguide.php Partners Healthcare1. Information Technology: Adopting Electronic Medical Records in Primary Care Physician Offices. 2011. Web. 29 April, 2011 http://qualityandsafety.partners.org/measures/metric.aspx?id=21 Partners Healthcare2. Report Card: Consistent High Quality. 2011. Web. 29 April, 2011 http://qualityandsafety.partners.org/measures/highquality.aspx?id=15 Partners Healthcare3. Report Card: Patient Experience. 2011. Web. 29 April, 2011 http://qualityandsafety.partners.org/measures/overview.aspx?id=17 Read More