For this assignment, first read the case study

Design and Implementation of a Pharmacist-Directed Preventive Care Program

. Then assess the program for its level of collaborative practice and efficacy of design. Be sure to apply concepts, readings, and other materials that have been presented in the course thus far to justify your assessment of the program’s consideration of collaborative practice and overall efficacy of design. Include the following critical elements:

• Does the program consider collaborative practice? Why or why not?
• How could collaborative practice be more fully considered in this healthcare program?
• How does the inclusion of collaborative practice contribute to the overall efficacy of the program design?

**Case study attached**

Guidelines for Submission: Each short paper should be submitted as a 2-page (minimum) Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and proper APA formatting.

2

Final Project Milestone Four

Luz Rodriguez

Southern New Hampshire University

Final Project Milestone Four

Immunization is recommended by the majority of healthcare institutions and practitioners in protecting the public from various infectious diseases (Pope, 2019). Additionally, since immunization is a form of preventive healthcare, the practice ensures that healthcare costs are significantly reduced in the country (Largeron et al., 2015). However, in the case of the State of Evergreen, there is a conflict regarding the issue of immunization. There is proposed legislation that will ensure religion cannot be used to exempt public school children from being immunized. Two counties oppose the legislation while one county supports it. There is also a counterproposal for the legislation that will increase the freedoms of people who do not want to be immunized. In this regard, this paper analyzes this issue by evaluating the needs/interests of the main stakeholders and the legal issues involved.

Needs and Interests of Key Stakeholders

There are five main stakeholders. First, there are the healthcare workers and public-school children. The legislation will directly affect these two stakeholders. Depending on the legislation that is passed, these stakeholders will have to balance between the need to have their freedom such that they can get vaccinated if they want and the need to live in an environment, which positively affects their healthcare outcomes. Second, there is the Evergreen Legislature. The representatives must formulate policies, which offer the greatest benefits to the people of Evergreen, the state’s healthcare outcomes, and the state’s economic wellbeing. Currently, the main legislation is supported by Pine County and objected by Fir and Cedar Counties.

Third, there are the nurses. According to Pope (2019), such individuals desire to operate in a territory that promotes preventive healthcare. More so, nurses are at the forefront of providing healthcare to the public. In Evergreen, nurses feel that the schools in the state lack the necessary finances to enforce the proposed legislation. Therefore, even though they desire to have everyone vaccinated, they feel that the new legislation should outline practical ways of implementing the proposed changes without subjecting the current healthcare facilities to the burden of shouldering the financial costs involved.

Fourth, there are the religious leaders. These individuals oppose the proposed legislation because they feel it will infringe on the citizens’ right to religion. Finally, there is the business community. Currently, the preventable outbreaks are adversely affecting tourism and the overall economy of Evergreen. Therefore, the business community supports the proposed legislation since it will result in fewer outbreaks and lead to the improvement of the economy.

Application of Current Healthcare Policies, Laws, and Financing Practices

Currently, there are various policies and laws that guide the issue of immunization across the country. First, there is the issue of the school entrance. All American states have made it mandatory got children to be subjected to specific vaccinations before being allowed to go to public schools (Barraza, Schmit, & Hoss, 2017). However, all states all some children to be exempted from this policy due to medical reasons, 18 states and 47 states exempt children from vaccination for philosophical and religious reasons respectively (Barraza, Schmit, & Hoss, 2017).

Second, there is the issue of healthcare worker vaccination. The relevant laws and policies vary from state to state. Nevertheless, there are four major classes to take note of. Class one covers the laws that make it mandatory for healthcare institutions to evaluate their workers’ vaccination status. Class 2 covers the laws that push healthcare institutions to offer their workers vaccination. Class three covers the laws to either get vaccinated or possess valid religion/medical exemptions (Barraza, Schmit, & Hoss, 2017). Class four covers laws that make it mandatory for individuals that lack influenza vaccination to wear surgical masks while working.

