2025-2026
Affordable Care Act (ACA) - Answers´Designed to provide quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans
´Encourages healthcare organizations to establish accountable care organizations (ACO)
´Changed how primary care providers offer care via a health home
MOST IMPORTANTLY, it reduces disparities in health care
How? By enabling clients with pre-existing conditions to obtain health insurance, and by increasing the
ability of EVERYONE in the community to obtain health insurance
AND there are NO lifetime benefit limits
Children are covered until age 26 under their parents' plan
*How is modern healthcare paid for? - Answers´In the past, healthcare providers were paid for the
amount of care they gave patients and not the outcome
´Time
´Length of stay
´Supplies
´Nosocomial incidences
´System is being replaced by reimbursement for the quality of the care provided
´Managed care is paid by a prearranged rate
Cost of Medical Errors - Answers´Continues to climb
,´In addition to loss of life or diminished quality of life, actual dollar estimates put such costs at $17.1
billion annually
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) - Answers´Oversees government payments for care
´No longer cover costs incurred by medical mistakes
Quality management - Answers´A preventive approach designed to address problems before they
become crises
´Healthcare industry has adopted various strategies from the airline industry and other fields.
´Plan, implement, measure, make adjustments,and continuously strive to improve
Leapfrog Group - Answers´Consortium of public and private purchasers
´Leverages purchasing power
´Rewards organizations for quality measures
*According to Leapfrog Group, how should you choose which hospital for care during the procedure? -
AnswersGo to the hospital with the highest performance ratings for this procedure
*Benchmarking - Answers´Promotes quality improvement
´Compares an organization's data with similar organizations
´Uses outcome indicators to compare performance across organizations
Uses results to address weaknesses and enhance strengths
,For example, what is the average length of stay for knee replacement between hospital A versus
hospital B or which of these hospitals has the lower infection rate?
*Barriers to quality improvement - Answers´Cost
´Nurses loyal to old practices and refuse to follow research proven practices
´Failure to realize that change is needed to improve quality
´Being stubborn and unwilling to change
*Evidence-Based practice decision-making steps - Answers1. Identify the clinical question: YOUR first
step in the process of EBP is asking a question. So, it is acceptable to watch how other nurses perform a
procedure and then ask them why they are performing it differently.
2. Acquire the evidence to answer the question.
3. Evaluate the evidence. Use peer-reviewed articles because they have been scrutinized by other
professionals with licensure and expertise.
4. Apply the evidence. Utilize recent research in current nursing practice.
5.Assess the outcome.
Magnet Recognition Program - Answers´Certifies health care organizations for nursing excellence
14 Forces of Magnetism (NOT interested in addressing cost reduction or sound budgets!):
´Reconfigured into five components:
, ´Transformational leadership
´Structural components
´Exemplary professional practice
´New knowledge, innovations, and improvement
´Empirical outcomes
Patient safety improves (in theory) when forces are met!!!
To qualify for recognition as a Magnet hospital, the organization must demonstrate that they are
achieving the following: - Answers´Promoting quality in a setting that supports professional practice
´Identifying excellence in the delivery of nursing services to patients/residents
´Disseminating "best practices" in nursing services
Nurses would likely experience high job satisfaction when working in a Magnet Hospital
*The main purpose of QSEN is to: - AnswersPrepare future nurses for improving patient safety
(QSEN) Six prelicensure KSAs (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) are as follows: - Answers´Patient-
centered care
´Teamwork and collaboration
´Evidence-based practice
´Quality improvement
´Safety
´Informatics
Benefits of electronic health records (EHRs) - Answers´Reduce redundancies