866 Patient Days The Hospital example essay topic

Let it Pour Week Four Rodney Henry CCS 330 Critical thinking and computer Logic When I first read this assignment I did not fully understand what was asked of me with this particular assignment. I then read the case study a couple of more times and then read the questions many more times after that and now I think I have an understanding of what is going on. The first problem that I saw was patient costs have increased to 240.00 per day over last year's cost of 217.00 per day. The hospital is providing the same care it is just that the over all patient care went up. The hospital wanted to know if they are running a less efficient operation from last year, they wanted to know if they could reduce costs with out impacting quality.

I would look into reducing costs with out jeopardizing the quality of care that the hospital is giving to their patients. I would also take inflating as consideration for the rising costs of patient care. The hospital wanted to increase patient count as they have a seven percent decrease in the patient population. I would look at why they had the decrease was it due to patients waiting a while for treatment, poor service Are there insurance changes that have affected how many patients can use one particular hospital or hospital network. Is the hospitals reputation good among the community, if not how can we improve upon that or if good relations among the community how can that be made better.

If the hospital holds steady at 7863 patients and those patients have a stay of 39,866 patient days the hospital will have to cut costs by 15% just to break even. One thing to do is make sure the patient is ready to leave before being discharged, if the patient feels that they are ready to go home make sure they are ready to go. Offer more patient services if there is not a maternity ward try to create one, that will increase operating costs but if the hospital provides good services and provides something a hospital near by does not have chances are people will not make the extra drive and go to the closer hospital providing the hospital has a good reputation. That would be one way to increase patient stay. Maybe the hospital can cut costs by offering generic pain medicine in stead of Tylenol or Advil, maybe they could find ways to reduce costs to medical supplies find a cheaper vendor but one who still provides the quality that the patients need and have come to rely on. I would form a committee with in the hospital to find ways to reduce costs with out having the cut the costs of patient care or the employee over load.

The hospital's mission statement reads "with the foundation and commitment of our spiritual health and well-being of the people in the communities we serve through a comprehenensive continuum of services provided in the collaboration with the partners who share the same vision and values". The hospital needs to get all the employees to read and under stand their mission statement so it is more then just words so their mission statement can be applied to every thing that the employees do while working at the hospital. The hospital has their mission statement on their business cards so the employees have it readily available, but the hospital can create banners and put their mission statement on break room walls, in the lockers just to remind the employees what their mission statement is what the employees should be striving for. What the hospital is all about. There was an article about medical errors causing close to hundred thousand deaths in hospitals alone. Pat the hospital CEO reports directly to the board of directors of the Faith Foundation that is very broad in their thinking and decision making alone.

Pat is not sure if all the members on the board are all on the same page or even understand the differences between ethics, laws, and beliefs oaths. If the board members understand these things where do they draw the line when applying the ground rules. There are patients who refuse to accept care, some times critical care due to their religious believes. I would explain to the patient if possible the severity of the problem at hand try to get them to understand the nature of the problem. If they are a minor patient, talk to their parents.

If at all possible have a second doctor to explain the severity of the situation. If that does not work have the patient sign something that the hospital would not be held accountable by refusing medical care that the hospital deems necessary. If minor patients have their guardian sign the paper. This way the hospital would not be accountable for the patient's refusal of service due to their religious believes. The hospital had three staff members in the intensive care unit initiate Do Not Resuscitate directives and there were no written orders to do this. In this case though the they had the support of the patient's families.

The hospital staff went out of orders to do this though, they should have documented this before they went out of order and made sure it was in writing do avoid any confusion of the patient's family and the other hospital staff and to protect the hospital in general and to protect them selves. The staff needs to know that the directives are in place to protect them selves from lawsuits and to protect the hospital from lawsuits and to help keep costs down. The doctors are interpreting the Hippocratic oath. I would not think there is any gray are in the oath. The doctors took the oath and they need to uphold it. I was reading today that the U. S government for their clinical evaluations and their marketing practices was investigating a company called Biovail.

They are being accused of paying doctors 1000.00 to prescribe a drug they produce. Where is this helping the patient this might be a more expensive drug the other drugs. Where is this helping the hospital it is not helping them either. The doctor and the manufacture of the drug are the only ones benefiting in this case. There are pharmacists at the hospital filling prescriptions for people who do not have insurance and taking payment plans. That is a very nice and kind gesture but that is stealing.

The pharmacists have no right to let the people have payment plans for their prescriptions unless it was set up through the hospital. I do realize that perceptions can be very expensive with out insurance and that the medicine might save a life but you have to look at the hospital procedures that are in place. Maybe the hospital could sent up payment plans in the future for people who do not have insurance charge them a small interest rate to recoup for the fact the are receiving payments for the prescriptions, it would be feasible as the prescriptions can run some what high and if the patient has multiple prescriptions that can be one enormous bill. There have been times were hospital counselors have been giving free sessions to patients.

This has not been authorized by the hospital. I would look at that as steeling as well, using hospital time to treat people for free. I admire the gesture but those hospital counselors have to realize they work for the hospital. I wonder if the hospital counselors could get permission to counsel people for a reduced rate or set up payment plans as well. It could build a good repour with in the community. One of the residents is ordering exams for the terminally ill.

That is nice that the resident wants to do everything to help that patient out but the person is dieing and there is nothing that resident is going to be able to do for them. This is a waist of hospital money and that residents time not toe mention the insurance if the patient has any will get billed for those tests as well causing insurance rates to go up higher. The hospital needs to have guidelines for the residents as far as ordering the tests go. Now on the other end of the spectrum there are hospital employees who are turning way perspective patients because they have no insurance or demanding payment up front for hospital services.

They are protecting the hospital in a way but are inviting potential lawsuits for refusing life saving patient procedures. Inviting bad press from the community as well.