Reimbursement Changes Under Healthcare Reform, Essay Example

The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) is the first standardized national survey used to survey how patients perceived of their care they received while in the hospital. While the information procured from this survey is often used for making internal changes, HCAHPS enables hospitals to make valid comparisons between hospitals at the community and national levels (Shoup, 2015). Enhancing the comprehension of HACAHPS calls for nursing leaders to be competent in and possess knowledge about how surveys administered to patients contribute to the enhancement of patient care. Indeed, it is the duty of nurses to provide optimal healthcare to patients in order to enhance the patient’s quality of life and the level of healthcare provided. As a result, prior to patients being discharged, they are asked to fill out a survey comprised of twenty seven questions regarding their most recent stay in a hospital that targets the critical components of their experiences while in the hospital. It is the duty of nursing leaders to effectively communicate any and all problems that are discerned from the results of the administered survey to their fellow nurses and the physicians who are involved in patient care. This process is necessary in order to ensure that beneficial changes within the healthcare organization are swiftly made in order for patients to receive optimal care in the future. Problem areas that are commonly noted in these surveys include noise in the hospital, cleanliness, communication amongst parties in the administration of medicines, information about discharge, pain management, and the overall level of care experienced in the hospital using a ranking system.

Nursing leaders can raise the bar on the efficacy of this standardized survey in order to determine how the information yielded by hospitals across the nation using it can be transposed onto other healthcare organizations (Anderson, 2011). Technology, education, and effective communication located along the continuum of patient care retains the potential to vastly improve the patient’s overall health and well-being in addition to their experience while being cared for in the hospital.

References

Anderson, J. A., & Wilson, C. (2011). Reimbursement changes under healthcare reform: Are you prepared? Health Care Compliance, 13(9), 30-31.

Shoup, V.A. (2015). One Hospital’s Patient Satisfaction Plans in Response. Walden University. Retrieved 1 Dec. 2015 from http://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1331&context=dissertations