Actualization of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Project - Paper Example

This plan portfolio presents an action plan for the actualization of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Project, and covers some of the key components of the project with the aim of adding, updating, and enhancing each for implementation purposes. The plan will also include preparation activities, a practicum change point, and a final change plan to provide solutions for the high rates of readmission at the hospital.

Key Players

The key players will include the top management as the major role players who will guide the entire planning and implementation process. Moreover, the top managers will need to be consulted whenever uncertainties crop up or call for changes. The plan aims at increasing the level of patient participation in all phases of the project. Other than being the projects key stakeholders, patients will play key roles in the planning phase of the project. The actualization of the plan will for instance use patient participants during need assessment and borrow for additional insights from the top management (Ryan et al., 2017). The plan also includes nurses, laboratory technicians, and pharmacists in the hospital as key role players, who will, in this case, take a leading role in evaluating the plan and objectives of the project.

Time Frame

With full adherence to the plan and complete participation and support from the top managers and key role players, the project will help realize a significant reduction in the current readmission rates within a span of a year. However, ongoing management and review will need to be conducted to sustain the effectiveness of the project.

Role of IT Staff

The current project will heavily rely on IT specialists for the development and management of the hospital's information system. The current plan also aims at increasing the amount of information collected regarding patients and other medical reporting systems once implemented. The IT staff will, therefore, play a critical role that will enhance data collection, storage, and transmission in the system, as well as maintain the security and integrity of the system (Li et al., 2016). In addition, the IT staff will be in charge of managing communications among the key role players in the project.

Needs Assessment

The main purpose of needs assessment will be to create an understanding of the main causes of readmissions at the hospital. The assessment will involve an analysis of all previous readmission cases to determine the distinguishing characteristics of patients who are more prone to readmission in future. The assessment will also collect information regarding the main characteristics of the identified population including their common healthcare needs (Shah et al., 2010). This component of the project will help generate proposals and alternatives for improving current healthcare practices at the hospital. Need assessment will also be done to determine the roles of various stakeholders and how they can further assist in accomplishing the project proposal. This will involve increased collaboration and coordination between the MDS the key stakeholders to identify the needs for the project.

Practicum Checkpoint

The data collection and analysis plan will be conducted to meet the main project objective, which is to identify ways of reducing patient readmissions in the hospital. Data collection will, therefore, be conducted in the hospital to fully understand the readmission problem and possible ways of addressing it. To enhance the quality of outcomes from this project component, data collection will focus on multiple hospital facilities in the area. This is because readmission of patients could occur in different hospitals, especially when patients fail to meet medical expectations in one hospital.

Emphasis will also be laid on the codes of ethics that govern medical research. In this case, regulations by the HIPAA will provide guidance during the field operations and data collection exercises (Misky eta l., 2010). To enhance the effectiveness of this project component, patients and other stakeholders participating in the study will be briefed on the significance of the study, and how the study plans to guarantee confidentiality.

Analysis of Internal and External Factors that Could Affect the Implementation of the Readmission Change Project

Once a successful needs assessment has been conducted, the next step will be to conduct a detailed analysis of internal and external factors that are likely to affect the project during implementation. The analysis will also include a sustainability evaluation that will look at the project from a long-term perspective. This will be done in an attempt to visualize all possible factors that are likely to affect the projects success in future, such as those that would increase readmission rates after the project has been implemented.

The readiness of stakeholders as an external factor will also be evaluated as part of the external factors. Key stakeholders will be debriefed and trained on how to undertake their responsibility for taking accountability and playing their different roles during implementation and afterward. This component of the project will also include evaluation of service delivery at the hospital as one of the key internal factors. The objective will be to maximize on digitalization of processes and keep the information system operational to help in monitoring progress (Carrington & Stewart, 2010). This will also involve reviewing communication structures in the hospital, particularly on those that link patients to healthcare providers. In this case, the plan is to ensure that patients are able to communicate to the care takers about their conditions and progress in the facility.

Analysis of internal factors will also target staffing and the average population of patients at the hospital. The plan is to ensure that the high population of patients at the hospital is addressed by hiring more qualified staff. This will ensure that patients are given all care and attention they need to prevent readmission. Management as a key internal factor will be analyzed to determine the extent to which decision making is centralized in the hospital. The plan is to ensure that key role players are adequately involved in decision making in the hospital, which is likely to improve staff motivation and hence the provision of high-quality care and reduction in readmission rates.

Implementing Needs Assessment

The readmission team will undertake they key responsibility of implementing the project. The team will rely on the outcomes from the needs assessment and evaluation of internal and external factors that could affect the project. While implementing the current action plan, the readmission team will articulate perceived changes through prioritization, alignment and coordination with all stakeholders. This will also include undertaking the following necessary activities. First, educating patients about their condition and progress of treatment and conducting post-discharge testing on patients as part of follow-up activities meant to monitor cases of readmission. Second, engaging patients in discussion to inform them about their progress and outcomes from the follow-up tests and organize and take charge of discharge services, and reconcile patient medical plans. The plan is to use the needs assessment implementation component to address issues and problems that will have been observed in the hospital. The idea is to target factors that contribute to high cases of readmission in the hospital and improve the quality of care given to patients.

Evaluation of Trends

This project component will involve monitoring the outcomes from the project after implementation is done. Successful implementation is in this case defined by close to zero cases of patient readmission in the hospital. The project will, therefore, be evaluated progressively to identify emerging constraints and challenges that will affect its efficacy. The outcomes will then be analyzed to identify possible solutions to problems and thus maintain low readmission rates.

Quality Milestones for Progress

Like most successful projects, the current one will rely on several milestones while evaluating the projects progress. The first milestone will be to achieve a trained and equipped personnel in the hospital, who will work primarily to inform patients about their condition and ways to improve their health. The next milestone will be to achieve close to zero cases of medical errors or misdiagnosis in the hospital (Avram et al., 2014). Patients will also be monitored after discharge to ensure that they stick to medication or maintain contact with the care takers.

In conclusion, the plan portfolio covers activities that will be carried out during and after project implementation to address the causes of readmission in the hospital. It also includes sustainability measures for the project, which are the form of patient follow-up activities that help keep patients healthy after discharge. This will help minimize the number of readmitted patients after discharge.

References

Avram, V., Petruccelli, D., Winemaker, M., & de Beer, J. (2014). Total joint arthroplasty readmission rates and reasons for 30-day hospital readmission. The Journal of arthroplasty, 29(3), 465-468.

Carrington, M. J., & Stewart, S. (2010). Bridging the gap in heart failure prevention: rationale and design of the Nurse-led Intervention for Less Chronic Heart Failure (NIL-CHF) Study. European Journal of Heart Failure, 12, 1, 82-88.

Li, P. T. S., Goodman, D. C., & Guttmann, A. (2016). Medical Practice Variations in Pediatric Care.

Misky, G. J., Wald, H. L., & Coleman, E. A. (2010). Posthospitalization transitions: Examining the effects of timing of primary care provider followup.Journal of Hospital Medicine, 5(7), 392-397.

Ryan, A. M., Krinsky, S., Adler-Milstein, J., Damberg, C. L., Maurer, K. A., & Hollingsworth, J. M. (2017). Association Between Hospitals Engagement in Value-Based Reforms and Readmission Reduction in the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program. JAMA Internal Medicine.

Shah, G. H., Lertwachara, K. H., &Ayanso, A. H. (2010). New Technology and Implications for Healthcare and Public Health.