Hospice Care Essay Example

Hospice Care Essay Example Hospice Care Essay Hospice Care Essay Risk and Quality Management Assessment: Hospice Care HCS/451 Hospice Care The only two things that are guaranteed in life are birth and death. It seems that every time I tell my husband that his drinking habits are going to be the death of him one day. He always responds by saying Weve all got to day someday in one way or another, so why not enjoy life while you have it. But in some cases the choices that we make will often determine whether we live to see the age of 90 verses Just the age of 40 or 50. Nevertheless, whether it is death by a life full of bad choice, by accident, or by the luxury of old age. My husband is absolutely correct in saying we all have to die one day and because of that fact hospice care is available. This will be an in depth description of the hospice organization as a whole. As well as the demographics of whom they serve and the types of resources and services the organization has to offer its clientele. This executive summary will also including a summary of the risk management and quality management operatives that are associated with hospice organizations as a whole. Hospice Description The hospice program was pioneered in England back in the early 1970s. It was a rogram established to assist patients and their families with end-of-life care. A hospice care team is comprised of nursing assistants, licensed vocational nurses, registered nurses, social workers, pastoral counselors, and many other health professionals. All of whom are under the direct management and guidance of a physician. The first hospice program to surface in the United States was in Connecticut back in 1973. After hospice took root in the United States in the 70s, around the early 80s hospice became an added benefit to the United States Medicare program. Because cancer was so prevalent in the 70s and 80s, hospice are was initially designed for people who were dying of cancer, and who had a functional family support system and a home where they could be cared for away from the high-tech hospital environment. (What is Hospice Care? , Mar/Apr 2003, p6). Vitas Innovative Hospice Care, a pioneer and leader in the hospice movement since 1978, is the nations largest provider of end-of-life care. (Vitas. com, 2012). Who Hospice Serves Currently, hospice care is no longer geared towards any one particular disease or circumstance. With improvements in technology and science hospice has immensely eveloped and matured from its original vision and values over the years. Hospice care is now equipped to assist patients that have a range of terminal illnesses from cancer, to heart disease, to HIV, and many more. It is now offered to patients with a lack of family support as well as patients that are housed in an institutional setting. In the 1980s hospice had become a standard element of end-of-life care and is now consider a form of accepted medical practice. Hospice cannot rightfully be a matter decision in 1983 to include hospice care in the Medicare program put an end to such thinking. (What is Hospice Care? Mar/Apr 2003, p6). Hospice Services Hospice offers a variety of services not only for their patients but the patients families as well. Over the years many foundations have dedicated resource to advance the knowledge and awareness needed to support and improve end-of-life care. One of the main services that hospice offers is professional nursing care in the public and private sector. It is extremely important that hospice provide the patient with as much comfort as possible so nursing care will be provided in whatever sector the patient feels most comfortable in. Hospice also offers assistance with daily and ersonal activities as needed by the patient or their families. There are also various forms of rehabilitation therapy and dietary counseling available through hospice. Hospice patients are often provided with a case worker that will assist the patients and their families with any necessary resource that may be needed while on hospice. Another service offered to patients and their family members through the hospice program is spiritual and psychological counseling. There are always Chaplins on staff for the hospice patients and their families to speak with and pray with if desired. As well as various counselors that will meet with hospice patients and their family members for any form of desired counseling. Respite care and volunteer services are two other resource services which are also offered through the hospice care program. Provision of medical drugs and treatments is available for hospice patients that cannot afford their medications. After the hospice patient has passed away family bereavement services are offered to the patients family members. The needs of a dying person fall within three categories: physical, emotional, and social welling being. Physical needs may include things such as a clean and safe living environment, assistances with personal care like bathing and dressing. As well as personal assistances with making sure the patient is getting the proper amounts food and nutrients needed on a daily basis. Emotional needs may include making sure the patients dying wishes are being respected and met. Also providing emotional counseling to help the patient come to terms with what is happening in their life. Social needs may include assisting patients with social functions and help with maintaining relationships and many other social needs that may surface. Caring for the dying is a complex social enterprise that must involve the families of the dying, religious organizations, the health care system, and the community at large, from the very local to the national level. (What is Hospice Care? , Mar/Apr 2003, p6). The resources and services that hospice care offers are in place to purposely meet each and every one of those needs. Purpose of Risk Management Therefore, in order to meet those needs properly an organization must learn how to evaluate and control its own risk. Risk management is a process in which an organization forms strategies and planning mechanisms that will help the rganization reduce or eliminate the likelihood of a specific or general form of loss or risk. The process of gathering and utilizing systematic data are key essentials to the concept of risk management. Now for many organizations risk management programs consist of two components, proactive and reactive management. Proactive management is the process in which organizations have active planning mechanisms management is reactive management. Reactive measures are the risk management components that are implemented in response to an adverse or unlikely occurrence happening. As stated in the Manuel for Indian Health Services, whether it be a proactive or reactive risk management process it should be comprised of these factors: 0 Diagnosis†ldentification of risk or potential risk. Assessment†calculation of the probability of adverse effect from the risk situation. 