Controls and Indicators for a Hospital's CEO - Case Study Example

? Controls and Indicators for a Hospital’s CEO As CEO of the hospital, my senior management team and I have set a goal to make some changes on how the hospital management is improved with the development of macro and micro indicators that will make the hospital’s general operations services more proficient. These indicators will be utilized to assess the quality of care given, the development of the hospital’s workforce, and the safety of the patients within the hospital. The said indicators are likewise important since it provides the overall health facility the ability to improve and deliver better services in relation to preventive, immediate and long-term care (Savitz et al, n.d. a). The regular appraisal or assessment of both the macro indicators and the micro indicators will serve as a guide to what changes are needed in the traditional practice patterns of health provision; and what factors affect such practices like organizational culture, the relationships between hospital staff and the feedbacks of the patients including their families after the in-house treatment and care procedures (Clauser et al., 2009). The two main macro indicators suggested are: 1) the quality of the medical personnel employed in the hospital; and 2) the quality of medical equipment. The micro indicators for the medical personnel employed in the hospital are as follows: 1a) performance monitoring and 1b) training and demand. For the quality of medical equipment, the micro indicators are: 2a) access to services, 2b) documentation and 2c) good working condition. The quality of medical personnel is vital to any kind of operation especially in the health and medical industry, because it provides an overall assessment of the hospital’s ability to treat diseases and give necessary care on a case-to-case basis. Performance monitoring is considered as one of its primary micro indicators since this measures how people carry-out their respective responsibilities to undertake a specified goal or outcome within a specified time frame. While the personnel may be pressured for time to achieve a desired result, it must be understood that such accomplishment is coupled with the much needed quality care in the whole process. This consists of patient safety, work efficiency and client home-care orientation (RIVM, 2002). Since performance monitoring is synonymous to the achievement of expected results, monthly monitoring is proposed for the performance of all employees within the health care facility. Said procedure will make management more aware to both problems and successes involved in various medical care issues. Essentially, the periodic assessment of personnel performance will indicate whether specified targets are actually being met or surpassed. Should shortcomings via performance are continuously evaluated in accordance to pre-set requirements, it will help minimize errors and that will help boost morale, trust and confidence among co-workers (Soto et al., 2002a). The second micro indicator for quality medical personnel is training and demand. The demand for a particular service within a health care facility like a hospital depends primarily on the training and knowledge of the people working within the hospital setting. This encompasses the ability of nurses and physicians/doctors as well as other health care professionals to develop correct attitudes and practices that are ethical and efficient in the performance of their individual professions and functions within the organizational ladder. Ultimately this particular micro indicator will likewise make assessment easier in terms of forecasting staffing shortages, job dissatisfaction and burnout, which generally compromises the quality of health care that is given (Savitz et al., n.d b). The monitoring schedule for this specific micro indicator is suggested to be every quarter or every three (3) months. The timetable given is sufficient to evaluate whether the functions of all working personnel in each department synchronize with each other and does not overlap. And since seminars and in-house trainings do not come every day, the appropriated time will give employees the chance to upgrade themselves should a seminar or training come by; which will also give adequate time for evaluators to gauge whether an employee’s performance or output is below, at par or exceeds the normal expectations after he or she was updated in line with his or her special medical field. The second macro indicator that is suggested to be set up is the quality of medical equipment. Every health care facility must invest in good kinds of medical equipment that is needed by patients and health workers. Since the hospital enjoys zero competition within the area, it is just but right that it contains most if not all the appropriate quality equipment that doctors, nurses, other medical workers and patients can rely on. Having good equipment within the hospital lessens the incidence of medical errors and to some extent ensures the safety of all patients. The first and foremost micro indicator for quality medical equipment is the access of services. This indicator plays a vital role in the patient’s capability to acquire the needed medical services in order to obtain their desired care and expected treatment. It involves calculation of real time, distance and financial means by which people have to dispense with in order to reach the hospital. Included here is the aspect of the hospital’s viable capacity to provide much needed health and medical programs like family planning, immunization, access to health care providers if confinement is eminent, etc. at a reasonable price (U.S. Agency for International Development, 1999). The proper evaluation for this particular micro indicator must be done every three months (3 months) so that a particular trend can be seen within a specific period of time. Survey forms must be distributed or handed out to all in-patients and