NHS FPX 6008 Assessment 1 Identifying a Local Health Care Economic Issue

Name

Capella university

NHS-FPX 6008 Economics and Decision Making in Health Care

Prof. Name

Date

Identifying a Local Health Care Economic Issue

Rehospitalization is a significant healthcare economic issue with far-reaching implications. These include cost implications, reimbursement penalties, and productivity loss. This assessment entails a comprehensive discussion on rehospitalization in Florida and its impact on diverse stakeholders. Moreover, the paper will delve into the gap contributing to the need to address this vital economic issue.

Healthcare Economic Issue and its Impact on the Population of Florida

Rehospitalization refers to a patient’s readmission to the hospital shortly after discharge, often within 30 days, for the same or a related condition. In Florida, about 15% of patients with stroke were readmitted to hospital within 30 days from 2010 to 2013. Moreover, the study shares the result that within 30 days, 12% of stroke patients were readmitted due to vascular abnormalities and 3% due to recurrent stroke (Gardener et al., 2023).

Rehospitalization increases healthcare costs significantly as each readmission entails additional medical expenses, including hospital fees, physician fees, medications, and diagnostic tests. These costs can burden patients and Florida’s healthcare systems, mainly if frequent or preventable readmissions occur (Santiago et al., 2020). Moreover, it needs more healthcare resources that could be allocated to new patients and utilized instead for readmitted patients, potentially leading to delays in care for others. Thus, it impacts the quality of care and limits access to care for the general community of Florida.

The Rationale for Choosing Rehospitalization as a Health Care Economic Issue

Rehospitalization within 30 days of prior treatment can potentially increase healthcare costs, utilize limited resources, lead to further resource constraints, and impact the quality of care delivered (Santiago et al., 2020). Considering these implications, this issue is selected to focus in this assessment. Moreover, as a nurse at Tampa General Hospital, I witnessed firsthand the challenges patients faced upon discharge and the factors contributing to rehospitalization risk. Despite our best efforts to educate patients about their condition, most fail to adhere to treatment plans, resulting in hospital readmissions. Moreover, the personal values of compassion and social justice also informed me to choose the issue of rehospitalization as an economic healthcare issue so that every patient acquires high-quality care that prevents the need for hospital readmission, which burdens patients and the community of Florida. This is possible by implementing evidence-based care and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration.

Impact of Rehospitalization on Work, Organization, Colleagues, and Community

Rehospitalization has severely impacted my work, the organization, i.e., Tampa General Hospital, the work of my colleagues, and the overall Florida community. Rehospitalization directly affected the quality of care I provided to my patients. When patients were readmitted shortly after discharge, it was disheartening for both patients and healthcare providers, as it indicated that their health needs were not adequately addressed or managed during their initial hospitalization. The organization incurred higher costs due to escalating rates of hospital readmissions, leading to strained budgets and resources. High readmission rates contributed to increased workload and stress among healthcare professionals, leading to burnout and decreased job satisfaction. The hospital also faced staff shortages during readmission, ultimately impacting the quality of care delivered within the organization.

In our diverse community of Florida, rehospitalization tends to have greater impacts on lower socioeconomic groups. Patients from underserved backgrounds often face barriers to accessing follow-up care, medications, and other essential resources after discharge. Limited health literacy, transportation issues, lack of social support, and financial constraints can all contribute to higher rates of rehospitalization among these populations.

Gap Identification Contributing to the Need to Address the Rehospitalization

One significant gap contributing to the need to address the economic issue of rehospitalization is the lack of comprehensive care coordination. Studies have shown that effective discharge planning and post-discharge follow-up can significantly reduce the risk of rehospitalization, particularly for patients with chronic conditions (Al Sattouf et al., 2022). The gap in care coordination is particularly pronounced for vulnerable populations, such as those with limited access to healthcare services. These groups often face additional barriers to accessing follow-up care, obtaining medications, and navigating the healthcare system, increasing their risk of rehospitalization. Moreover, the gap due to inadequate transitional care intervention after discharge can be addressed using telemonitoring or telephone calls to prevent hospital readmissions (Al Sattouf et al., 2022).

Conclusion

Rehospitalization in Florida is a tremendous healthcare economic issue. This issue has led to escalating costs for healthcare systems and patients. The selection of this issue is based on the implications and personal reflections gained from relevant experience of confronting rehospitalization and its aftermaths. Moreover, it has impacted my work, organizational workflows, staff burnout and community at large. The identified gap of lack of coordinated care and proper transitional support during and post-discharge lead to higher rehospitalization. This gap must be addressed to resolve the issue of hospital readmissions.

References

Al Sattouf, A., Farahat, R., & Khatri, A. A. (2022). Effectiveness of transitional care interventions for heart failure patients: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Cureus, 14(9). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.29726

Gardener, H., Romano, J. G., Derias, T., Gutierrez, C., Asdaghi, N., Johnson, K., Gordon Perue, G., Marulanda, E., Brown, S. C., Foster, D., & Rundek, T. (2023). Early hospital readmission following stroke: The Florida stroke registry. Frontiers in Stroke, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/fstro.2023.1238442