0 Prognosis†Estimation of the impact of the adverse effect. 0 Management†Control of the risk. (2006,Health Care Risk Management). Risk management is evaluated on an organization-by-organization basis. The risk that are associated to one organization may not have any affect or bearing on another organizati on. This is why it is important for individual organizations to go through the process of diagnosing, assessing, determining a prognosis, and managing their own risks. Once those evaluations are addressed the organization can then form adequate proactive and reactive measures that best suit the needs of their organization. Even though proactive and reactive components may differ on a case-by-case basis the goal of risk management should all be the same. Which is to minimize or eliminate the risk if harm to patients, minimize liability exposures of the health care provider, and to inimize financial loss to the organization and its stakeholders (University of Phoenix, 2009). Key Concepts The key concepts of risk management should be based on the principles of identifying key risk factors. Risk factors have to be considered in all areas of hospice care work and operational activities. Staff should be encouraged to do proper incident reporting, this will allow quality management teams to better asses risk based on reoccurring incidents (Agarwal, 2013). Good risk management comes from integrating all risk management activities to obtain a holistic picture of how the rganization is performing. Direct patient care, health and safety, security, financial management, and system information management are Just a few of the many activities and concepts that need to be monitored for risk and quality improvements. Identifying and Managing Risk The organization should identify and manage risk by first taking an evaluation of the organization as a whole. During the evaluation process the organization should be able to identify the risks that are predominant to their environment. During the evaluation process the organization should also be able to diagnosis any potential isk and assess how those risks are going to effect the organization. Through the management process the facility can also determine a prognosis or a solution for the risk that they have identified in the evaluation process. And at that point the organization can then begin to manage the prognosis which will in return allow the organization to control the risk. Typical Hospice Risk There are a number of different risks that may affect a hospice care facility in a negative way and the risk can be both internal and external. Internal risks are things such as direct patient care, infection control, and incident reporting. External risks are things such as: supplier quality, social media, and reputational risk. Though all risks whether they are internal or external have a direct effect on the facilities influence quality outcomes which is why it is vital for facilities to know their risks and manage them well. Successful direct patient care, minimizing or elimination the spread of infection, clear concessive incident reporting, excellent supplier quality, technically sav. y facilities, and up-to-date social media resources will tremendously boost a facilities quality outcome. But if the quality in those listed objectives is acking it could have a reverse negative affect on quality outcomes. Long-term and Short-term Goals There are many long-term and short-term goals that have been established in the hospice care organization. Long-term 10% growth in the profit margins over the next 5-7 years, become a totally skilled Registered Nurse only hospice facility over the next 5 years, and witness a 15% decrease in incidents over the next 5 years. Short-term 5% increase in positive patient feedback, 5% decrease in staff related injuries, and a 5-10% decrease in staff tardiness and absenteeism all in a matter of 6-12 months. Both long-term and short-term goals will allow the facility to improve its quality of care in a positive way. Policies and Procedures Policies and procedures are two of the most common terms used when attempting to establish a sense of order in any facility. But these factors are ten times more important when it involves a healthcare organization. Requiring a planned care pathway and protocol care plan for each individual patient should be an implemented policy. Robust incident reporting should be implemented, which means reporting all incidents whether small or large it needs to be reported. Regular patient nd staff surveys and feedback should also be implemented. All of these implemented policies and procedures will have a direct positive influence on quality health outcomes. Risk and Quality Management Conclusion In conclusion, if an organization fails to manage their risk they cannot adequately control their own quality the two go hand-in-hand. Perkins (2013), Risk management is the process of identifying, addressing, prioritizing, and eliminating potential sources of failure to achieve objectives. Quality management can be thought of as the process of designing and executing products and services effectively, efficiently, nd economically. (Quality management and risk management). Risk and quality management together allow the organization to achieve an objective in an effective, efficient, and economical way that benefits both the patients and the organization. So when a loved one is facing death and has been given a pre-determined amount of time to live out the remainder of their life, it is important that they seek facilities that enforc e a strong linkage between risk and quality management because like many things you can have one without the other. References Agarwal, R. (2013). A Guideline for Quality Accreditation in Hospitals. Retrieved from accreditation-hospitals. html Esain, A. E. , Williams, S. J. , Gakhal, S. , Caley, L. , Cooke, M. W. (2012). Healthcare quality improvement policy implications and practicalities. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 25(7), 565-81. doi:http:// dx. doi. org/lo. 1108/09526861211261172 Hospice care: About us, (2012). Vitas Innovative Hospice Care Texas. Retrieved from vitas. com Perkins, E. (2013). Linking Quality Management and Risk Management. Retrieved from http:// www. qualitydigest. com/inside/quality-insider-column/linking-quality-management- nd-risk-management. tml Rekleiti, M. , Kyloudis, P. , Toska, A. , Saridi, M. (2012). Patient safety and healthcare quality. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 5(2), 74-79. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/1114166783? accountid=458 University of Phoenix. (2009). Risk Management Handbook for Health Care Organizations, Student Edition. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, HCS 451 w ebsite. U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2006). Retrieved from ihs. gov/riskmanagement/index. cfm? module=partol What is Hospice Care? , (2003). Hastings Center Report, 6-12.