Posted: May 1st, 2025

Health & Medical Question

part 1 Assignment Content

The Required Unit Resources for this unit examined how a growing population that is living longer and requiring more healthcare services than ever before will contribute to many challenges in the future of health care. The readings highlighted that while an ongoing issue, emergency department (ED) overcrowding and quality of service is certain to continue to worsen as a result without innovation and quality initiatives.
For this project, you will synthesize many concepts covered in this course to analyze this problem and outline a quality improvement initiative that can create positive change.Problem: This hospital in the District of Columbia ranks as one of the worst in the entire nation for ED timely and effective care.
Goal: Create a systems-wide approach to substantially improve aspects of ED operation and care that will dramatically improve wait times to be seen, wait times until admission, and reduction of left-without-being-seen rates to meet or register below national averages.
You will need to perform any additional research on this hospital that is needed to support your project. Note: As you research this hospital, you will find it is ranked highly in other areas and specialties, even having received The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval. Researching this hospital’s initiatives that led to this may be helpful.
Your project should reflect theories discussed in this course (e.g., lean, Six Sigma) and must utilize the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDCA) approach. It must include the following:

a brief summary of the problem, to include data supporting the need for change;

a quality improvement initiative proposal, to include specific desired outcomes;

1. suggested implementation strategies that will be most effective to achieve quality improvement;

social marketing approaches to ensure widest awareness and participation in the initiative;

a measurement plan, to include the tools that will be most effective to measure change, and how ongoing performance will be monitored to prevent regression and loss of the positive change that has taken place,

an analysis of the roles leadership, staff, and patients will play in the improvement initiative; and

a summary of the benefits and long term effects if the desired outcomes are achieved.

include a detailed analysis of the historical impact of quality management goals within the healthcare industry.

determine the connections between managed care processes and how these assist with the goals of a health care organization.

interpret the major role a healthcare accreditation organization plays in the U.S., and include at least one example of an accreditor.

Your project will be a minimum of four pages, not counting any title or reference pages. You must use at least four scholarly sources to support your project. These sources do not include any hospital statistical or data sources that you utilize.
All sources used must be properly cited. Adhere to APA Style when creating all citations and references for this assignment.

PART 2 Assignment Content

Identify one activity or concept covered in this course which you found to be most valuable, and explain why. Then briefly discuss how the material presented in this course will benefit you in your future professional or academic pursuits.

UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE
Future Challenges and Trends in Health Care
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
2. Compare and contrast components of traditional quality assurance programs in the healthcare
industry.
3. Apply various quality improvement methods used in the healthcare industry.
3.1 Plan for quality improvement in future health care challenges.
5. Explain the key measures used to assess performance outcomes in healthcare organizations.
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 14: Future Trends and Challenges for Continuous Quality Improvement in Health Care
In order to access the following resources, click the links below.
Trzeciak, S., & Rivers, E. P. (2003). Emergency department overcrowding in the United States: An emerging
threat to patient safety and public health. Emergency Medicine Journal, (20)5. https://link-galecom.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/apps/doc/A108693603/AONE?u=oran95108&sid=AONE&xi
d=de113974
Cryts, A. (2019). New trends move healthcare to the home: Innovative care solutions bring the health system
and medical procedures to patients’ homes. Managed Healthcare Executive, (2)29, 5–7.
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tr
ue&db=bsu&AN=134951725&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Unit Lesson
Introduction
The landscape of the healthcare industry and the scope of the quality and care it provides has historically
changed at a rapid pace and is expected to do so in the future as the national and global population evolves.
When strategizing ways to meet challenges and emerging trends, multiple factors and expectations of the
future of the healthcare industry must be taken into consideration. According to Allen (2019), these include
(but are certainly not limited to):
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a growing and aging population;
a shortage of skilled healthcare workers;
the higher prevalence of chronic medical conditions and diseases;
changing consumer expectations;
exponential growth of technological innovations in medical diagnosing, treatment, and rehabilitation;
the necessary transition to electronic health records;
care models that are evolving from fee-based sick care to value-based preventative care;
evolving health insurance options and regulations; and
major health systems expansion and partnerships with retail or other industry stakeholders.
Some Challenges Facing the U.S. Healthcare Industry
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Emergency Department Overcrowding. Long Emergency Department (ED) UNIT
wait times
are often
signals of
x STUDY
GUIDE
overcrowding or staff shortages. As Trzeciak and Rivers (2003) discuss in an Title
article in this unit’s Required
Resources, in the United States have long dealt with over-crowding in the Emergency Department and the
problem continues to worsen with a population that is growing, living longer, and requiring more emergency
healthcare services than ever before. The problem is not new; in 2006, the Institute of Medicine deemed it a
national epidemic (Stead, Jain, & Decker, 2009), yet the problem persists. There are consistent reports of
ambulance diversion, operating at levels over capacity, and understaffing. These conditions lead to increased
risks of failing to provide effective and timely care, ultimately resulting in increased waiting times, medical
errors, higher mortality, and increased financial implications for both the patient and the hospital. Many EDs
have successfully implemented quality improvement initiatives in this area, but there is still a long way to go to
ensure the same quality is a nationwide standard.
Maternal Health. Studies have found that the United States has the worst maternal health outcomes and
mortality (GBD 2015 Maternal Mortality Collaborators, 2016). In their report, nine maternal mortality review
committees, in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), report that over 60% of general
pregnancy related deaths were preventable, while 68% of cardiac deaths and 70% of hemorrhage deaths in
maternal patient were preventable (Building U.S. Capacity to Review and Prevent Maternal Deaths, 2018).
Provider factors were considered one of the largest contributors to maternal death. These factors include
misdiagnosis, ineffective treatment, and poor and untimely care, all of which can and should be addressed by
quality improvement initiatives.
The Opioid Crisis. In 1996, Purdue Pharma launched a campaign informing patients and doctors that a new,
safe drug was available to combat pain. This started cultural shift in how American clinicians treated pain, as
well as how patients viewed their options to relieve their pain. It began what is now known as opioid crisis, a
crisis which led U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to declare it a public health
emergency (HHS, 2017). By 2012, the United States was responsible for 99% of sales for hydrocodone and
81% of oxycodone globally (International Narcotics Control Board, 2017). Today, overdose and/or death from
opioid addiction has skyrocketed, with numbers still continuing to rise. Compounding the problem are
increased deaths related to drugs such as heroin, which opioid addicts increasingly turn to as a cheaper and
easier to obtain alternative. Frieden and Houry (2016) found that death by prescription overdose in the United
States more than quadrupled in a 15 year period.
Most critics will argue the opioid crisis that is plaguing the United States was brought on by the health care
industry itself. Chase and Emerick (2017) argue that U.S. healthcare systems and practitioners are at the
same time both victims and unwitting accomplices who have either intentionally or unintentionally enabled the
crisis. Increased addiction and death from opiates directly correlates to the high rates of prescribing. This high
prescribing rate has historically been due to inconsistent standards regarding appropriate use and dosing,
and pharmaceutical marketing, but also reflects the increased demand among addicts who began prescriber
“shopping” to get continued prescriptions.
While the crisis has loomed for a long time, to date there has been no end-all solution. That is not to say that
stakeholders are not working toward a solution and that most are critically aware of the imperative to end the
