Which operational research method is used to improve on patient experience and outcomes? How is it being measured? Can you think of something not being mentioned or considered that should? Is patient demand exceeding healthcare capacity? If yes, why? What is being done to address the “why”? If not, why?

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Assignment questions:

1. Which operational research method is used to improve on patient experience and outcomes? How is it being measured? Can you think of something not being mentioned or considered that should (i.e; ethnicity, socioeconomics, barriers, etc.?)?

2. Is patient demand exceeding healthcare capacity? If yes, why? What is being done to address the “why”? If not, why?

3. Productivity metrics. Find an article that can help you address the leading barrier affecting your patients (i.e; wait times for appointments, patient engagement around life style changes, etc..)?

4. ROI. Is the cost treatment financially beneficial to the organization? Is treatment beneficial to the patient? Are both parties satisfied?

What is the CFTR protein and what is its function? What happens if this protein is defective in cystic fibrosis patients? As a doctor, what are three important tests you would order to confirm a CF diagnosis and why? If early screening finds a CF mutation in a child, would you recommend genetic counseling for the family? Explain your reasons why. What is the average or median life expectancy of a cystic fibrosis patient? Today, up to what age can patients live? How is this possible?   Why is the skin of cystic fibrosis patients salty?

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CYSTIC FIBROSIS REVIEW ASSIGNMEN

 

  1. This is a true story….A doctor informs a young father that his newborn baby boy has cystic fibrosis. The father says, “Yes, that would make sense as I am a carrier for cystic fibrosis.” But the grandfather says, “No, the baby can’t have cystic fibrosis—my daughter, the mother, was extensively genetically tested and she does not have the gene for cystic fibrosis.” Who is correct? The doctor or the grandfather? Explain.

 

Watch the following video and answer the following questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymvPrk_DslY

  1. What is the CFTR protein and what is its function? What happens if this protein is defective in cystic fibrosis patients?
  2. As a doctor, what are three important tests you would order to confirm a CF diagnosis and why?
  3. If early screening finds a CF mutation in a child, would you recommend genetic counseling for the family? Explain your reasons why.
  4. What is the average or median life expectancy of a cystic fibrosis patient? Today, up to what age can patients live? How is this possible?
  5. Why is the skin of cystic fibrosis patients salty (explain the mechanism)?
  6. Why do CF patients have greasy stools and persistent cough?
  7. What is the bacterial pathogen involved in severe lung infections in later stages of CF?

 

Watch the following video and answer the following questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn0grhu9h4g

Find information from reliable sources rather than simply from Holly’s account. Include the source link with each answer.

  1. Why does Holly take the following medications? How do they help her deal with CF?

 

  1. a) Ursodeoxycholic acid
  2. b) Ranitidine
  3. c) Salbutamol inhaler
  4. d) Nebulizer with DNase

 

  1. Why does Holly take so many antibiotics? What impact may the antibiotics have on Holly’s gut normal flora?
  2. Why are CF patients supposedly able to absorb only about half of the nutrients in food? Does this affect their growth or weight?
  3. An analysis of a CF patient’s stool revealed decreased or absent levels of the digestive enzymes (trypsin and chymotrypsin) and high levels of fat. Why?
  4. Although many women with CF are able to conceive, can you think of one factor that may make pregnancy difficult?
  5. The lumacaftor/ivacaftor drug combination has been found to be effective in cystic fibrosis patients. What is the annual cost of this drug to the patient? What is the molecular mechanism by which these drugs bring relief to the cystic fibrosis patient?
  6. What is one future treatment for cystic fibrosis that is promising and explain briefly how it works? Cite your source.

 

 

Is the data what you predicted it would be? How did your choice of administering the survey impact the outcome? If you elected to administer an anonymous survey the results may vary from choosing an email survey where you know the respondent. How did those who responded impact the outcome?

