Quality Healthcare: Measuring NP Performance
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) was formed to ensure the quality of patient care and measurement of patient outcomes with set standards.
Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) is a performance measurement tool used by millions of health insurance plans. There are 6 domains of care:
- Effectiveness of Care
- Access/Availability of Care
- Experience of Care
- Utilization and Risk Adjusted Utilization
- Health Plan Descriptive Information
- Measures Collected Using Electronic Clinical Data Systems
You may access the 6 domains of care by clicking this link:
(NCQA, n.d. https://www.ncqa.org/hedis/Links to an external site.)
As an APN, productivity will be an important measurement for the practice to determine reimbursement and salary. Fee-for-service practices will require a set number of patients per day to maintain productivity. A capitated practice will require the APN to have a large panel of patients but also will focus on controlling costs. This can be accomplished through effective primary care that is accessible, convenient for the patients, and has a method of measuring the quality of care.
Write a formal paper in APA format with a title page, introduction, the three required elements below, conclusion, and reference page.
You are now employed as an NP in primary care. Choose one performance measure from one of the six domains of care, i.e. Adult BMI Assessment, Prenatal, and Postpartum care, etc.
Develop three different patient interventions for that one performance measure and how you would specifically implement the intervention and measure the outcomes for that particular performance measure in clinical practice.
How would these primary care interventions result in improved patient outcomes and healthcare cost savings?
How can these interventions result in improved NP patient ratings?
Introduction
List and discuss three different patient interventions and how you would specifically measure the outcomes.
From the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) website discuss three patient interventions for the one performance measure.
Develop a measurement tool to track patient outcomes.
How would these primary care interventions result in improved patient outcomes and cost savings for the practice?
Discuss how the interventions can result in improved patient outcomes and cost savings for the practice.
How can these interventions result in improved patient ratings?
Discuss how these interventions can result in improved patient ratings (an NP’s patient scorecard).
Quality Healthcare: Measuring NP Performance Essay Example
Adult BMI Assessment
One of the performance measures I would implement as an NP in primary care would be an adult BMI assessment. Obesity is a growing health problem across the United States of America. It is estimated that approximately 4 in 10 Americans are obese. Obesity is defined as having a weight higher than what is considered normal for the defined height (McCafferty et al., 2020). Approximately 41.9% of adults in the US have obesity, and it is projected that the challenge will continue into the future. Obesity is associated with several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. It is also associated with a significant economic burden, including $173 billion annually (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023). As a nurse practitioner, it is therefore critical to implement an adult BMI assessment to determine the patient’s weight status. Adult BMI assessment is a screening tool that seeks to rapidly identify patients who are at risk of obesity and, therefore, would benefit from further interventions. This will contribute to ensuring that appropriate weight management strategies are implemented promptly to prevent obesity and the associated complications (Ansari et al., 2020). Some of the interventions will include recommending/discussing the appropriate diet for the patients, developing a physical exercise program, and implementing patient education on obesity.
List and discuss three different patient interventions and how you would specifically measure the outcomes.
The first intervention will be to provide Patient education on obesity. While obesity is a serious health condition, most individuals are not aware of the significant health impacts associated with the disease, and some even consider being obese as a sign of health. Therefore, the first intervention would be to discuss with the patient obesity, including what obesity is, the causes of the condition, associated health complications, and risk factors for obesity (McCafferty et al., 2020). During this intervention, it is also critical to establish the patient’s perception of being overweight since it influences their ability to follow other obesity prevention interventions. To assess whether the patient education intervention was successful, the patient will be required to answer a set of questions on obesity. The ability to remember most of the information related to obesity, including what causes the disease, associated complications, appropriate weight for their height, and prevention strategies, will indicate that the intervention was effective (Wadden et al., 2020).
The second intervention will include discussing the appropriate diet for the patient. Diet plays a central role in the development of obesity, especially calorie intake. Although the diet of individuals varies depending on several factors, such as socioeconomic status, the health status of the patient, and other factors, it is important for the healthcare provider to assist the patient in developing a healthy diet routine. One of the most important diet components is the number of calories that an individual consumes (Wadden et al., 2020). The diet discussion should include foods high in calories and other healthy foods that the patients can replace them with. One of the major aims of this discussion is to develop diet plans that the patient is comfortable following to ensure adherence to the plan. To measure the effectiveness of the plan, the healthcare provider should assess the ability of the patient to identify healthy food combinations for healthier weights (Ansari et al., 2020).
Developing a physical exercise program is critical in regulating the patient’s weight. The healthcare provider will assist the patient in identifying appropriate physical exercise and routine depending on the patient’s health status. To measure the effectiveness of this intervention, the patient will be required to identify an exercise that would be appropriate for them to attain the desired weight (Jakicic et al., 2019).
How would these primary care interventions result in improved patient outcomes and healthcare cost savings?
The interventions proposed above ensure timely screening and identification of obesity among patients. This ensures that healthcare providers can identify patients at risk of developing obesity and can therefore implement appropriate actions to prevent further deterioration of the patient’s health status (Ansari et al., 2020). For example, obesity is associated with complications such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Assessing the Patient’s BMI will be critical in determining their weight status, hence initiating timely weight control management practices (McCafferty et al., 2020). This protects the patients from developing complications and therefore saves on the associated medical costs. Interventions such as physical activities and appropriate diet improve other aspects, such as improved mental well-being and therefore improved patient outcomes (Ansari et al., 2020).
How can these interventions result in improved NP patient ratings?
The identified interventions promote efficient NP-patient relationships, including patient participation in decision-making, which is critical in determining how the patient rates their care providers. For example, the obesity education program will ensure that the NP and the Patient engage in a long conversation that encourages patient participation in decision-making. This can lead to an improved perception of the care process and, subsequently, positive NP patient ratings (Wadden et al., 2020).
Conclusion
Obesity is a major public health concern in the US, and the challenge is expected to continue even in the future. The condition is associated with significant health impacts, including cardiovascular conditions and obesity. It is, therefore, necessary for nurse practitioners to implement appropriate prevention interventions to ensure the timely delivery of appropriate care services. Educating the patients on obesity and developing appropriate diet and physical activity routines are critical interventions in preventing obesity. Implementation of these interventions will improve patient outcomes and reduces costs associated with complications, and also improve NP patient ratings.
References
Ansari, S., Haboubi, H., & Haboubi, N. (2020). Adult obesity complications: challenges and clinical impact. Therapeutic advances in endocrinology and metabolism, 11, 2042018820934955. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2042018820934955
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2023) About Overweight & Obesity Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/about-obesity/index.html
Jakicic, J. M., Powell, K. E., Campbell, W. W., Dipietro, L., Pate, R. R., Pescatello, L. S., … & 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. (2019). Physical activity and the prevention of weight gain in adults: a systematic review. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 51(6), 1262. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6527311/
McCafferty, B. J., Hill, J. O., & Gunn, A. J. (2020). Obesity: scope, lifestyle interventions, and medical management. Techniques in vascular and interventional radiology, 23(1), 100653. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1089251620300020
Wadden, T. A., Tronieri, J. S., & Butryn, M. L. (2020). Lifestyle modification approaches for the treatment of obesity in adults. American psychologist, 75(2), 235. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-09435-009
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Originally published at https://dnpcapstoneproject.help on April 6, 2024.
