Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses and respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days and by critiquing the gap/opportunity/solution descriptions; by offering supporting ideas you believe your colleagues should address; or by offering alternative solutions to the issue or specific financial, budgetary, or other challenges you believe their approaches should address.
answer both responses with 2 references each
1.
Significant gaps in the complex landscape of healthcare organizations challenge the overall objective of delivering comprehensive and equitable healthcare. These disparities show themselves in several areas: quality, price, accessibility, and efficiency. Varied groups frequently experience diverse levels of access to care due to the unequal distribution of healthcare services, driven by socioeconomic variables and geographic differences. (Comfere, et al., 2019). Financial constraints worsen the problem by preventing people from getting essential medical care. Inconsistencies in patient outcomes are caused by quality gaps, which differences in healthcare practices, communication breakdowns, and the lack of standard protocols can cause. Administrative inefficiencies can also make it more challenging to allocate resources effectively and prolong wait periods, hindering the smooth delivery of services. To proactively address and close these gaps and promote a healthcare system that is both accessible and cheap while also guaranteeing that every person receives consistent, high-quality care, healthcare organizations must first recognize and comprehend these gaps. (Shrank, et al., 2020).
Gap/Opportunity: Limited Access to Mental Health Services
There is a substantial gap in our healthcare organization’s mental health service accessibility, which causes patients with psychiatric requirements to receive care that is either insufficient or delayed. (Akinleye, et al., 2019). There is frequently a gap between the demand and supply for psychiatric care, which can lead to more extended wait periods and possibly worsening mental health disorders.
Possible Solution: Telepsychiatry Expansion
An effective way to close this gap is to increase the availability of telepsychiatry services. This entails using technology to conduct remote mental health consultations. We can reach a larger population, shorten wait times, and improve general accessibility to mental health care by utilizing telepsychiatry. This strategy is consistent with systems thinking by acknowledging the interdependence of diverse healthcare components and the possibility of optimizing resource usage. (Bright & Beyt, n.d.).
Financial Impact: Initial Investment vs. Long-term Savings
Long-term financial effects will be favorable, even if an upfront cost is associated with the required technological infrastructure and training personnel. Telepsychiatry allows psychiatrists to see more patients in a given time, which can increase efficiency. Better mental health outcomes result from shorter wait times and prompt interventions, which could help cut total healthcare costs by avoiding more involved and drawn-out treatments for worsening disorders.
Conducting a cost-benefit analysis in conjunction with the finance counselor is crucial, considering many elements such as equipment expenses, training costs, and the possibility of generating money through an increase in patient volume. (Shrank, et al., 2020). Examining insurance companies’ payment policies for telepsychiatry services might also assist in defraying the initial expenses of deployment.
Using the systems thinking methodology, we see that the answer is not an isolated process. (Bright & Beyt, n.d.). It impacts several interrelated healthcare system components, and these relationships must be carefully considered for successful implementation and sustainability.
2.Several gaps or opportunities exist to enhance services or approaches within a healthcare organization. I will be focusing on one which is a national concern in healthcare organizations.
Short Staffing
For many years as a bedside nurse, I never had to worry about the financial effect of equipment or staffing shortages in inpatient care units. I was a patient advocate who was frequently concerned about potential ways to improve how we deliver high-quality care efficiently and effectively. My top responsibility as a former charge nurse in an inpatient unit is the safety of everyone, including all staff and patients. If you’ve ever worked as a bedside nurse, you’ll know that when you’re short on staff, your first instinct is to seek assistance, even if it means working overtime. Nevertheless, a South Korean study found that optimal hospital nurse staffing is linked to enhanced quality of care, patient safety, and reduced tasks left undone (Cho et al., 2016).
Managers must guarantee adequate staffing for the entire day and anticipate unplanned absences. However, the COVID-19 pandemic spike was unexpected, making it incredibly challenging for every unit within our healthcare company to maintain staff levels. After a further review of the staff members’ numbers, it was discovered that managers throughout the organization needed to be made aware of their respective staffing capacities. Following the staff shortage, each department, including mental health, intensive care units, and medical-surgical units, focused significantly on receiving assistance inside their allotted area. Getting staff from outside the team was previously unclear, but a mechanism has been developed to emphasize staffing numbers, ensuring resources are spent effectively. Once there is a staff shortage in one unit, managers may examine the healthcare group as a whole and identify which areas have appropriate staff, a staff shortage, or are over-staffed to allocate staffing to maintain safety and quality of treatment efficiently (Ely, 2019). According to the organization’s manager, the following initiatives in our department resulted in a $1.6 million decrease in overtime charges.
In a study on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on depression and anxiety signs and symptoms were found to be substantially related to unfavorable thoughts about the COVID-19 pandemic (Qi et al., 2021). COVID-19 has outlived all of us. Despite enough staffing for the shift, our nurses demonstrated signs of fatigue from the workload and mental strain due to the increased likelihood of COVID-19 exposure. Several employees have expressed concerns about COVID-19 pandemic-related stress, admitting that their fear may not always be tied to staffing in general. Many people are suffering from sleeplessness as a result of their destructive because of anxiety about the unknown. Managers have become more aware of employees’ rising stress, anxiety, frustration, sick leave, and so on and have collaborated more frequently to help.
Ultimately, we intended to continue using the strategy since it benefits the firm by ensuring proper staffing, promoting patient safety, and providing outstanding care.