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Survey Summary

Provide an overview of this process with the results on a Word Document:
List the questions you created.
Share how you administered the survey.
Include a chart (column, line, pie, bar, or scatter – all found as insert charts in Word) illuminating the results of your survey.
Conclude this assignment with 2 paragraphs summarizing your thoughts/opinions about the data you collected.
Answer each of these points in your summary. Feel free to include your own points:

Is the data what you predicted it would be?
How did your choice of administering the survey impact the outcome? If you elected to administer an anonymous survey the results may vary from choosing an email survey where you know the respondent.
How did those who responded impact the outcome? If you give the survey at a family reunion versus on campus you may get very different results. If you give the survey at an AA meeting your results could widely vary from giving the survey at a bar on Saturday night.
Finally, consider what the results mean about society in general and their opinion about people with substance use disorder (SUD).

How regular do people use drugs? Have you ever been on drugs? What are some of the worsening experience one can undergo while abusing drugs? What are some of the challenges one may experience while trying to quit drug and substance abuse? From a personal perspectives, how challenging and difficult is it to fully win a war on drugs and substance abuse?

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Survey questions

Survey questions on War on Drugs in the US
Instructions; Tick where applicable.
1.    How regular do people use drugs?
a)    Very often
b)    Occasionally
c)    Daily basis
d)    Fortnightly

2.    Have you ever been on drugs?
a)    Yes
b)    No

If yes, have you recovered?
a)    Yes
b)    No

3.    What are some of the worsening experience one can undergo while abusing drugs?
a)    Discrimination and stigma
b)    Poor health
c)    Financial indiscipline
d)    Accidents

4.    What are some of the challenges one may experience while trying to quit drug and substance abuse?
a)    Emotional instability
b)    Relationship related issues
c)    Mental health complications
d)    Uncontrolled cravings

5.    From a personal perspectives, how challenging and difficult is it to fully win a war on drugs and substance abuse?
a)    Very difficult
b)    Difficult
c)    Not difficult
d)    Moderately difficult

6.    What can government do to assert a sustainable War on Drugs?
a)    Involve societal leaders in policy making
b)    Involve provincial administrations in manning and implementation of the laws prohibiting the drug and substance use
c)    Increasing taxes and zeroing incentives on any resource used in the production of the often abused substance and drugs.
d)    Carrying out periodical health promotions aiming at educating the public on the adverse effects of drugs and substance abuse.

 

How will you identify the most important reasons for the current shortage? How will you develop short-term and long-term strategies?

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Grayson County Regional Medical Center Case Study

This case was developed in collaboration with Caroline LeGarde Shafa, Vice President, Operations, Sibley Memorial Hospital, Washington, DC. Copyright © 2017. Health Administration Press. All rights reserved.

Grayson County Regional Health Center is a private, not-for-profit, 225-bed acute care hospital located in a rural community in a southeastern state. The hospital provides a broad range of inpatient and outpatient services, including cardiology, obstetrics, gynecology, general surgery, internal medicine, urology, family medicine, dermatology, pediatrics, psychiatry, radiology, nephrology, ophthalmology, occupational medicine, and rehabilitation services. The center offers 24-hour emergency care. The center is built on a 96-acre site, and its service area includes Grayson County and parts of three neighboring rural counties.

In the last 20 years, the region has suffered severe economic setbacks. Most of the textile industry has moved out of the region because of outsourcing, and the town itself has fallen into disrepair. An increasing proportion of the population—33 percent of children 00_Fried_Fottler (2349) Book.indb   147 Fried, B. J., & Fottler, M. D. (2017). Fundamentals of human resources in healthcare, second edition. Health Administration Press. Created from apus on 2022-07-18 15:02:33. 9/25/17   11:51 AM148 Fundamentals of Human Resources in Healthcare and 22 percent of the elderly—lives below the poverty line. The county has a civilian labor force of 27,568 and currently has an unemployment rate of 13 percent. The county’s infant mortality rate is 2 percent.

