Introduction:
Core measures refer to a set of quality performance measures that are meant to improve quality in hospitals (The Joint Commission). Hospitals have been required to address these core measures over the past 15 years. These measures are very much applied today to level hospital clinical performance, while at the same time encouraging improvement. Core measure results are also posted on websites so as to ease comparison by customers interested in shopping for certain hospital services (The Joint Commission).
Psychiatric Hospitals are expected to yield data on the Hospital-Based Inpatient Psychiatric Services (HBIPS) core measure (The Joint Commission). These institutions are expected to participate through sending data to the Joint Commission on all measures from the HBIPS measure set. However, General Hospitals that have a psychiatric wing are not necessarily expected to make use of the HBIPS data set, but they may choose to do so out of their own will (The Joint Commission).
Hospital compare:
The three hospitals I compared are Bellevue Hospital Center, Beth Israel Medical Center, and New York Downtown Hospital (Hospital Compare). These hospitals are all in New York. The core measure I chose to focus on is heart failure.
Description of the measure:
Heart Failure refers to the weakening of the heart, such that it becomes hard for it to pump blood (Hospital Compare). The body therefore gets deprived of nutrients and oxygen necessary to function properly.
Reaction to the data set:
The data set has sufficiently dealt with the main aspects of Heart Failure core measure. However, there is still a gap that needs to be covered, and as such further research should be done regarding other aspects of Hear Failure core measure. This way, all the important factors will be covered.
Findings for the three hospitals:
All the three hospitals provide a process of care for individuals suffering from heart failure (HF). The comparison was done based on four factors:
1. HF patients given instructions during discharge (Hospital Compare):
Bellevue Hospital recorded 100% on the number of patients given instructions during discharge, whereas Beth Israel recorded 78% of the patients; on the other hand, New York Downtown recorded a total number of 97% patients (Hospital Compare).
2. HF patients given a functional Left Ventricular Systolic (LVS) evaluation (Hospital Compare):
Bellevue Hospital showed a 100% result on the number of HF patients given LVS evaluation; Beth Israel recorded 99%, whereas New York Downtown recorded 97% of the population (Hospital Compare).
3. HF patients given ARB or ACE inhibitor for LVS Dysfunction (Hospital Compare):
Bellevue Hospital showed that it gave 100% of its HF patient the ARB or Ace inhibitor, Beth Israel recorded 92%, whereas New York Downtown showed a total of 100% of its HF patients (Hospital Compare).
4. HF patients given advice or counselling on smoking cessation (Hospital Compare):
Bellevue Hospital exhibited that it gave 100% of its HF patients counselling or advice regarding smoking cessation, and so did the other two hospitals (Hospital Compare).
Uses of the data:
Consumers can use this data to conduct comparison shopping on how the three hospitals treat their HF patients, and thus make a decision on where they would want to be treated should they suffer from HF (The Joint Commission). Payers can use this data to determine how much reimbursement each hospital should receive based on the performances of each of the hospitals (The Joint Commission). The Government, on the other hand, can use the data to determine which hospital is doing what it is supposed to be doing, and which areas require more regulations.
On the other hand, specific hospitals can make use of this data by analyzing which areas they have put the right amount of emphasis on, and which ones they have neglected. Moreover, hospitals with quality improvement committees should continuously ensure that they remind clinical staff about the importance of providing the necessary amount of care required for the core measures (The Joint Commission). These committees should also encourage the staff to always document the correct information to ensure quality of recorded information, and also enhance accountability of those responsible for recording such information. The use of Electronic Health Records is the easiest way to guarantee data quality and accountability.
Works cited
Hospital Compare. Heart Failure Process of Care Measures. U.S Department of Health & Human Services. N.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2012
The Joint Commission. Facts about ORYX for Hospitals (National Hospital Quality Measures). N.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2012
