The Importance of Quality Indicators in Nursing

Quality Indicators

Quality Indicators that are standardized evidence-based measures of healthcare are important in the nursing profession by allowing health are administrators to measure and keep track of healthcare performance (McCaffrey, 2012). The indicators that have been developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) can also be used to determine any areas affecting patient outcomes which may guide a healthcare administrator in implementing effective interventions (McCaffrey, 2012). It is important for healthcare administrators to understand all the four quality indicators as they impact the performance of an healthcare organization as well as the achievement of healthcare goals. The quality indicators include Prevention Quality Indicators, Inpatient Quality Indicators, Pediatric Quality Indicators, and Patient Safety Indicators (McCaffrey, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to describe Prevention Quality Indicators.

Prevention Quality Indicators

Prevention Quality Indicators are measures that can be used in collaboration with inpatient discharge data to determine the quality of care provided on primary care sensitive conditions. These include conditions that can be addressed to minimize hospital admissions by implementing specific interventions in primary care (AHRQ, 2018). This can be achieved through the implementation of early interventions to prevent worsening of the conditions that may lead to hospitalizations. These indicators can be focused on specific populations based on research relating to certain risks surrounding these populations (AHRQ, 2018). These indicators are important to healthcare providers by providing a more insight on community health and other health services that are accessible to community members besides hospital-based services.

This information will help healthcare providers in making informed decisions as well as adjusting the healthcare system to fulfill the needs of the community members (AHRQ, 2018). Healthcare providers are also able to develop health education that focuses on health improvement strategies and how community members can be able to prevent some of the complications that are associated with chronic illnesses (AHRQ, 2018). Effective health education will also help in improving the health of families and the community at large. This will ultimately improve the quality of healthcare, as healthcare facilities will manage a smaller number of patients (AHRQ, 2018).

Current Data Available and Leadership’s Goal for Improvement

Prevention Quality Indicators have been integrated as a screening tool to help in identifying issues of quality care that may be attributed to poor prevention interventions and other factors that can be addressed at the primary level of care (Patel, Vakharia, Pile, Howell, &amp Rothberg, 2016). Interventions are also implemented based on inpatient discharge data. Healthcare providers and leaders have collaborated with other health care agencies and organizations in the aim of improving the quality of healthcare provided to communities (Patel et al., 2016). Due to the increase in the development of chronic illnesses, home care is important in preventing the rise of some o the indicated complications that may lead to hospitalizations.

Health programs have been implemented at the community level to enlighten community members on the importance of self-care and personal health promotion as this decreases the development of some of the preventable diseases (Patel et al., 2016). With the federal government collaborating with healthcare leaders to develop policies to increase access to healthcare insurance coverage, more individuals are able to access preventive healthcare services (Patel et al., 2016). This has enabled them to access important information on how to improve their health on diverse perspectives. This has minimized the number of individuals being admitted in hospitals due to some of the healthcare conditions that can be effectively managed at home (Patel et al., 2016).

Solution

In ensuring that Prevention Quality Indicators are effectively used and beneficial to healthcare administrators, it is important to collaborate with community leaders and other healthcare providers (Manzoli et al., 2013). This will help in reaching out to all community members where they are provided with health education to help them in improving their health. This will minimize the number of patients being admitted in hospitals as well as improve the overall health status of the entire community in diverse aspects (Manzoli et al., 2013). Programs that have been implemented to enable individuals to access healthcare services should also be enhanced with each state providing adequate resources on some of these programs to increase the number of individuals with health insurance coverage (Davies et al., 2017). This will enable them to seek preventive services decreasing the high demand for healthcare services as most of these healthcare needs can be addressed using home-based solutions and self-care (Davies et al., 2017).

Conclusion

All Quality Indicators are important as they are aimed at improving healthcare delivery and ensuring that healthcare facilities provide quality healthcare services (McCaffrey, 2012). However, the Preventive Quality Indicator is more important as it may impact other Quality Indicators in diverse ways. More focus on this indicator will positively contribute to the provision of quality healthcare through a decreased number of patients (McCaffrey, 2012). This is attributed to measures and interventions implemented at the community level meant to improve the health of the community members as well as prevent admissions to hospitals. This will ultimately contribute to the achievement of healthcare goals and sustainability in the healthcare sector (McCaffrey, 2012).

References

• AHRQ. (2018). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Advancing Excellence in Health Care. Retrieved from https://www.qualityindicators.ahrq.gov/Modules/pqi_resources.aspx
• Davies, S., Schultz, E., Raven, M., Wang, N. E., Stocks, C. L., Delgado, M. K., &amp McDonald, K. M. (2017). Development and Validation of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Measures of Potentially Preventable Emergency Department (ED) Visits: The ED Prevention Quality Indicators for General Health Conditions. Health Services Research, 52(5), 1667–1684.
• Manzoli, L., Flacco, M. E., De Vito, C., Arcà, S., Carle, F., Capasso, L., Marzuillo, C., Muraglia, A., Samani, F., &amp Villari, P. (2013). AHRQ prevention quality indicators to assess the quality of primary care of local providers: a pilot study from Italy. European journal of public health, 24(5), 745-50.
• McCaffrey, R. (2012). Doctor of nursing practice: Enhancing professional development. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company.
• Patel, K. K., Vakharia, N., Pile, J., Howell, E. H., &amp Rothberg, M. B. (2016). Preventable Admissions on a General Medicine Service: Prevalence, Causes, and Comparison with AHRQ Prevention Quality Indicators-A Cross-Sectional Analysis. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 31(6), 597–601.