Discussion: Quality and Cost Measurements

As nurse practitioners continue to expand their role in delivering health care, it is imperative for NPs to provide the data and evidence to demonstrate the impact of NP care on patient outcomes. There are several challenges that advanced practice nurses face to provide quality care and meet productivity goals of an organization. This week it is important to explore the connection of quality care and performance measures. Some questions to consider as we discuss this topic are:

Why are quality measures important?

What is the difference between quality measures and performance indicators?

What performance measures are used for NP productivity?

Why are incentive plans used in clinical organizations?

To prepare:

Read the article, An Incentive Plan for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses: Impact on Provider and Organizational Outcomes, by Catherine A. Rhodes, Mavis Bechtle, and Molly McNett (2015)

Explore quality measures and identify at least one clinical performance measure, such as the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

By Day 3

Post an explanation of the importance of quality measures using the clinical performance measure you identified as an example. Then, identify the performance measures used for NP productivity in Rhodes, Bechtle, and McNett (2015) article. Finally, share your opinion on incentive payment for care, including external motivators and at least one business model.

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