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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in its endeavor to boost healthcare in the country, has developed several research tools and decision-making tools. These tools are meant to improve the provision of healthcare for all patients and also to make the work of treating the patients easier for the doctors. These tools have enhanced the delivery of health care services by increasing the efficiency of the doctors (Strome, 2013). The doctors no longer have to spend a lot of time on the patients as the decision support systems enable them to make some crucial decisions. The research tools, on the other hand, allow the doctors to collect data about the different patients they meet. The research tools are able to analyze the data and to give a report on the diseases and the treatment given to each patient to allow for feedback in the future (Ransom, 2008). This has digitized the medical profession thus making it easier for doctors to serve more patients per unit of time. In the process of doing this, the doctors have also become motivated as their welfare and tools of work have been improved. The research and decision-making tools are not only available to the doctors, but also to the other stakeholders such as medical researchers, program managers, and other policy makers. My Focus

My area of focus being the pediatrics field, I would recommend that Avenue takes into considerations the different quality indicators in a bid to improve their healthcare services to their young patients. The organization can use the following methodologies for integrating the quality indicators strategies into performance measurements. These methods include Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, the six sigma model, the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) and the Toyota Production System/Lean Production System. Toyota Production System/Lean Production System is borrowed from Toyota Corporation. This method aims at improving the efficiency of the health care services by reducing the amount of waste per unit of time. It is all about enhancing efficiency by reducing the costs of operations. By applying similar principles as those employed by Toyota, the organization can increase its customer base by giving the patients value for their money. This method uses specialization at its best, where the specialists deal with their cases for their field only (Ransom, 2008). This enables them to give the best and most accurate diagnosis to the patients, and it also allows them to save time as each patient is assigned a specialist for their problem right from the start. The factors that have successfully enabled the application of Toyota Production System in hospitals is the elimination of unnecessary daily activities which lead to duplication of duties and wastage of resources. The few hospitals that have applied this system have reported an increase in the efficiency, reduced costs, efficient service delivery and an increase in the number of patients attended per unit of time. Failure Modes and Effects Analysis This method is used to predict future problems by taking a futuristic and visionary approach to evaluation. It takes on an analysis of all the potential problems that can occur due to certain errors. The technique aims at reducing and eliminating the possible source of the errors in a bid to improve the efficiency and to reduce the costs associated with the malfunctions of a health system (Strome, 2013). The decision support and research systems can lead to a lag in the handling of the patients if they happen to be faulty. They would slow down the rate at which the patients are attended by the doctors, not to mention other potential errors such as a misdiagnosis and a possible misprescription. By identifying issues such as the saving of the patient names into the system by using their last name only and other potential sources of errors can prevent the occurrence of the system. For this to be effective, there has to be a team of experts who constantly monitor the system to ensure that it is free of all vulnerabilities. Six Sigma model This model was initially applied in the business field but its importance neither has limits nor borders. It involves the designing, improving, monitoring and evaluating processes to reduce the waste in a bid to increase the efficiency, to optimize satisfaction and to improve the financial stability (Ransom, 2008). One of the methods under this model is the inspection of defects and the calculation of the defect rate per million and its conversion to a sigma metric. This is the method that is applied to the pre-analytic and post-analytic processes. The other method calculates the sigma metric from the observed variations and the tolerance limits to predicting the process performance. Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) This technique is aimed at making positive changes towards the improvement of the quality of the healthcare for the patients. It impacts and assesses the change through small goals that enable the patients to achieve bigger goals (Ransom, 2008). Its purpose is to establish a causal relationship between process changes and the outcomes. It is mostly used in the recovery of behavioral ailments such as those associated with smoking, drunkenness, obesity and so on. Decision I would choose the Toyota Production System over the other methods as it is more realistic and wholesome in its approach to increasing the overall efficiency of the organization. It is concerned with not only the efficiency but also the continuous improvement of the healthcare processes to ensure that the organization is always moving forward. Benchmarks and Milestones of using Quality Indicators The use of the quality indicators cannot be left without evaluation. The quality indicators have to be adequately monitored to see whether they are delivering any results and to check if they need any improvements for them to increase their output. The quality indicators provide a measure of the quality of healthcare. They use the readily available administrative data of the patients to aid in decision making. They have the potential to raise concerns over the areas that need more attention by tracking their changes per the unit of time. These quality indicators include the patient safety indicators, the prevention quality indicators, pediatric quality indicators and the inpatient quality indicators (Ransom, 2008). The use of inpatients' administrative data in this is based on its availability and importance in decision making for the policy makers. The relevant authorities provide the guidelines that must be adhered to in using the quality indicators. The three potential benchmarks for the quality indicators include the number of patients served per unit of time, the amount of dollars spent in fixed costs for each period and the amount of dollars saved from reducing the costs of operations within the organization. One may also include the amount of time spent on each patient as a benchmark. Healthcare IT Systems Self-Management Systems include highly varies systems that have different combinations of functionality that utilize multiple platforms. They provide a timely response to the information of their current users (Strome, 2013). Some go an extra mile to allow for the transmission of crucial information such a blood sugar levels and blood pressure. These features enable feedback for the users, either directly or through the service providers. Electronic Personal Health Records and Patient Portals are records of health information on individuals which conform to the nationally recognized interoperability standards and can be shared, controlled and managed by the individual. The tethered PHRs allow the patients to view their data, but they are not permitted to modify it. These portals contain a patient's vital information such as their personal information which includes their age, marital status, contact, and residence. They also include their medical history, allergies, problem list, immunizations, laboratory and other test results as well as any other relevant medical history. Peer Interaction Systems provide support for patients to interact with their peers who may be suffering from a similar condition. These patients are able to share their experiences and to encourage each other thus providing moral support which can work out well especially for lifestyle-related ailments. Mission and Vision of an organization in meeting its objectives

Every organization has its objectives which are communicated in its mission statements and delivered through its vision. The performance and quality measures enable the organization to check its current performance and to evaluate it against the expected performance for the period. Avenue as an organization has its target number of patients that it seeks to attend for every month, which may be broken down to the weekly number of patients. It also has a budget for every month in costs which it has to measure if it is effectively and efficiently allocating its costs to the relevant departments and sections. It also has to evaluate if the allocated resources for each unit are sufficient and if any department has a surplus, which can then be reallocated to other departments which may have a deficit.

References

Confronting the New Health Care Crisis:Improving Health Care Quality and Lowering Costs By Fixing Our Medical Liability System. (n.d.). Retrieved August 21, 2015.

Hughes, R. (n.d.). Retrieved August 21, 2015.

Ransom, E. (2008). The healthcare quality book vision, strategy, and tools (2nd ed.). Chicago: Health Administration Press ;.

Strome, T. (2013). Healthcare Analytics for Quality and Performance Improvement. Hoboken: Wiley.

Walshe, K. (2011). Healthcare management (2nd ed.). Maidenhead, Berkshire, England: McGraw Hill/Open University Press.