Quality Improvement in a Medical Setting

Improvement in quality and safety should be considered a core organizational strategy. Leading that change is not always easy. A road map for change is helpful in managing organizational change. Kotter’s (1995, 1996; as cited in Joshi et al., 2014) model for change is a realistic framework to manage quality improvements. The eight steps of Kotter’s theory include 1) unfreezing the old culture; 2) forming a powerful guiding coalition; 3) developing a vision and strategy; 4) communicating a vision and strategy; 5) empowering employees to act on the vision and strategy; 6) generating short-term wins; 7) consolidating gains and producing more change; and 8) refreezing new approaches in the culture (Joshi, et.al, 2014, page numbers).

In this Assignment, you will analyze Emergency Department data and other resources to identify areas where the care and services provided are not up to state or national comparisons. You will also address how you would improve the substandard performance indicators.

The Assignment:

The HCAHPS data for the Emergency Department would indicate there are areas where the care and services are not up to par, as compared to state or national standards.

Using Kotter’s work as described in Chapter 16 of your text, and other change models from the reading, write a 3- to 4-page (excluding title page and references) analysis of the performance data for the Emergency Department, comparing the medical care and services to state and/or national standards. Provide recommendations for strategies to improve the Emergency Department substandard performance indicators.