The center has 85 physicians, representing 29 subspecialties, on staff. It has affiliation relationships with two academic health centers—one about 90 miles away, and the other 100 miles away. The center employs more than 800 people, is fully accredited by The Joint Commission, and is certified to participate in Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) programs. The center is governed by an 18-member board of trustees, which includes the chief of the medical staff, the immediate past chief of the medical staff, the chief executive officer, and 13 members selected by the board from the community at large.

The center has strong community ties. Its staff members participate in community health screenings, health education programs, and health fairs. It serves as the meeting place for many support groups. Although it has been under financial stress for the last five years, it continues to have strong support in the community.

The employee turnover rate at the center is 40 percent. Over the last few years, the turnover rate for nurses has ranged from 15 to 50 percent. Physician recruitment and retention are also major concerns. Currently, only one radiologist is practicing in Grayson County, and there is a shortage of physicians in all specialties.

The center relies heavily on Medicaid and Medicare revenue, leaving the hospital in a difficult financial condition. It is unable to pay market rates for nurses and other professionals, so nursing units are understaffed and nurses feel overworked and underpaid. The quality of patient care may also be decreasing. A local newspaper article reported that patients at the center were often left on stretchers in the hallway for long periods, staff members were unresponsive to patient and family concerns, and crying in the hallways is not unusual.

Nurses and other professional groups report poor communication between senior management and employees. Bad relationships between middle managers and frontline staff are also a problem in some departments. This situation became particularly difficult two years ago when the center embarked on a large building project. Employees could not understand how the center could afford to build new facilities but was unable to pay market Copyright © 2017. Health Administration Press. All rights reserved. 00_Fried_Fottler (2349) Book.indb   148 rates to its staff.

The nursing turnover problem at the center has reached crisis proportions. Recent exit interview surveys indicate that financial concerns are the major reason for leaving. The center has tried numerous strategies, including improving the work environment by adding amenities (such as lower prices in the cafeteria) and training middle managers. For a short time 18 months ago, nurse salaries matched market rates, but the center fell behind again shortly thereafter. The RN vacancy rate currently is 18 percent.

As a consultant to the center, you are expected to make recommendations to address the nursing shortage. Specifically, you have been asked to develop short-term strategies to cope with the current crisis and long-term strategies to improve the overall recruitment and retention picture.

Consider the following questions:

  • How will you identify the most important reasons for the current shortage?
  • How will you develop short-term and long-term strategies?

Prepare a 3-5 page white paper outlining the basic steps of the revenue cycle. Identify the various steps within the revenue cycle process, including admissions, case management, documentation, coding, billing, et cetera.

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HCAD 640 Assignment 5 “Revenue Cycle”

INSTRUCTIONS

Note: Support your research with at least five peer-reviewed sources. The use of professional charts / graphs to reinforce written content is expected.

For this assignment, you will prepare a 3-5 page white paper outlining the basic steps of the revenue cycle.

Scenario:
You have been recently hired at UMGC Health as a financial consultant. One of your job duties entails educating new hires on the revenue cycle process.  Identify the various steps within the revenue cycle process, including admissions, case management, documentation, coding, billing, et cetera.

For each 4 step identified, provide details pertaining to the following:

1. Purpose of the step identified.
2. The individuals involved in the process (e.g., providers, transcriptions, coders, registration clerk, etc.).
3. The key components of the function, such as verifying insurance, financial counseling, coding of documented services provided etc.
4. The consequences of failure to properly conduct the function identified.

Identify a real or hypothetical healthcare organization that you will either create a brand new strategic business plan, or revise an existing business plan. Provide a clear description of the business in your presentation.

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Strategic Business plan

For this assignment, you will focus on pulling various elements of a strategic business plan together that you may hypothetically present to executives in a healthcare organization. Identify a real or hypothetical healthcare organization that you will either create a brand new strategic business plan, or revise an existing business plan. Provide a clear description of the business in your presentation.

Exhibit 25-9 in your reading (pg. 314) provides a good outline for what needs to be included in the strategic business plan. Although your focus will be on the financial plan, you’ll also be pulling information from past coursework related to organization structure and marketing.

