Essay Sample on Healthcare Quality Benchmarking

Introduction

Health is a critical factor for the economy of any country (Wallenburg, Quartz, & Bal, 2019). In the United States, hospitals are often ranked annually to inform patients on the best clinic to visit for specialized treatment. In the previous year, an estimated two million inpatients every year faced a prospect of special care or surgery which poses a significant threat to their health leading to death or long-term harms (Austin et al., 2015). In finding the best medical centers within the US, a benchmark focusing on three primary elements was carried out. The aspect selected for baseline and evaluation includes patient experience rating, complication rates, and readmissions/deaths. The three clinics chosen for benchmarking are John Hopkins Hospital, Mayo Clinic, and The Cleveland Clinic.

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Comparison of Medicare in Hospitals Table

Selected Critical Element John Hopkins Hospital Mayo Clinic the Cleveland Clinic

Patient Experience Rating The hospital scored favorably on patient experience rating due to their improved patient care and security system and technology adoption of radiography equipment (Austin et al., 2015). The staffs at John Hopkins are experienced in hence have good understandings of the patients' needs. The modernization of the X-ray technology in the clinic has facilitated quick patient service and improved accuracy of the patients, thus, leading to a positive score among the three hospitals. Mayo Clinic has been at the forefront of satisfying their patients' needs with the least possible friction between the patients and staff. Patients who often visit this clinic have praised it for professional patient care, which makes them chose it over any other clinic (Austin et al., 2015). The hospital initiates a close interaction with patients making them feel at home. The Cleveland Clinic has made patient satisfaction a passion. The clinic has a patient-centered approach towards addressing all possible challenges facing their patients (Austin et al., 2015). The primary limitation is that on a different occasion, a large number of patients may flick the hospital outnumbering the available number of clinicians hence causing a little delay in the process.

Complication Rates The hospital has had a shortage of physicians required to handle the increasing number of specialized illness (Masoudi et al., 2017). Despite their specialized treatment, there have been rare cases where the staff has failed to uncover the conditions of the patients. Mayo clinic has specialized in cardiology, surgeries, and cancer treatment hence making it a trendsetter in complicated cases of patients (Masoudi et al., 2017). It has done it's best to ensure address all presented complication cases hence making it a top clinic nationwide. Cleveland Clinic has had a fair share of challenges in addressing patient complications. The experienced team of medical staff has always found a solution to treat any arising complications in patients' health (Masoudi et al., 2017).

Readmissions/Deaths John Hopkins clinic has specialized in underlying illnesses and several specific cases. The admitted patients who have particular circumstances that pose a challenge to the doctors are often readmitted to other clinics which are specialized in the specified illness (Wallenburg et al., 2019). Rare cases of cancer patients are, at times, readmitted to specialized hospitals. Mayo clinic considered the ultimate solution to chronic diseases such as cancer and cancer treatment (Wallenburg et al., 2019). In rare occasions has the hospital failed to deliver successful patient recovery under surgeries though disease still poses a threat across the three hospitals? Cleveland has embarked on an intensive exercise of recruiting new staff to help in addressing the increasing number of patients to prevent further readmission of patients (Wallenburg et al., 2019).

Conclusion

The three clinics- John Hopkins, The Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic are among the top health centers in the US. They have specialization in different illnesses such as Mayo specializing in cancer and surgeries. The patient experience rating at John Hopkins is of world class standards which have enabled it to retain a majority of clients. Cleveland has significantly improved its medical staff to help curb further readmissions and patient complications.

References

Austin, J. M., Jha, A. K., Romano, P. S., Singer, S. J., Vogus, T. J., Wachter, R. M., & Pronovost, P. J. (2015). National hospital rating systems share few common scores and may generate confusion instead of clarity. Health Affairs, 34(3), 423-430.

Masoudi, F. A., Ponirakis, A., de Lemos, J. A., Jollis, J. G., Kremers, M., Messenger, J. C., ... & Vincent, R. N. (2017). Trends in US cardiovascular care: 2016 report from 4 ACC national cardiovascular data registries. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 69(11), 1427-1450.

Wallenburg, I., Quartz, J., & Bal, R. (2019). Making hospitals governable: performativity and institutional work in banking practices. Administration & Society, 51(4), 637-663.