NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 2
[Student Name]
Capella University
Professor’s Name
August 2025
NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 2 Policy Proposal
Need for Policy Change
Although Mercy Medical Centre is among the leading healthcare facilities in the region, it has quite a high patient readmission rate. The 30 days readmission rate of this medical Centre is now 26.5. It is quite high compared to the national level, 20% in the identical period (Mayo Clinic, 2018). More than that, the average in Minnesota State is 15.22 with the national average being 16.1% (Minnesota Department of Health, 2021). Judging by these statistics, it can be concluded that the facility requires certain timely and relevant actions. The healthcare facility and the national healthcare system incur high expenses in hospital 30-day readmissions. Warchol et al. (2019) report that avoidable readmission costs the United States of America about 26 billion every year. In the Mercy Medical Centre, the facility experiences high readmission rates that cost it the additional Medicare money as a result of the readmission penalty. In NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 2, it is highlighted that whenever patients are readmitted to the hospital, they experience a significant emotional blow. A single study aimed to learn how patients perceived their readmission discovered that 85% of the readmission victims believed that readmission was avoidable and that the incident was attributed to untimely discharge and unprofessional healthcare services provided by the discharge facility (Warchol et al., 2019). In this policy proposal example, it is noted that such a negative image also influences the treatment process and the recovery period of patients. The other adverse impact of patient readmission is that it predisposes them to hospital-acquired infections (Warchol et al., 2019). Readmissions tend to prolong the time spent in a health care facility therefore exposing a patient to various ailments. In NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 2, it is emphasized that a high readmission rate is not only very
expensive but also exposes patients to emotional distress and an increased risk of developing hospital-acquired infections.
The issue of high readmission rates has a number of consequences to a healthcare facility when it is not dealt with on time. In this policy proposal, it is emphasized that even though research findings have not been uniform, some studies have attributed high readmission rates to lower quality of care. When patients re-enter a hospital, the first question is why the healthcare team and the entire facility did not do their job (Walker, 2017). As a result, hospital readmissions are perceived by the government, patients, and healthcare companies as the absence of quality healthcare services. In NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 2, it is noted that the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) penalizes hospitals for avoidable readmissions. This penalty shows that the program takes readmission as a measure of decreased quality of healthcare services. Nonetheless, empirical support of the above presupposition is lacking to date (Benbassat and Taragin, 2020). However, the absence of evidence to indicate readmission as a quality care factor does not eliminate the endeavor to minimize hospital readmissions. In this policy proposal, it is noted that unless changes are implemented, the hospital will continue to pay fines and suffer reputational damage, as high readmission rates are often perceived as indicators of low-quality care.
Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines to Reduce Readmission Rates
Reduction of readmission in hospitals has been a relevant objective among a variety of healthcare executives within the past few decades. Most hospital heads target the reduction of hospital readmissions to render hospitals more economically competitive and to meet the demands of the local community. One of the methods used to mitigate the readmission rates is data analytics (Warchol et al., 2019). In NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 2, this strategy involves
developing analytical models that can predict the likelihood of a patient’s readmission. The data obtained through this model is then used to develop the discharge protocols that would be in a position to prevent or reduce the avoidable readmissions. Another similar technique is electronic health records. Research has revealed that the efficient utilization of electronic health records can assist healthcare professionals in managing the treatment of patients in the best way possible, hence, mitigating chances of readmission (Warchol et al., 2019). In this policy proposal example, another initiative adopted by medical professionals is the use of mobile technology, which non-medical staff have also observed as helpful in anticipating readmission rates. There are studies that have found that the co-occurring use of technology and underutilized workforce can be a contributor to the value-based care and lower readmission among patients (Warchol et al., 2019). The other strategies that have been employed in minimizing the rate of readmission in the hospitals are augmenting the level of nursing staff. The study by Warchol et al., (2019) revealed that the nurse staffing level is negatively correlated with readmission rates. In NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 2, it is highlighted that reduced nurse staffing levels contributed to an increased readmission rate and resulted in higher financial sanctions under the HRRP. One credible reason that can be attributed to this observation is that nurses are important components of frontline staff of a hospital and as such, it has a considerable influence on overall operations of other operations within a healthcare facility.
None of the above approaches are self-sufficient though. Most leaders in hospitals have had difficulties relying on any of the preceding strategies alone. In this policy proposal example, the majority of practitioners select two or three methods in combination, depending on the circumstances of the healthcare facility. In this light, this paper suggests employing the concept of mobile app technology and enhanced nurse staffing levels as the main tools that might be
applied in order to mitigate the level of readmission rates at Mercy Medical Centre. Proper utilization of the mobile app technology will make communications effective and efficient and the chances of a readmission possible. In NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 2, the interviewee emphasized increasing the number of staff to ensure that every patient receives proper care and is discharged on time.
Policy Statement
High readmission rates add to the costs of healthcare. This is a policy that the Mercy Medical Centre and other medical institutions should strive to implement to curb patient- readmission rates.
