HSA 300 Assignment 1 – Primary Care Clinic

Primary Care Clinic

Week 7 Assignment 1

Strayer University

HSA 300 Health Services Organization Management

Primary Care Clinic

The Primary purpose of a Primary Care Clinic is to provide preventative care, diagnose and treat simple common illnesses and provide emergency care to patients. Primary care is defined as healthcare at a basic level for people making an initial approach to a doctor or nurse for treatment who then may be referred to a specialist (www.merriamwebster.com). Primary care is a vital part of the building block of having a strong healthcare system. Without primary care, I’m not sure where the healthcare system would stand. In the next few weeks there will be a new clinic here in Rome, NY that will be there to provide care to your medical needs.

Rome, NY is comprised of 33,735 people which is an increase from 2017 when the population was 32,600. 29,483 of the population are white, 2,394 are black or African American, 1,793 are Hispanic or Latino, 895 are two or more races, 367 are Asian, 115 are American Indian and 470 are some other race (www.suburbanstats.org/population/new-york/how-many-people-live-in-rome). The median household income is $45,570. One of the most common employment sectors in Rome is Health Care & Social Assistance which employs 2,640 people. Rome is one of the most specialized cities in NY (https://datausa.io/profile/geo/rome-ny/). With the number of people who have chosen to work in the healthcare profession, you should rest assured that you will be in great hands as healthcare seems to be the passion of a lot of the residents of Rome.

Over the last twenty to thirty years healthcare has really changed. The changes that have been made will grant our primary care clinic the opportunity to aid patients to delve into other options for medical treatment. Our clinic offers many different procedures that will aid in treatment of our patients as we offer treatment in various areas. With our skilled physicians and medical staff, we are confident we will be able to supersede our patients’ expectations.

Proliferation of Urgent Care Centers

The economic, political and social factors are vital to the success of our new health care clinic. The healthcare reform under President Barack Obama put all three of these into perspective. Under President Obama, he formed the Affordable Care Act which was signed into Law in March of 2010. The main objectives of the Affordable Care act are to make affordable health insurance available to more people, expand the Medicaid program to cover adults who are with income below 138% of the federal poverty level and to support innovative medical care delivery methods that are designed to lower the costs of health care in general (https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/affordable-care-act/ ).

Along with the Affordable Care Act, there are a few other factors that have led to the proliferation of Urgent care centers. One factor is Access. Decreased access to primary care doctors is pushing patients to look for urgent care facilities. This issue will probably get worse in the future due to a lack of primary care physicians. Another key factor is Cost. It costs patients a lot less to go to Urgent care than it would for them to go to the emergency room. Some insurance companies have offered an bonus incentive for patients who opt to go to Urgent care vs. going to the emergency room. A trip to the ER can cost thousands of dollars vs. a trip to urgent care costing maybe $100-200. One more key factor is convenience. When a patient’s primary doctor is unavailable, they tend to go to urgent care because it’s fast and convenient, and there usually aren’t long wait times like there is at the emergency room. About one 1 in 5 patients report seeking care at an urgent care center because they thought it would take less time to be seen and treated for their acute illness (https://www.ecgmc.com/thought-leadership/blog/three-factors-driving-urgent-care-center-growth-and-why-health-systems-should-pay-attention ).

Mission Statement and Quality

Our mission here at the Primary Care Clinic is to provide exceptional care, respect, and dignity to each patient that walks through our doors. Here at the primary clinic our goal is to bring each patient back to health with our team of qualified doctors, physician assistants and certified medical assistance. We aim for our care to be as convenient and cost friendly as possible. If we fail to fulfill our mission, we will do our absolute best to rectify the situation in a timely manner. We want to be the best at what we do here at the Primary Care Clinic.

Growth of Clinic

There are several directions that the Primary Care Clinic may take to increase its business within the Rome Community. One direction we could take would be to offer appointments to our patients. Many people prefer to make an appointment so they do not have to wait. Offering our patients the ability to book appointments either over the phone or over the internet will appeal to our patients especially if no other facility around gives that option. Another direction we could take would be to add services other than to treat illnesses. We could also add in physical therapy, nutrition services, routine physicals, and vaccines. We can also increase hours for those who are unable to make it to the clinic during normal 9-5 business hours. Adding these services will help to boost revenue while serving the needs of the community. Another direction we could take would be to offer telemedicine. Technology is becoming the way of the world. Telemedicine could be an option for those who live in distant areas that are not able to access medical services where they live in a timely manner at high quality. (https://chironhealth.com/telemedicine/what-is-telemedicine/ ).

Goals and Performance Measures

There are several different ways to measure whether our facility is meeting the goals. There are 3 goals set for the Primary Care Facility.

Measurement: Take patient vitals within 10 minutes of them walking in. Patient will be seen within 20 minutes of walking in.

  • Patient will experience the best care possible.
  • Measurement: Provide patient surveys via text or mail. Overall experience should be no less than a 7.
  • Patient will be seen and treated in a timely manner

Opportunities for Improvement

  • All patients will be fully aware of diagnosis and treatment options available to them.
  • Measurement: Provide patient with information packet on what they are diagnosed with and what treatments are available with side effects and risks listed.

There is always room for improvement in any healthcare facility. We may never be at 100 percent satisfaction but our goal should be to get at least 95 percent or above.

Outcome results: Overall experience was a 6 where the goal was 7. We could read patient surveys and comments and see where we lacked in their care. We can come up with a plan to where we go above and beyond to meet patient expectations. We could schedule education in-services to refresh the staff members on the expectations of the care they provide to their patients.

Outcome results: Patient was seen in 30 minutes of coming into the clinic and the goal was 20 minutes. We can look and see why there was an increase in wait time for the patient. I will need to make sure that I am properly staffed with enough physicians, nurse practitioners and medical assistants to carry our workload each day. I will make sure to have a staff member on call just in case an emergency arises with another staff member.

Outcome results: Patient was not fully aware of their treatment options for their diagnosis and the goal was for each patient to be fully educated on their diagnosis and treatment options. I will make sure that I have pamphlets available for patients to take with them. I will also make sure that the physician or nurse practitioner fully explains the diagnosis and treatment options with the patient. Answer any questions they may have and put their mind at ease.

Concluding paragraph

In conclusion Primary health care is a vital part of the health care system. Success in the primary health care initiatives will not be successful without effective collaboration. Primary health care is very important to those groups of people that cannot afford access to health services. The goal is for the community to support health reform programs and for the healthcare workers to see significant improvement in the lives of the people through the decline of mortality rates, increase in preventative measures and longevity, bringing people back to good health and effective population-based disease prevention.

Sources

https://datausa.io/profile/geo/rome-ny/

https://suburbanstats/org/population/new-york/how-many-people-live-in-rome

https://www.ecgmc.com/thought-leadership/blog/three-factors-driving-urgent-care-center-growth-and-why-health-systems-should-pay-attention

.Sharon Buchbinder.2017. Introduction to Healthcare Management. HAS 300 textbook.

Place an Order

Plagiarism Free!

Scroll to Top