We just faced possibly the most significant pandemic of our lifetime; what challenges did you face while working as a healthcare provider, and what policies do you think should be changed to navigate better future pandemics we might meet?

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Module 4 Discourse Development – It’s All About Who You Know

Topic:

Nursing is the largest profession in healthcare, which should lend nursing to have the greatest impact in healthcare policy. What do you think prevents nurses from using their power to influence healthcare?

To get real-life insight on the topic mentioned above, I interviewed advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) through teleconference video call, the call was not recorded on the interviewee’s request, notes were taken, and her information is provided below

Interviewee – Dr. Erum Jiva – DNP, ARNP-BC, CLS

Dr. Erum Jiva initiated first lipid clinic in Ocala, FL. It is the only medical practice in the Ocala devoted exclusively to cholesterol disorders. Dr. Jiva is certified by the Accreditation Council for Clinical Lipidology (ACCL). she is active member of National Lipid Association, American Society of Preventive Cardiology, Preventive Cardiovascular Nurse Association and American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

The reason for selecting Dr. Jiva for this interview is that she has been an APRN for the last five years. She also had experience as a nursing faculty for almost seven years. Working as a self-employed APRN at her practice, she has experience guiding policies for her workplace and care as a whole.

Introduction:

As the largest healthcare profession worldwide, it is essential that nursing significantly impacts healthcare policy more than other healthcare professions. Advance practice registered nurses (APRNs) and registered nurses (RNs) should, therefore, use evidence-based knowledge to influence global healthcare policies (Abbasinia et al., 2020).

Policy Implication:

The primary role of a nurse involves giving care to the patients both during treatment and post-treatment periods. Hence, active participation in healthcare practice and delivery policy development at all government levels is needed. Nursing professionals should desist from receiving and adopting policies that are not pertinent to the issues affecting the healthcare sector. For instance, the local, state, and federal governments of the United States can improve their performance in the healthcare sector by involving RNs and APRNs in the policymaking process. However, the road to participation in policymaking at the government levels requires active participation in politics. Through the lobby groups such as professional nursing organizations at various government levels, nurses can present their opinions to the relevant policymaking bodies (E. Jiva, personal communication, June 26, 2022; Gerber, 2018). Apart from lobby groups, nursing professionals can actively participate in politics by assuming elective and appointive decision-making positions and help address healthcare issues at various levels of government (E. Jiva, personal communication, June 26, 2022).

In as much as nurses have the opportunity to represent the will of the patients in the policymaking chambers globally, few tend to contribute to the course actively. Factors such as inadequate opportunity awareness and limited healthcare policy education can cause inadequate participation of nurses in the healthcare policy and delivery decision-making (E. Jiva, personal communication, June 26, 2022; Godsey et al., 2020). Politics is an expensive venture that requires significant resources. The Healthcare sector is the least rewarding in the global economy. The situation makes it challenging for nursing professionals considering politics to pursue their dreams. They lack sufficient resources to participate in politics actively. Again, the community is not willing to provide the nursing professionals with sufficient financial resources to run for political offices. Lack of active political participation ensures that registered nurses and other nursing professionals do not present their opinions to the policymaking organs. Limited healthcare policy education is another factor that causes a lack of participation in the healthcare sector (E. Jiva, personal communication, June 26, 2022; Hajizadeh et al., 2021). Most registered nurses (RNs) lack awareness of the need for evidence-based policymaking in the sector due to the gaps in the nursing training curriculum. The nursing education program should include healthcare policy education to encourage the nursing students to develop an interest in politics (E. Jiva, personal communication, June 26, 2022)

Conclusion:

In response to the challenges mentioned above, nursing professionals can wisely use the legitimate power of politics by exhibiting increased creativity and energy towards advocating for patients’ rights and privileges. Therefore, investors and governments should provide nursing professionals with competitive remunerations and packages that allow for evidence-based practice and quality improvement in the healthcare sector. Furthermore, the healthcare work environment should also provide the nursing professionals with the necessary resources and financial support to actively participate in politics relating to healthcare policies (Safari et al., 2020). Finally, nursing professionals should encourage teamwork and collaboration at all levels through their lobby groups (E. Jiva, personal communication, June 26, 2022).