epidemic. Change will have to come from a collaboration of a myriad of stakeholders, such as:
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federal entities, such as lawmakers and the Food and Drug Administration,
health plan and insurance providers,
pharmaceutical companies,
all healthcare facilities and clinicians,
community-based healthcare organizations, and
patient support groups.
Advanced in other areas can help facilitate an end to the opioid crisis. Block chain systems and electronic
health records that can be accessed by any provider can help mitigate abuse. Using innovations in
technology to assist in prescription monitoring programs will also help in efforts to curb misuse and overprescribing.
Patients Desiring Personalized and Technology-Based Healthcare Options. The new generations of
patients not only embrace technology, they demand it. Allen (2019) reports that almost half of those 45 years
HCA 4307, Health Care Quality Management
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or younger surveyed prefer a digital medium to manage their health and receive
health
care, as
opposed to
UNIT
x STUDY
GUIDE
office visits. This means there will be an increased demand for the use of telemedicine,
wearables, and virtual
Title
care marketplaces, as well as a long-sought after electronic health record system. This demand will also see
new players and stakeholders in the industry, as companies like Microsoft and Amazon continue to leverage
technology with their proven business strategies and global market share to deliver quality health care options
and improve patient experiences.
Conclusion
The challenges the healthcare industry will face in the future are undoubtedly as numerous as the
opportunities for positive growth that will present for quality improvement. When strategizing to stay on top of
new challenges and emerging trends, one common denominator exists: the healthcare industry at all levels,
from law and policymakers to administrators and clinicians, must collaboratively work toward a collective
focus and imperative to shift the present paradigm of primarily providing care after a patient becomes ill to a
new mentality and system focused on health care that attends to supporting the physical and well-being of a
population, mitigates negative social determinants of health, and provides prevention and early intervention
programs.
References
Allen, S. (2019). 2020 global health care outlook. Laying a foundation for the future. Deloitte Insights.
https://documents.deloitte.com/insights/2020globalhealthcareoutlook
Building U.S. Capacity to Review and Prevent Maternal Deaths. (2018). Report from nine maternal mortality
review committees. https://www.cdcfoundation.org/sites/default/files/files/ ReportfromNineMMRCs.pdf
Chase, D., & Emerick, T. (2017). CEO’s guide to restoring the American dream: How to deliver world class
healthcare to your employees for half the cost. Health Rosetta Media.
Frieden, T. R., & Houry, D. (2016). Reducing the risks of relief–the CDC opioid-prescribing guideline. New
England Journal of Medicine, (374), 1501–1504. http://www.nejm.org/ doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1515917
GBD 2015 Maternal Mortality Collaborators. (2016, October 8). Global, regional, and national levels of
maternal mortality, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)314702/references#articleInformation
International Narcotics Control Board (2017). Comments on the reported statistics on narcotic drugs.
International Narcotics Control Board. https://www.incb.org/documents/Narcotic-Drugs/TechnicalPublications/2017/7_Part_2_comments_E.pdf
Stead, L. G., Jain, A., & Decker, W.W. (2009). Emergency department overcrowding: a global perspective.
International Journal of Emergency Medicine (2)3, 133–134.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2760705/
Trzeciak, S., & Rivers, E. P. (2003). Emergency department overcrowding in the United States: An emerging
threat to patient safety and public health. Emergency Medicine Journal, (20)5. https://link.gale.com/
apps/doc /A108693603/AONE?u=oran95108&sid=AONE&xid=de113974
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2017, October 17). HHS acting secretary declares public
health emergency to address national opioid crisis. https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2017/ 10/26/hhsacting-secretary-declares-public-health-emergency-address-national-opioid-crisis.html
Suggested Unit Resources
In order to access the following resources, click the links below.
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The following article is referenced in the unit lesson, and you are encouraged UNIT
to read
it for a more
in-depth
x STUDY
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understanding of the issue of poor maternal health outcomes in the United States.
Title
GBD 2015 Maternal Mortality Collaborators. (2016, October 8). Global, regional, and national levels of
maternal mortality, 1990–2015: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015.
The Lancet, (388)10053, 1775-1812. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS01406736(16)31470-2/references#articleInformation
You are encouraged to view the PowerPoint Presentation: Chapter 14: Future Trends and Challenges for
Continuous Quality Improvement in Health Care for a review of our textbook’s authors’ perspectives on the
collaboration, leadership and responsibilities that are critical to future quality improvement in health care.
PDF of Chapter 14 PowerPoint presentation
While this course has focused on continuous quality improvement within U.S. health care, the following
chapter in your textbook expands the conversation to the global environment. Specifically, it explores the
quality gap in health care and public health programs in low- to middle-income countries. While globally
focused, this chapter offers insight on challenges and potential solutions specific to areas with limited income
or resources. In a broader context, the information presented may also be applicable to communities or areas
in the United States, where there are limited resources, health care accessibility issues, or limiting factors
such as education and income.
Chapter 13: Quality Improvement in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
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