C815 Task 2 Quality Improvement Plan for Enhancing Patient
Transport Efficiency, Scheduling Adherence, Staff Workflow, and
Patient Satisfaction: A Comprehensive C815 Quality and
Performance Management Project
Student Name: Lauren
Course: C815 – Quality and Performance Management and Methods
Institution: Western Governors University
1. Introduction
Lauren has been assigned to lead a Quality Improvement (QI) Project focused on
improving patient transport efficiency, scheduling adherence, and overall satisfaction. The
purpose of this project is to identify problems, implement solutions, track outcomes,
and improve healthcare delivery performance (Shaw & Carter, 2019).
C815: Quality and Performance Management and Methods
Task 2: Quality Improvement Plan
,Part A: Quality Improvement Project
Quality improvement projects are required when there is a measurable difference between
performance that is expected, and actual performance (Spath, 2013); nowhere is this more
important than when these differences adversely affect patient care and safety, which is the top
priority for (and the driving force behind) all healthcare delivery.
In the case of Lauren’s subacute rehabilitation facility, there is a measurable difference in the
therapy that the patients are expected to receive and the therapy that they are actually receiving,
as evidenced by:
• decreased time patients are actually in session with a therapist, which negatively affects
the quality of care being delivered
• decreased revenue being generated by the rehab department as they cannot bill for a
one-hour session when in fact the patient only received 30 minutes of session time
To ensure that patients are receiving the full therapies they are entitled to, this care deficit
must be addressed and corrected, which in turn will correct the decreased revenue issue.
In order to achieve this, a quality improvement plan must be initiated to identify and research
the issues that are affecting the expected versus the actual performance. Measures must then be
developed to correct the deficits and the improvement project must be implemented utilizing
analytic quality improvement tools, both qualitative and quantitative, to assess and measure the
,actual performance. If a positive shift has taken place with expectations being met, then the
process is maintained through measurement and assessment. If expectations are not met, as
determined by analysis of the measured data, then the quality improvement plans must be
reevaluated to correct the situation and bring performance back into alignment with what is
expected (Spath, 2013).
As Lauren has assumed the role of leading the project and is forming a quality improvement
(QI) team, she will need to proceed systematically, with a defined process, in order to eliminate
confusion that would sabotage the project’s ability to achieve results. Additionally, using a
systematic approach to correcting performance deficits will aid in implementing a permanent
solution, improve the staff’s work-life quality as processes run smoother, and improve
communication between different departments and levels of staff.
Lauren’s systematic approach to initiating the QI project should follow a framework model to
include four steps:
• Define the improvement goal by assessing how the process is currently working.
• Analyze current practices to identify what can be improved.
• Design and implement the plan to align with the desired outcome.
• Measure and analyze actual performance.
The goal for this project will be continuous improvement, and so completion of the fourth
step will loop back to step two to identify further improvement opportunities (Spath, 2013).
Part A1: Areas of Focus
Areas of concern that the facility’s physical therapist, Karen, has shared with Lauren are:
• Patients aren’t being brought down (to rehab) for therapies on time.
1
, • Because patients are brought to rehab late, their therapy sessions are shortened,
affecting quality of care.
• Billing charges are down as a result of the shortened therapy sessions.
• Nurses’ aides can’t get the patients up in time for their sessions due to being
shortstaffed and overworked.
• Time wasted by transporters and therapists in having to frequently run down to the
nurses’ station to see what’s going on with the patients that are late for their sessions.
• Increased tension and arguments between nursing staff and rehab therapists.
• CEO has been brought into the issue by a call from an unhappy patient’s wife
complaining that her husband hasn’t been getting his full rehab sessions like he did
when he started a month ago, and she is threatening to place him in another rehab
facility if he doesn’t receive better care.
Of the concerns that Karen has presented, Lauren should focus the quality improvement plan
to address three primary issues:
• Nursing staff have patients ready in a timely fashion for transport to their scheduled
therapy appointments.
• Patients attend their full therapy sessions without scheduling conflicts in other
departments.
• Improving communication and collaboration between the nursing and therapy staff.
