Discussion 1:
Overview of Administrative Collaborative Health Project.
The Administrative Collaborative Health project I considered for development and implementation is the “Population-based care in the hospital on a COVID Unit.” Implementing collaborative care using three traditional components of population health can be determined and modified by the following: health outcomes and distribution within a population; patterns of determinants of these outcomes; relevant policies and interventions (Nguyen, 2017). Population-based care enables collaborative care teams to focus and identify those patients who are responding poorly to their treatment and care while in the hospital setting as well as providing a discharge plan that patients and families can comply to post discharge with follow up and treatment.
Why did you choose this project?
We are living at a time when the world is being ravaged by the 2019 novel coronavirus. It is a pandemic that has hit us worldwide from all corners of the globe. Healthcare facilities have been stretched, overwhelmed and many fill to capacity (Cohut, 2020). The need for this approach is to benefit both the patients and the staff within the organization which has been amplified. Population-based care should help ease the burden on facilities and caregivers. According to Lutfiyya et. al, (2019) the need for more research to measure the impact of interprofessional collaborative practice and/or care on patient health-related outcomes helps further document its benefits and to explore the models, systems and nature of collaborations that best improve population health, increase patient satisfaction, and reduce cost of care.
Discussion 2:
In the administration of collaborative healthcare, there are essential elements of research and guidelines to follow as evidence. Nguyen (2017) suggests that team-work, population-focus, evidence based care, and measurement are fundamental principles of ensuring the approach is successful. The COVID-19 patient population is handled by a team of medical professionals using guidelines provided by the World Health Organization. This approach ensures that they act according to available evidence to deliver the best care possible. All treatment guidelines are in line with WHO and CDC recommendations. Other evidence includes healthcare models and public health collaborations focusing on the following: coordination of healthcare; applying clinical practice; identifying community health problems; providing health promotion and health protection (Shahzad et.al., 2019). Patient outcomes for healthcare and treatment should be measured to support evidence. According to National institute of Health (2020), goals of care must be assessed when the patient is admitted and is essential, regardless of the availability of resources, the age of the patient, or the patient’s comorbid conditions
Discussion 5:
What strategies are used to implement my project?
The most essential strategies here revolve around classifying the patients into populations that can be handled together. It could be based on age, gender, level of care, among other factors that may come into play. According to Tao (2020), the goal of our evidence-based guidelines is for patients to receive the right healthcare, in the right setting, at the right time and with the right treatment. Another strategy is training caregivers on the best approach to take in delivering services to COVID patients. Clinicians should utilize prepared communication tools to help COVID-19 patients and their families with anticipatory guidance after discharge (Penn Medicine, 2020). In addition, education should occur as early as possible in the patient’s hospital course and throughout the hospitalization up to discharge.
What challenges encountered with these strategies?
Several challenges have come up, including differences in recovery times of patients within the same care population and constructing individualized care that has to be delivered. Currently, there is no definitive treatment or vaccine for COVID-19, therefore the only proven form of management is isolation and supportive care (Sharma, 2020). A second challenge is readmissions that require reorganization of care along with providing medical equipment and placement issues. A third challenge is the recovery time, hence getting demoralized from the population due to limited visitor arrangement, visitation times and treatment modalities. A fourth challenge is that the virus is still profoundly misunderstood, as well as misinformation in the media. Even though health information is increasingly accessible in our digital world, it is challenging to determine if news from mass media or social media outlets can be trusted (Tao, 2020). Regardless of these challenges, patients and families should have a good understanding of the patient’s treatment and care plan, decisions made by the healthcare providers and information to care for the patient as well as a safe home environment.
