Comparison of Process of Care Indicators

Health care providers, as well as, hospitals play an essential role when it comes to the promotion, provision, and education of patients concerning their health care, prevention services and the maintenance of health in their communities. The hospitals and health care providers have to do so because the public has to be kept up-to-date that, most of the diseases that take them to hospitals can be prevented through lifestyle changes, treatments, screenings, and immunization. For this analysis, the South Florida Baptist Hospital has been selected to be compared against Bartow Regional Medical Center and South Bay Hospital in terms of a number of reported indicators for Process of Care.

Preventive care, which involves informing the public on how they can best protect themselves from infections and illnesses, is one indicator for the Process of Care. This indicator is based on both the number of patients and healthcare workers accessed and given vaccination against influenza. In South Florida Baptist Hospital, 97% of patients and 92% of healthcare workers were accessed and vaccinated (Medicare.gov 2018-b). In Bartow Regional Medical Center, the population vaccinated was 98% of patients and 75% of healthcare workers. Additionally, in South Bay Hospital 100% of patients were accessed and vaccinated while only 88% of health workers underwent the process of care. Based on these percentages, South Bay Hospital indicates the best preventive care indicator for its patients followed by South Florida Baptist Hospital and Bartow Regional Medical Center. As for the healthcare workers, South Florida Baptist Hospital performed better than the other two hospitals. One benefit of publicly reporting these data sets is that the patients can observe the performance of the hospital they select against the others in the region. Another advantage is that the promoters of the hospitals see valid proof on the performance of the process care indicators, which increases the prospect of more funding. Nevertheless, one disadvantage is that patients might opt to stick only with the hospital that portrays the best performance, even though the hospital is miles away and there is another that is closer to them.

Survey of patient’s experiences is another indicator for Process of Care. This indicator is essential because it establishes how the patients perceive the care and services that they receive when they go to hospitals. With regard to the three hospitals, this indicator is based on how often the nurses communicated with the patients. In South Florida Baptist Hospital, 80% of the patients reported that the nurses always communicated well with them, while 16% said that this was usual and 4% of them indicated that the nurses sometimes communicated well with them. In comparison, 80% of patients indicated that the nurses at Bartow Regional Medical Center always communicated well with them, while 17% said that the nurses usually communicated well, whereas 3% said that this was never the case. At South Bay Hospital 73% of patients said the nurses were always good with them, 19% said that the nurses were usually good, while 8% said the nurses were sometimes good with them (Medicare.gov 2018-a). From these statistics, it is clear that the majority of patients in the three hospitals agreed that the nurses always communicated well with them while only a few said otherwise. The advantage of publicly reporting these data sets is that the patients are able to identify where they will receive the best services. However, the disadvantage of doing so is that the hospitals get negative views that can sometimes lead to a reduction in the number of patients.

Another indicator for the process of care is surgical complications and it is based on the study of the rate of hip/knee replacement complications for patients, serious surgical complications, and deaths associated with the complications after surgery. The number of complications from the hip/knee replacement for South Florida Baptist Hospital wreas the lowest compared to South Bay and Bartow Regional Medical Center. South Florida Baptist had the biggest number of patients who participated in this study. The willingness of the patients and hospital to provide this data shows the level of care the hospital provides and its trust in the surgeons. South Florida has the least cases of complications after surgery compared to both South Bay and Bartow Regional hospital. The rates of after surgery complications are also small compared to the national levels. With reference to the website, it can be seen “the number of cases/patients is too few to report” (Medicare.gov 2018-d). This is in reference to footnote one from table 2 providing information about serious complications. Sharing of this information to the public is important for patients and concerned welfare organizations. Patients will be able to choose the best hospital that suits their needs. When faced with certain complications, patients are able to make the right choice for specific health complications. In addition, organizations involved in the improvement of health care will be able to identify hospitals in need of assistance in certain areas. However, sharing of this information to the public may promote the collapse of certain hospitals. Patients will prefer certain hospitals to others, which complicates the healthcare system. 

Pregnancy and delivery care, as a process of care indicator, is based on data of the number of women who delivered one to three weeks early and whose deliveries were not necessary. Data from the South Florida Baptist hospital shows that no unnecessary deliveries were made (Medicare.gov 2018-c). This is unlike the other two hospitals, which did not provide any information about untimely and early deliveries. The lack of early deliveries shows South Florida Baptist hospital’s commitment to discouraging early unsafe deliveries among women. Early deliveries that are not medically required are dangerous as they can promote death at birth. The hospital encourages safe deliveries that are done on time after the normal nine months of pregnancy. This data is important for the public as it helps reduce the child mortality rate. It can also be used to fight the rising early deliveries rate that is on the rise around the world. Using this data the government can stage campaigns in states against the delivery of babies before the required time. However, this data can be used by pregnant women to look for hospitals that condone early delivery of children without any medical grounds.   

References

Medicare.gov. (2018-a). Hospital Compare: Survey of patients’ experiences – details. Retrieved from https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/details.html?msrCd=prnt1grp1&ID=100132,100121,100259&stsltd=FL

Medicare.gov. (2018-b). Hospital Compare: Timely & effective care: Preventive care – details. Retrieved from https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/details.html?msrCd=prnt2grp6&ID=100132,100121,100259&stsltd=FL

Medicare.gov. (2018-c). Hospital Compare: Pregnancy & delivery care. Retrieved from https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/details.html?msrCd=prnt2grp10&ID=100259,100132,100121&stsltd=FL

Medicare.gov. (2018-d). Hospital Compare: Surgical complications. Retrieved from https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/details.html?msrCd=prnt3grp2&ID=100259,100132,100121&stsltd=FL