Finally, regarding the potential financial ramifications, NCSL (2020) notes that “every $1 spent on childhood immunizations saves $10.20 in avoided costs.” Therefore, although vaccination programs are expensive, they are worthy investments since they result in lower healthcare costs in the long term. Therefore, Evergreen should consider adopting suitable legislation that will see it lower its healthcare costs and improve its economy in the long run.

Probability of Stakeholder Value Conflicts

In the current case, two potential conflicts arise. First, there is the conflict brought about by the freedom of religion. The passing of the proposed law will result in conflict because the right to religion will be blocked for the people who do not wish to be vaccinated on religious grounds. Second, there is the conflict brought about by the right to life. The passing of the second legislation will result in stakeholder conflict because people will be at a higher risk of contracting preventable diseases because fewer people will be getting immunized.

Evaluation of Malpractice Issues and Legal Risks

One major legal risk revolves around the right to religion. Currently, the constitution offers this freedom to everyone. However, the proposed legislation poses a legal risk because if passed, it will conflict with the right to religion when it forces people to be vaccinated even if their religion forbids it. This might make people sue the state for intervening with their religious rights. Malpractice is another major issue during the immunization practice. Considering that the state is not well equipped to handle the current number of immunization procedures, if the proposed legislation passes, the number of people to be immunized will be higher. An overwhelmed healthcare system might lead to malpractice because healthcare workers will be prone to mistakes.

References

Barraza, L., Schmit, C., & Hoss, A. (2017). The latest in vaccine policies: Selected issues in school vaccinations, healthcare worker vaccinations, and pharmacist vaccination authority laws. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 45(1_suppl), 16-19.

Largeron, N., Lévy, P., Wasem, J., & Bresse, X. (2015). Role of vaccination in the sustainability of healthcare systems. Journal of Market Access & Health Policy, 3(1), 27043.

NCSL. (2020, May 14). Immunization policy issues overview. National Conference of State Legislatures. https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/immunizations-policy-issues-overview.aspx

Pope, J. (2019, December 9). Importance of immunizations. Health Link BC.

https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/hw255342

Running head: PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Performance Management: Employee and Labor Relations

Luz Rodriguez

Southern New Hampshire University

Employee Discipline

Employee discipline is a vital element of healthy industrial relations. Any organization that desires to have smooth functioning of its operations must embrace employee discipline promotion and maintenance. In this regard, there are two major forms of employee discipline. First, there is the punitive approach. This technique incorporates the use of unpleasant actions to correct indiscipline among workers. Such actions are often perceived as punishment. Although punitive techniques may appear to work on the short term basis, these approaches often result in adverse long-term effects.

For instance, an employee can be suspended after engaging in bad workplace practices. This technique often has an adverse effect on employee relations. In the short-term, this measure will ensure the employee is not engaging the undesired practices and act as a warning to others. However, such a measure may result in high-workloads for other employees who try to compensate for the suspended employee’s duties. Also, it may lead to the suspended individual being humiliated. In the long run, it leads to the employees having negative perceptions of the work environment

Second, there is the non-punitive approach. This technique relies on positive reinforcements to correct the behavior of an undisciplined worker. It heavily emphasizes on self-discipline such that an employee is self-motivated to improve his/her behavior at the workplace. This system leads to more long-term positive effects on employee discipline compared to the punitive approach. However, this approach is often shunned by many organizations, which prefer traditional disciplinary techniques and do not care how the collective behavior of workers is affected by corporate culture (Campbell, Fleming, & Grote, 1985).

This technique often has a positive effect on employee relations. The non-punitive approach is a corrective action that gradually improves the culture of an organization. More so it ensures that both the employee and employer share the burden of the given punishment. For instance, rather than simply suspend an individual, an employer can send someone on paid leave. The employee is then asked to use this time to reflect on whether he/she will change for the better or not (Campbell, Fleming, & Grote, 1985). Often, such a move will make the employee alter his/her behavior on his/her own rather than be forced into it.