out-patients in relation to how they view the accessibility of the hospital to the locals and the surrounding community. Any negative feedback must be given just consideration because even if the hospital is regarded as one of the best in terms of personnel and equipment services but when most clients cannot get into the facility within a reasonable amount of time then eventually the hospital will lose number of clients leading to financial difficulties in the future. If this is the case then the administration must immediately think of ways and means on how the hospital can provide quality service outside its main facility. The second micro indicator which is equally significant in attaining and maintaining quality medical equipment is documentation. Documentation pertains to medical record keeping procedures which must be efficient and secured at the same time. The medical records of every client hold vital information regarding diagnosis and treatment. The correct and efficient documentation as well as proper records keeping lessens the occurrence of medical errors and to some extent guarantees patient’s safety because this predominantly determines the quality of care that was given and the actual performance of all medical personnel involved in a particular case or treatment. Should any adverse issue arise in connection to any given diagnosis and treatment, the documents or records will somehow show where the process fell short or where the inaccuracies occurred. This will lead to the development of corrective measures that will prevent the occurrence of the same event in the future (Soto et al., 2002b). The proper monitoring for this type of micro indicator must be set at a monthly basis because a longer time frame or interval for evaluating records will normally lead to lapses where prior documents will be buried in archive folders since new ones come in on a daily basis. In relation to this a modern databank that can hold past and present records will be recommended to make filing more convenient and easily accessible to authorized hospital personnel. The last but certainly not the least micro indicator for quality medical equipment is that the hospital equipment must always be in good working condition. While the hospital is not expected to purchase brand new modern equipment on an annual basis, all the current equipment within the health care facility must be operational and functioning properly. This includes being durable to wear and tear for a guaranteed period of time; and must be able to fill the medical need of doctors as well as patients - the very purpose of why it was manufactured and purchased in the first place. Technically, quality medical equipment make doctors’ diagnosis more precise making the recommended treatment more effective than the traditional ones which some may settle for if the suitable or needed equipment is out of order (White, 2009). It is recommended then that all medical equipment must be maintained at a regular basis, even if the said machines are not actually out of order. This will avoid being caught unaware should an equipment suddenly stop working in the middle of an operation or treatment procedure. The maintenance department must check all equipment on a monthly basis or every two weeks for those equipment that are used on a daily basis. The significance of maintenance on a regular basis is that it prevents the equipment from falling totally apart since such machines do not come cheap and will be more difficult to repair if some parts are totally worn out. Good working medical equipment is also needed for doctors to be able to make appropriate diagnosis and endorse treatment for special case patients. The implementation of regular monitoring of macro and micro indicators in the hospital will naturally require extra work and time especially in the beginning. However, such measures are needed so management is aware of details and issues that require immediate action where the implementation of short –term and long-term solutions may be applicable. In the long run, this type of management scheme will give more quality time for senior heads and managers to focus on other important matters for the further improvement of the facility since the indicators are now in position to show when things start to get out of hand and will need immediate attention. References Clauser, S.B., Johnson, M.R., O’Brien, D.M., Beveridge, J.M., Fennell, M.L. and Kaluzny, A.D. (2009) September 26). Improving Clinical Research and Cancer Care Delivery in Community Settings: Evaluating the NCI Community Cancer Centers Program. Retrieved from http://www.implementationscience.com/content/4/1/63 RIVM. (2002 December 10). Dutch Public Health Status and Forecast 2006. Retrieved from http://www.rivm.nl/vtv/object_document/o5973n32310.html Savitz, L.A., Jones, C.B., Bernard, S. (n.d. a). Quality Indicators Sensitive to Nurse Staffing in Acute Care Settings. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20600/ Savitz, L.A., Jones, C.B., Bernard, S. (n.d. b). Quality Indicators Sensitive to Nurse Staffing in Acute Care Settings. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20600/ Soto, C.M., Kleinman, K.P. and Simon, S.R. (2006 December 10a). Quality and Correlates of Medical Record Documentation in the Ambulatory Care Setting. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC140026/ Soto, C.M., Kleinman, K.P. and Simon, S.R. (2006 December 10a). Quality and Correlates of Medical Record Documentation in the Ambulatory Care Setting. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC140026/ U.S. Agency for International Development (Office of Sustainable Development, Bureau for Africa). (1999 July). Health and Family Planning Indicators: A Tool for Results Frameworks Volume 1. Retrieved from http://sara.aed.org/publications/cross_cutting/indicators/html/indicators1.htm White, K. (2009 September 10). Five Important Advancements in Medical Equipment. 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