Policy Proposal to Improve Benchmark Performance

Policy Proposal
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Policy Proposal to Improve Benchmark Performance
Just like other organizations, medical facilities should set forth strategies, principles, and policies that guide their employees toward achieving their goals and vision. These principles are derived from evidence-based and moral techniques that define the daily operations within a care facility. Additionally, the policies guarantee that medical centers meet the benchmarks of federal, state, and local policies and laws. Benchmarking is the process of comparing a healthcare facility's practices with external policies put in place by the national and local governments. It is a crucial process because it assesses the performance of various departments within the facility, reveals underperforming divisions, and aids in formulating and implementing policies that will result in quality improvement.
Mercy Medical Center is a Vila health-affiliated hospital situated in Shakopee, Minnesota. The facility is famous for its high-quality medical services. For it to maintain its status within the locality, the medical center must adhere to the policies and guidelines from the federal, state, and local governments. The dashboard metric information provides valuable information on the diabetes management and treatment status of the hospital, which is then benchmarked against external diabetes guidelines. The dashboard indicated two underperforming aspects, comprising foot exams and A1c screening. These two tests are critical in assessing patients and devising appropriate diabetes management plans (Schnell et al., 2017).
Regular foot exams on diabetic patients allow for the early detection of ulcers, which might result in severe complications, such as amputations. On the other hand, A1c screening should be conducted after every three months but regularly for at-risk patients. This method allows a healthcare practitioner to assess the effectiveness of a treatment plan (American Diabetes Association, 2015).
The dashboard has provided limited information, leading to data gaps that give room to various assumptions. For instance, the numbers provided do not offer percentages. Thus, it is correct to assume that a significant proportion of patients treated at Mercy Medical Center between 2019 and 2020 were diabetic. With the number of diabetic patients being large, the foot tests (235) and A1c screening (272) in the last quarter of 2020 are ironically low. The federal benchmark for A1c screening is 79.5%, while Minnesota's is 78%. The A1c tests for the last quarter of 2020 cannot compare to these benchmarks.
Similarly, the foot tests of the last quarter of 2020 are low compared to the 84.0% of the federal laws and 84.1% set out by Minnesota. This underperformance affects the facility's vision of providing quality care. The reason is that the tests are not conducted. Hence, the overall patient assessments are lacking. This results in inadequate treatment intervention.
Therefore, Mercy Medical Center has failed to meet the national and local benchmarks and requires policy reviews for quality improvement. Failure to make changes to improve the underperformance would result in a misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatments. For instance, a doctor who does not examine the patient's feet during a routine check-up will fail to realize the presence of abnormalities. The latter might result in severe complications, such as amputation.
Proposed Policy
Mercy Medical Center must formulate and implement appropriate guidelines and policies to ensure that the two underperforming metrics are improved. These policies must enhance and increase foot and A1C screening among diabetes patients. Some policies include adequate staffing, diversification of the facility's staff, patients and practitioners' education, optimization of the organization's culture to motivate practitioners, and implementation of strict enforcement procedures. Overlooking a test or screening can be due to inadequate staff members. When a medical facility has few physicians dealing with many patients, the former are often overwhelmed and fatigued, making it easier for them to assume that the A1c screening and foot test are unnecessary.
The dashboard indicates that Mercy Medical Center has 433 physicians and 200 volunteers. This number is significantly low compared to the 36,192 patients received by the facility. Diversification of employees in an organization is crucial as it ensures all clients are understood and served regardless of their cultural, religious, or ethnic affiliations. Additionally, diversification builds trust and eliminates the language barrier. Shakopee is...