Scope
The policy extends to all the healthcare practitioners in the Mercy Medical Center, the nurses, physicians, and the healthcare leaders.
Practice Guidelines
Application of mobile technology in decreasing re-hospitalization. The initial technique that has been proposed in this paper is the effective utilization of electronic health records systems and other technologies in order to eliminate the 30 days readmission rate in MMC. The lack of contact with the patients after their discharge is one of the factors contributing to high readmission rates at the facility. Most of the practitioners in MMC believe that their patients would commit to all instructions given after discharge. Nevertheless, this is not the case. In this policy proposal, it is noted that most re-admitted patients admit they seldom follow discharge instructions, often due to forgetfulness or ignorance. Warchol et al. (2019) suggest that the probability of re-admissions is usually high when discharged patients do not adhere to their discharge plan. In this light, this paper suggests the creation of an mHealth application that will
be deployed to communicate with all patients leaving this hospital. In NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 2, it is proposed that all discharged patients will receive real-time follow-up messages through the app. In the message, all the post-treatment plans that the patient will be expected to follow will be included. The only thing that would be essential in this case is that every time patients are hospitalized, they will be informed about the significance of the app, and they will be requested to download it to the phone. After release, the rate of patient engagement will be enhanced because the app will allow two-way communication between the patient and the hospital. Such a step would be likely to enhance adherence to post-discharge directions.
Increase the nursing staffing levels
The labor force will be increased by increasing post discharge interactions with patients. MMC currently has about 250 nurses. At least 50 to 100 additional nurses will be needed to implement the mentioned above policy effectively. In this policy proposal, the research suggests that the hospital should recruit at least three to five nurses each month to strengthen the nursing workforce within the facility. Such nurses will subsequently be educated on the use of the proposed mHealth application in order to decrease re-admission rates.
Potential effects of the recommended practice
The above practice guidelines when implemented may have a number of impacts of both positive and negative effects. The net good effect is that the healthcare facility will have a decrease in the number of readmission and an increase in patient quality care. On the down side, augmenting nurse staffing will cause the hospital to incur additional labor expenses. Moreover, to utilize the mobile app technology, the organization will be obligated to adhere to the regulatory restrictions of the country and state concerning the healthcare information about patients. Security breaches are also commonly linked with the utilization of the above technology
in case health data is not adequately secured (Jamshed et al., 2015). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) forbids medical professionals to release patient details to a third party (Jamshed et al., 2015). In NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 2, it is acknowledged that patient information may leak into the wrong hands due to negligence in operating the system or through cyber theft. Patient autonomy is violated in any of the above cases, and this may interfere with treatment. Consequently, despite the fact that electronic records are efficient in terms of fostering communication and minimizing medical error, third parties may gain access to the records, which will subject the hospital to legal consequences. Overall, successful enforcement of the suggested policy change would have more beneficial than adverse effects.
The importance of the involvement of different stakeholders in implementing the above change
The needs of the staff members such as nurses, middle managers, physicians, and general managers will all play a critical role in the implementation of the above change. General Managers will play an important role in educating the other change members of the imminent policy change and also in ensuring the provision of the required resources to support the change. The change process will also be managed by the managers and middle managers so that nothing goes wrong. In the meantime, the frontline nurses and physicians will be forced to be well educated and informed of the new policy change as the change will directly impact on them. In NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 2, it is stated that all board discussions on the policy change will require the presence of practitioner representatives to minimize the chances of opposition and reduce delays in implementing the changes. In this policy proposal, it is concluded that the involvement of all stakeholders will ensure a strong and efficient implementation of the policies.
Conclusion
In NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 2, it is observed that Mercy Medical Center has a slightly higher-than-average readmission rate. This poor performance not only increases healthcare costs but also damages the hospital’s reputation, as the community associates high readmission rates with lower quality of care. The primary solutions to the above problem that the hospital can develop is through high staffing of nurses and using the mHealth mobile app technology.
References
Benbassat, J., & Taragin, M. (2020). Hospital readmissions as a measure of the quality of health care. Archives of internal medicine, 160(8), 1074. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.160.8.1074
Jamshed, N., Ozair, F., Sharma, A., & Aggarwal, P. (2015). Ethical issues in electronic health records: A general overview. Perspectives in clinical research, 6(2), 73. https://doi.org/10.4103/2229-3485.153997
Mayo Clinic. (2018, August 16). About us – Readmission rates
https://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic/quality/quality-measures/readmission-rates
Minnesota Department of Health. (2021). Local Public HealthAct. https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/practice/lphact/statute/index.html
Walker, B. (2017). Are hospital readmissions a valid indicator of the quality of care? Patient Bond Blog. https://insights.patientbond.com/blog/are-hospital-readmissions-a-valid indicator-of-quality-of-care
Warchol, S. J., Monestime, J. P., Mayer, R. W., & Chien, W. W. (2019). Strategies to reduce hospital readmission rates in a non-Medicaid-expansion state. Perspectives in health information management. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6669363/