Follow-Up Question:

We just faced possibly the most significant pandemic of our lifetime; what challenges did you face while working as a healthcare provider, and what policies do you think should be changed to navigate better future pandemics we might meet?

References

Abbasinia, M., Ahmadi, F., & Kazemnejad, A. (2020). Patient advocacy in nursing: A concept analysis. Nursing Ethics, 27(1), 141-151. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733019832950

Gerber, L. (2018). Understanding the nurse’s role as a patient advocate. Nursing, 48(4), 55-58. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NURSE.0000531007.02224.65

Godsey, J. A., Houghton, D. M., & Hayes, T. (2020). Registered nurse perceptions of factors contributing to the inconsistent brand image of the nursing profession. Nursing Outlook, 68(6), 808-821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2020.06.005

Hajizadeh, A., Zamanzadeh, V., Kakemam, E., Bahreini, R., & Khodayari-Zarnaq, R. (2021). Factors influencing nurses participation in the health policy-making process: A systematic review. BMC Nursing, 20(1), 128. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00648-6

Safari, M. B., Bahadori, M., & Alimohammadzadeh, K. (2020). The related factors of nurses’ participation and perceived benefits and barriers in health policy making. The Journal of Nursing Research, 28(4), e103. https://doi.org/10.1097/jnr.0000000000000385

Prepare a 3-5 page white paper outlining the basic steps of the revenue cycle. Identify the various steps within the revenue cycle process, including admissions, case management, documentation, coding, billing, et cetera.

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HCAD 640 Assignment 5 “Revenue Cycle”

INSTRUCTIONS

Note: Support your research with at least five peer-reviewed sources. The use of professional charts / graphs to reinforce written content is expected.

For this assignment, you will prepare a 3-5 page white paper outlining the basic steps of the revenue cycle.

Scenario:
You have been recently hired at UMGC Health as a financial consultant. One of your job duties entails educating new hires on the revenue cycle process.  Identify the various steps within the revenue cycle process, including admissions, case management, documentation, coding, billing, et cetera.

For each 4 step identified, provide details pertaining to the following:

1. Purpose of the step identified.
2. The individuals involved in the process (e.g., providers, transcriptions, coders, registration clerk, etc.).
3. The key components of the function, such as verifying insurance, financial counseling, coding of documented services provided etc.
4. The consequences of failure to properly conduct the function identified.

How is the Guarani culture contributing to the spread of Chagas disease? As a public health professional, what key steps would need to be taken to address barriers for preventing Chagas disease while still preserving important practices of their culture? What challenges could a public health professional confront when working on public health projects with indigenous populations like the Guarani? What are some key components of TCM that are different than westernized medicine?

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512 Assignment 1

For this week’s assignment, you will need to look for information and answer the following questions:

How is the Guarani culture contributing to the spread of Chagas disease?
As a public health professional, what key steps would need to be taken to address barriers for preventing Chagas disease while still preserving important practices of their culture?
What challenges could a public health professional confront when working on public health projects with indigenous populations like the Guarani?
What are some key components of TCM that are different than westernized medicine?
Why would it be difficult to collect scientific evidence to show the effectiveness of TCM?
How many traditional Chinese views of the body and illness clash with modern medicine?
How are the three primary forces, also known as the doshas, connected to health and illness?
What are some similarities between Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine?

How would Ayurveda shape the way Indian’s think about their body in health and illness?
How are traditional African perceptions regarding health and illness affecting the spread of HIV/AIDS in Mozambique?

When developing HIV/AIDS programming in Africa, why should the community always be involved? Should traditional healers also play a role?
When should public health professionals try to change traditional African cultures and beliefs and when should they not?
What characteristics surrounding the Grisi Siknis illness make it a culture bound syndrome?
As a public health professional, how would you address the prevention of this illness
What perceptions regarding health and illness are leading the Miskito Indians to be affected by Grisi Siknis?