Fluent Essays

6 Rapid Cycle Improvement Plan Rapid Cycle Improvement Plan Introduction to Problem of Interest After an interview with the hospital’s IT manager, it was concluded that one of the main issues affecting the IT department was security. There has been more than three attempted data breaches in the hospital but its security systems had be secured enough to prevent such from happening. Patient health information is considered to be one of the most confidential pieces of information and when it falls into the wrong hands, it can cause a serious damage to their reputation and image. Data breaches is an issue for the hospital’s IT department because once it happens it can destroy the brand’s image and reputation leading to the loss of customers. This is because data breaches affect a patient’s trust in a hospital and they would tend to go where they feel like their information and statuses would be secured (Kuperman et al., 2013). A rapid cycle improvement strategy would therefore help in the identification, implementation, and measurement of changes made to improve the hospital’s information system to make it more secure against data breaches. Objectives The main objective of using a rapid cycle improvement plan is to ensure that the changes made to the hospital’s information system is tested over the period of months to ensure that the most effective solutions are implemented. The main objective of establishing a security culture in the hospital is to ensure that the information system is kept secure by encouraging safety measures. The rapid cycle improvement plan has enabled numerous hospitals to constantly improve how they use the electronic health record technology (Narayana et al., 2010). The implementation of the changes or improvements through the use of rapid cycle improvement plans would enable hospitals to serve their patients better, realize the benefits of electronic health records, attain their business goals, and improve on the delivery of quality healthcare. Literature Review Kuperman et al., (2013) discuss about Health Evaluation through Logical Processing systems which assist healthcare professionals in making logical decisions. HELP systems collects data and analyzes then provides healthcare professionals with insights to support decision making processes. The HELP system is also secured with a variety of internet and computer security controls. The article by Masrom and Rehimly (2015) discusses hospital information systems and how they provide real-time information. The article covers various data security aspects of hospital information systems discussing various controls that can be used to inform how data security breaches can be prevented. The literature written by Mehraeen et al. (2016) discusses health information security in hospitals. The book contains researched information from a survey studies on information technology managers working in hospital environments. The results of the research showed that administrative safeguards were at the medium level while technical and physical safeguards were ranked at the top with most IT managers claiming that they were strong controls. The literature by Mehraeen et al. (2016) provided the best approaches to the security issues and data breach attempts on the hospital’s information system. The article by Narayana Samy et al., (2010) categorizes security threats to healthcare information systems. The article presents the findings of a research carried out in a hospital with a fully functional information system and an information system department and medical record department. The research concluded that the most common threats to health information systems is power failure, human error and finally technological factors in that order. The research also highlights the importance of safeguarding an information system against those factors through the use of technological controls such as encryption, backup, and deployment of physical controls and technical controls. The article by Samy et al., (2019) identifies the threats to healthcare information systems based on a research conducted on various hospitals’ information technology departments. This article also confirms that the most critical threats to healthcare information systems are power failure and human error. Human error is the leading cause of the increasing frequency of data breach attempts. This article confirms that employees’ ignorance, recklessness, curiosity, and sharing of passwords proves to be a threat to data security. The article also proposes rigorous training of the employees to improve on data security. Action Program The action program is to establish a security culture in the hospital. Despite the implementation of antivirus software, firewalls, and intrusion detection software, people are considered to be the weakest link in the security chain. Therefore, establishing a security culture in the hospital through the sensitization of workers to adhere to security protocols would help in ensuring maximum security of electronic health records (Samy et al., 2019). With the implementation of a security culture in the hospital, it is expected that all the 57 hospital employees would understand the importance of adhering to the organization’s security measures. The sensitization program is set to continue for 3 months, with new employees being oriented about the hospital’s information security issues and best practices (Mehraeen et al., 2016). With the implementation of the system, it is expected that the hospital would minimize on the information system’s operational costs since it would be expected would use less resources or outsource security experts to assess the security status of the information system. Do All the 57 hospital employees including the subordinate staff would be educated on the importance of adhering to the hospital’s security plan. The plan would be to ensure that they are educated on the importance of locking every doors as they leave, logging out from any hospital’s device when not in use, constantly change their passwords, refraining from downloading applications from suspicious and unauthorized sites, sharing patient information with third parties, and refraining from sharing their system usernames and passwords. Study After the first month of training all the employees on the importance of following the security protocols, an observational assessment would be conducted to determine the effectiveness of the program. The observation would provide more insights on whether the employees closed their doors upon leaving rooms, logout from the hospital’s information system when not in use, refrained from downloading applications from unauthorized platforms, and refrained from sharing their usernames and passwords. An interview would also be conducted on the employees to determine the frequency with which they changed their passwords, and if they have ever shared