Addressing these three key issues will improve and smooth out the process, thereby
correcting the other concerns; patients that receive their full therapy sessions allow billing to be
corrected, and full therapy sessions improve the quality of care delivered that will improve
2
Transport Efficiency, Scheduling Adherence, Staff Workflow, and
Patient Satisfaction: A Comprehensive C815 Quality and
Performance Management Project
Student Name: Lauren
Course: C815 – Quality and Performance Management and Methods
Institution: Western Governors University
1. Introduction
Lauren has been assigned to lead a Quality Improvement (QI) Project focused on
improving patient transport efficiency, scheduling adherence, and overall satisfaction. The
purpose of this project is to identify problems, implement solutions, track outcomes,
and improve healthcare delivery performance (Shaw & Carter, 2019).
C815: Quality and Performance Management and Methods
Task 2: Quality Improvement Plan
,Part A: Quality Improvement Project
Quality improvement projects are required when there is a measurable difference between
performance that is expected, and actual performance (Spath, 2013); nowhere is this more
important than when these differences adversely affect patient care and safety, which is the top
priority for (and the driving force behind) all healthcare delivery.
In the case of Lauren’s subacute rehabilitation facility, there is a measurable difference in the
therapy that the patients are expected to receive and the therapy that they are actually receiving,
as evidenced by:
• decreased time patients are actually in session with a therapist, which negatively affects
the quality of care being delivered
• decreased revenue being generated by the rehab department as they cannot bill for a
one-hour session when in fact the patient only received 30 minutes of session time
To ensure that patients are receiving the full therapies they are entitled to, this care deficit
must be addressed and corrected, which in turn will correct the decreased revenue issue.
In order to achieve this, a quality improvement plan must be initiated to identify and research
the issues that are affecting the expected versus the actual performance. Measures must then be
developed to correct the deficits and the improvement project must be implemented utilizing
analytic quality improvement tools, both qualitative and quantitative, to assess and measure the
,actual performance. If a positive shift has taken place with expectations being met, then the
process is maintained through measurement and assessment. If expectations are not met, as
determined by analysis of the measured data, then the quality improvement plans must be
reevaluated to correct the situation and bring performance back into alignment with what is
expected (Spath, 2013).
As Lauren has assumed the role of leading the project and is forming a quality improvement
(QI) team, she will need to proceed systematically, with a defined process, in order to eliminate
confusion that would sabotage the project’s ability to achieve results. Additionally, using a
systematic approach to correcting performance deficits will aid in implementing a permanent
solution, improve the staff’s work-life quality as processes run smoother, and improve
communication between different departments and levels of staff.
Lauren’s systematic approach to initiating the QI project should follow a framework model to
include four steps:
• Define the improvement goal by assessing how the process is currently working.
• Analyze current practices to identify what can be improved.
• Design and implement the plan to align with the desired outcome.
• Measure and analyze actual performance.
The goal for this project will be continuous improvement, and so completion of the fourth
step will loop back to step two to identify further improvement opportunities (Spath, 2013).
Part A1: Areas of Focus
Areas of concern that the facility’s physical therapist, Karen, has shared with Lauren are:
• Patients aren’t being brought down (to rehab) for therapies on time.
1
, • Because patients are brought to rehab late, their therapy sessions are shortened,
affecting quality of care.
• Billing charges are down as a result of the shortened therapy sessions.
• Nurses’ aides can’t get the patients up in time for their sessions due to being
shortstaffed and overworked.
• Time wasted by transporters and therapists in having to frequently run down to the
nurses’ station to see what’s going on with the patients that are late for their sessions.
• Increased tension and arguments between nursing staff and rehab therapists.
• CEO has been brought into the issue by a call from an unhappy patient’s wife
complaining that her husband hasn’t been getting his full rehab sessions like he did
when he started a month ago, and she is threatening to place him in another rehab
facility if he doesn’t receive better care.
Of the concerns that Karen has presented, Lauren should focus the quality improvement plan
to address three primary issues:
• Nursing staff have patients ready in a timely fashion for transport to their scheduled
therapy appointments.
• Patients attend their full therapy sessions without scheduling conflicts in other
departments.
• Improving communication and collaboration between the nursing and therapy staff.
Addressing these three key issues will improve and smooth out the process, thereby
correcting the other concerns; patients that receive their full therapy sessions allow billing to be
corrected, and full therapy sessions improve the quality of care delivered that will improve
2
