The provision of quality patient care is one of the central focuses of healthcare institutions and facilities. However, at times, the level of patient care or services offered by a particular healthcare facility may not be at par or better than expected, leading to a rise in a practice gap (Jones & Johnstones, 2019). Such gaps are appropriately identified through a gap analysis before formulating strategies to fill the gap. Central to filling the gap is the creation of SMART objectives which can be a guiding light from the project planning phase to an eventual phase that entails execution. The purpose of this assignment is to develop SMART objectives that can be applied in the project execution phase to address the quality improvement practice gap identified earlier. In addition, this write-up will explore project management activities that can be used in the project to address the quality improvement practice gap.
The Quality Improvement Practice Gap Identified
In previous weeks a quality improvement practice gap that was identified was the need for improvement in the incidences of pressure ulcer development in the society. Pressure ulcers, sometimes known as bed sores or pressure sores, result from injuries to the skin and underlying tissues. Such injuries are mainly costs by sustained pressure applied on a patient’s skin surface for long durations (de Oliveira et al., 2017). Even though there have been various efforts to control, prevent and manage pressure ulcers, the issue is still common in the practice setting. Therefore, it was identified as a practice gap that needs quality improvement.
The SMART Objectives
SMART objectives play a critical role in guiding the process of implementing a project as they lead the implementer on what to target and how to achieve it. This section, therefore, deals with the formulation of SMART objectives to help in executing a project to address the development of pressure ulcers as a quality improvement practice gap. The following SMART objectives have been formulated:
Project Management Activities
Implementation of a quality improvement project to address identified practice gaps requires careful planning and undertaking various activities to achieve the set goals. The project management activities can, among other things, be guided by the already formulated objectives. The identified quality gap; pressure ulcers can be addressed by implementing a strategy such as a specialized support surface. When addressing the quality improvement practice gap, various activities would be undertaken. For instance, one of the recommended and the most suitable activities is cost-benefit analysis (Shirley, 2020). Having identified the use of specialized support surfaces such as special mattresses to help reduce the incidences of pressure ulcers, it would be prudent to perform a cost-benefit analysis.
During the cost-benefit analysis (Shirley, 2020), I would find out how much it would cost to acquire the specialized support surfaces and every other needed resource and evaluate the potential benefits in lowering the incidences of pressure ulcers. The benefit can be computed from the possible amount of money that would have been spent in the cases of higher rates of pressure ulcer development. If the benefits surpass the cost, it will indicate that it is ok to continue with the quality improvement initiative to address the gap. This activity, therefore, involves a feasibility study that informs the implementation team to proceed with the project or not. One of the current major concerns in the healthcare sector is the ever-rising costs of care. As such, a cost-benefit analysis as one of the activities will be the right step to make to ensure the appropriate use of resources and that no money is wasted.
The other possible activity is benchmarking activities. During benchmarking, the organization does not only check how other similar organizations are doing in terms of rates of pressure ulcers but also what facilities with better statistics do to keep the rates lower. The strategies can then be modified to suit the facility settings
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