Performance Management

There are several elements of an effective performance management system. First, there is the setting of expectations and goals. Both the manager and employees must comprehend the organizational goals and expectations to know why they are working and what they hope to achieve. The goals have to be relevant, achievable, and measurable. This way, a team can plan effectively on how to achieve them. The expectations must also be reasonable enough so that the employees can meet them without being overworked or undercompensated. Second, there is monitoring. It is vital to monitor the progress of the team’s work. This enables a manager to know whether his/her team is on track to achieve organizational goals or not. In the latter case, relevant corrective measures can be taken. More so, the employees should be kept in the loop so that they have a sense of ownership of their work and development.

Third, there is improvement and development. Each member of a team should be encouraged to improve and develop his/her skills and knowledge as related to his/her work activities. A good manager always encourages his/her employees to improve and exceed their goals. Fourth, there is periodic rating. Regular performance appraisal is crucial in providing feedback to the organization on what is going right and what needs to be corrected. Finally, there is compensation and rewarding. This is crucial in giving employees incentives to continue improving their skill sets and keep on working hard to meet organizational goals.

If an employer’s system is characterized by these elements, then it will meet its organizational needs. This is because the elements ensure each team within an organization is aligned with the company’s strategic goals. More so, since each member is personally invested in the well-being of the organization, he/she will hard to meet the needs of the organization. Additionally, these elements create a close relationship between management and workers, resulting in a harmonious work environment.

Employee and Labor Relations

There are several differences between union grievance procedures and nonunion complaint processes. On the one hand, a union grievance procedure involves three stakeholders: the representatives of the union, the employees, and the representatives of the company’s management team. Grievances are taken to the immediate supervisor of the employee through an informal or formal process. The union representative and the supervisor will review the grievance and determine its validity (SHRM, 2020). If the grievance is valid, then the supervisor might resolve it promptly. However, if the resolution leaves the employees dissatisfied, the union will take over the role of the employee and directly be involved in the grievance process. At this stage, there will be an arbitration process to resolve the issue. Often, if the management declines to meet the union’s request, a strike, protest, or picket is organized by the union until a compromise is reached.

On the other hand, a nonunion complaint process only has two stakeholders: the employees and the representatives of the company’s management team. Complaints are taken to the immediate supervisor of the employee through an informal or formal process. The supervisor will review the complaint and determine its validity. If the complaint is valid, then the supervisor might resolve it promptly. If the resolution leaves the employees dissatisfied, the workers can request a revisit of the issue. Further than that, there is nothing much that the employees can do because they have no union to protect them min case they want to take stern measures such as go on strike or picket.

There are certain improvements that could be made to a nonunion complaint process. First, the complaint policy should be updated regularly to meet the relevant changes in employment law, leadership, and workforce composition. Second, an organization should implement certain practices that minimize the chances of employee complaints in the first place, for instance, having good supervisory training, effective performance appraisal systems, and employee surveys. The latter can be used to get feedback from employees on what needs to be improved. More so, there can be an open communication channel between the employers and employees in a way that ensures no one is victimized from airing genuine concerns that affect workers. The management on its part should always try its best to resolve employee issues in the best way possible.

References

Campbell, D., Fleming, R., & Grote, R. (1985). Discipline without punishment—At last. Retrieved from

https://hbr.org/1985/07/discipline-without-punishment-at-last?registration=success

SHRM. (2020). Grievance procedures: What are the steps typically found in a grievance procedure? Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/aresolutionformanagementandemployees.aspx

5

Final Project Milestone Three: Evaluation Plan

Luz Rodriguez

Southern New Hampshire University

Final Project Milestone Three: Evaluation Plan

Proposed Program: “To establish a department in IGM to facilitate holistic care of pediatric patients. This holistic care will require patients to be monitored before, during, and after a clinical procedure (Ventegodt et al., 2016). The program will be flexible to ensure that each patient receives customized care at a subsidized fee.”

