Paula Hog

To prepare for this Application:

• Peruse the Hospital Compare Web site: http://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/search.html
  Click on the link at the right, Learn More about Hospital Process of Care Measures, and read this background information.
  Then read through the Process of Care measures at:
  http://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/Data/Measures.html
• Using the Walden library and credible Web sites, conduct additional research to learn more about the CMS standards (core measures).
• Evaluate the CMS standards (core measures).
• Compare the CMS standards with the guidelines proposed by one other organization of your choosing. (You may select the same organization you focused on in the Discussion, or choose a different one from that list.) Be sure to consider similarities and differences, as well as the strengths and limitations of each organization’s guidelines.

The Assignment

Write a 2- to 3-page paper that addresses the following:

• Analyze the CMS standards (core measures).
• Compare the CMS standards with the guidelines proposed by one other organization. Based on this comparison, would you recommend that a health care setting adopt this organization’s guidelines as supplementary to CMS’s? Why or why not?
• Briefly analyze the relationships among various aspects of health care quality and safety, including the creation of standards, accreditation, certification, credentialing, and continuing education. Describe the benefits and constraints associated with these approaches for promoting quality.