Effectiveness of hip protectors in reducing frequency of injury-producing patient falls.
PROBLEMS 1. A hospital introduced hip protectors to reduce the frequency of injury-producing patient falls. The hip protectors were introduced in July. The following table records the number of injury-producing falls from January through December. Create and interpret a c chart for patient falls. Were the hip protectors effective in reducing injury-producing patient falls?
s Month Falls Jan 5 Jul 3 Feb 5 Aug 3 Mar 3 Sep 2 Apr 4 Oct 2 May 2 Nov 3 Jun 2 Dec 3
2. The director of medical records conducts a monthly audit of 50 medical records to iden- tify coding errors. The Chapter 08.xls, Problem 08–02 tab records the data. National sta- tistics indicate that approximately 15% of medical records contain errors, and in the past the director has found multiple errors in a single record. Create a c chart to analyze perfor- mance. Interpret the department’s performance based on your control chart and identify any issues that should be investigated. Is the department doing a good job?
3. The chief medical officer is concerned that the long lengths of stay at her hospital may be the result of missed oxygen treatments. She has enacted a program to reduce the number of missed treatments. The Chapter08.xls, Problem 08–03 tab, records the number of missed oxygen treatments over the last 40 weeks. The improvement program was introduced in week 20. Was the program effective?
4. Implementing regular nursing rounds has been demonstrated to increase patient satisfac- tion and reduce patient falls. A hospital has collected data on ten patients per month over the past 24 months. The first twelve months the hospital did not have a formal rounding system. During the second period nurses were required to make rounds on an hourly basis from 8:00 AM through 8:00 PM and every two hours from 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM. The Chapter 08.xls, Problem 08–04 tab displays the number of call lights received per day for the ten- patient sample. Create a c chart to determine the effect of the rounding system on the use of call lights. Did the rounding program reduce patients’ use of call lights? Are there any issues that should be investigated?
5. To supplement their patient satisfaction survey, End Result Hospital conducts in-depth tele- phone interviews of past patients. The interviews are based on a 1% sample of the completed surveys from the prior month. The sample varies widely due to differences in monthly admis- sions, the rate at which surveys are completed, and the willingness of patients to participate in the telephone interview. The Chapter 08.xls, Problem 08–05 tab records the total number of the patients’ concerns noted by the interviewers. These concerns range from the effective- ness of medical treatment to the cleanliness and comfort of the patient room and ease of parking. The interviewer addresses the same items found on the patient satisfaction survey, solicits additional information for any item on which the patient indicated performance was less than “Good” or “Very Good,” and provides the patient with the opportunity to voice any other concerns. Create a control chart to summarize the results. Are patient concerns stable?