Financial Aspects

There are certain resources, which should be used in the program. First, there is staffing. The program requires a collaborative effort of healthcare practitioners from various departments to properly monitor and evaluate the patients’ needs. This will be vital in offering customized care based on individual needs. The program will utilize the current staff for data collection purposes. However, additional staff members will be required for the therapeutic sessions since this program will be facilitated by a new department. Second, there is equipment. Relevant equipment related to the individualized therapy sessions will be required. Examples include bikes, treadmills, massage tools, ultrasound, electric stimulation, and other pertinent equipment. The therapeutic needs of a specific patient will determine the equipment used.

The impact of the program on the organization’s current budget will be minimal. The majority of resources are already present. Data collection to gauge patient needs will be done using the current staff and equipment. Even though the program does not necessarily fit into the existing budget, the concessions that will have to be made will be minimal. These concessions will be in terms of remuneration for the current staff for the extra job they will be doing as pertains to this new program. Also, the department will require new resources to get it running. Nevertheless, considering the program will be supplemented by donor/sponsor funds, it is expected that IGM will undergo minimal changes in terms of its expenditure.

There are certain recommendations that can be considered to ensure the program is financially sustainable. For starters, IGM should aggressively search for as many sponsors/donors as possible to ensure the bulk of operational costs are offset by these parties. Second, charities can be held annually to get the community to contribute towards the department’s activities. Finally, government aid can be sourced to further strengthen the program’s financial capacity. These measures are crucial considering the patients will be paying a subsidized fee for the program’s services. There will be no measurable expense reductions for the organization to cover the costs of the program. It is expected that the money from the patients and the sponsor/donors/government will adequately cover these costs. The program does not create new revenue sources for the organization to offset the program’s costs. Rather, it will rely on donors/sponsors to achieve this purpose.

Evaluation

There are certain factors, which will be measured to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of the program. In the context of administrative measures, an appraisal will be conducted to see if the program leads to patient satisfaction in terms of the services offered. Also, the benchmarks set by the administration will be evaluated to see if the program meets them or not. The measurement will also check for the number of patients served and the diversity of the clients compared to the previous case where the program was not used. In the context of clinical measures, an appraisal will be conducted to see if the program results in faster and more effective recovery of the patients in comparison to cases where the program is not used.

There are two tools, which will be utilized in measuring the impact of the program on lowering the incidence of healthcare disparities. The first one is process evaluation, which refers to a technique that evaluates the degree to which a program is operating as designed (CDC, n.d.). The second one is cost-benefit evaluation, which refers to a method that facilitates the comparison between the costs required to operate the program and the benefits generated (CDC, n.d.). Each of these evaluation tools will inform the practice on whether the program is successful. The process evaluation tool will check to see if patients recover more effectively compared to the previous mode of operation where therapy was not used. The cost-benefit evaluation will check to see if the benefits of the program are completely covered by the cost of operating the new department (Brent, 2004). Finally, the program will facilitate healthcare equity across diverse populations by being relatively cost-effective. Since the patients will pay a subsidized fee, it will be accessible by people from all socioeconomic demographics.

References

Brent, R. J. (Ed.). (2004). Cost-benefit analysis and health care evaluations. Edward Elgar Publishing.

CDC. (n.d.). Types of evaluation. CDC. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwio9Z7vgofuAhXExYUKHU1gCrYQFjACegQIBxAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fstd%2FProgram%2Fpupestd%2FTypes%2520of%2520Evaluation &usg=AOvVaw00OGxQwLjEqL_gkDiyqx61

Ventegodt, S., Kandel, I., Ervin, D. A., & Merrick, J. (2016). Concepts of holistic care. In Health Care for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities across the Lifespan. Springer, Cham.