Reference no: EM132300840

Quality Concepts in Action Scenario

Quality professionals who work with data often must convince clinicians that the data are reliable and an accurate reflection of their care management. Mortality, for example, can be considered a quality variable. It's not meaningful to simply count how many people died over a period of time. What is meaningful is to understand the cause of each death and determine whether appropriate care was delivered. As an administrator of a hospital or health system determined to lower your mortality rate (especially if it is publicly reported as high), would you:

try to place as many patients as possible in palliative or hospice care because that would lower the rate?

demand that ICU directors justify each mortality in the ICU?

honor the wishes of the patient and family in placing the patient in either the ICU or palliative care?

use data, such as APACHE, to understand acuity levels in the ICU and direct care accordingly, with low-acuity patients on other units?

Consider the pros and cons of each of these alternatives, with special emphasis on using arguments to influence physician behavior.