patient information with any third parties. Act The results from the assessment indicated a significant improvement in the staff’s behavior towards ensuring that the security of the hospital’s information system is maintained. A significant number of the employees closed their doors on leaving rooms, logged out from the system when not in use, and also periodically changed their passwords (Masrom & Rahimly, 2015). However, more improvement needs to be conducted to ensure that only certain applications are allowed to be used and downloaded by the staff to ensure that the system remains secure since attackers may disguise some of the malicious applications as legitimate ones. Conclusion Most cybercrimes target hospital systems since that is where sensitive data is stored. Along with the extra precautions mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, hospitals need to be vigilant about patient data protection. According to cybersecurity experts, people are considered to be the weakest links in the security chain and this means that they are easy targets for attackers. Therefore, to achieve a secure information system, people should be brought on board with the latest security practices. To achieve this, hospitals need to implement security measures and establish a security culture. Employees must be willing to protect the hospital’s information system by following the best practices. A security culture can be achieved by training employees on the importance of adhering to the set security protocols. After the training, an observational evaluation should then be conducted to determine whether the employees are putting their training into practice. After the assessment the necessary changes can be implemented to ensure an improvement in the security initiatives. References Kuperman, G. J., Gardner, R. M., & Pryor, T. A. (2013). HELP: a dynamic hospital information system. Springer Science & Business Media. Masrom, M., & Rahimly, A. (2015). Overview of data security issues in hospital information systems. Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 7(4), 5. Mehraeen, E., Ayatollahi, H., & Ahmadi, M. (2016). Health information security in hospitals: the application of security safeguards. Acta informatica medica, 24(1), 47. Narayana Samy, G., Ahmad, R., & Ismail, Z. (2010). Security threats categories in healthcare information systems. Health informatics journal, 16(3), 201-209. Samy, G. N., Ahmad, R., & Ismail, Z. (2019, August). Threats to health information security. In 2009 Fifth International Conference on Information Assurance and Security (Vol. 2, pp. 540-543). IEEE. Appendix Interviewer: As an IT manager, what are the main challenges have you encountered in your role? IT Manager: The main challenges are in ensuring the security of the information system. A lot of data breaches have been observed in the past few years and their frequency has been alarming. Interviewer: What would you say about the security of this hospital’s information system? IT Manager: The security of this hospital’s information system is top notch since all the security controls have been successfully implemented. However, my biggest worry is with the people since most of them seem not to care about the internet security protocols established. Interviewer: Thank you for your time. IT Manager: Welcome. Unit 3: Practicum Rapid-Cycle Assignment Rubric Unit 3: Practicum Rapid-Cycle Assignment Rubric Criteria Ratings Pts This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIntroduction to the Problem of Interest ("Plan") 0 pts Unsatisfactory No introduction. 6 pts Needs Improvement Little or very general introduction. Poor explanation or inappropriate emphasis in an area. Missing >5 elements. 12 pts Satisfactory Performance Basic introduction. Emphasis needs some redirection. 3-4 elements may be missing important details. 13 pts Exceeds Expectations The issue is introduced including significance to nursing leadership and the host organization. Appropriate emphasis. 1-2 elements may be missing important details. 15 pts Exceptional The issue is introduced including significance to nursing leadership and the host organization. Pertinent background information or scholarly evidence is presented to support the intervention proposal. Current situation is fully explored including how this might relate to the vision/mission of the organization. 15 pts This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeObjectives 0 pts Unsatisfactory Did not provide objectives or objectives do not relate in any way to the topic. 11 pts Needs Improvement Two or less objectives are discussed and may or may not relate to the topic. 24 pts Satisfactory Performance Three objectives are identified but may not be realistic or measurable. The objectives overall relate to the topic but are not specific to the organization. 26 pts Exceeds Expectations Identifies clearly at least 3 objectives of the proposed intervention. The objectives proposal is measurable and realistic and directly relates to an element of patient care, health care organizations, or research. The proposed intervention plan will may need some redirection to meet objectives within timeframe specified. 30 pts Exceptional Identifies clearly at least 3 objectives of the proposed intervention. The objectives proposal is measurable and realistic and directly relates to an information technology issue affecting an element of patient care, health care organizations, or research. The proposed intervention plan will directly meet the objectives listed within the timeframe specified. Comments: Two objectives are identified; however, they are not measurable and don’t clearly align with your project. They should be more specific to your facility. 30 pts This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome"Do" 0 pts Unsatisfactory No strategy discussion. 8 pts Needs Improvement Little or very general strategy discussion. Poor explanation or inappropriate emphasis in an area. Missing >5 elements. 16 pts Satisfactory Performance Basic strategy discussion. Emphasis needs some redirection. 3-4 elements may be missing important details. 18 pts Exceeds Expectations A plan for a short study is described. Discussion includes specific strategies to meet objectives listed. Appropriate emphasis. 1-2 elements may be missing important details. 20 pts Exceptional Describe a plan for a short study. Timeframe, number of subjects, financial implications, and intervention methodology discussed. Discussion includes specific strategies to meet objectives listed. Includes current organizational culture issues to be addressed, what internal or external resources currently exist that could be utilized; potential internal/external resource acquisition may be required to accomplish the objectives, and strategies for utilizing these resources appropriately. Comments: Lacking most of all of the components required for this section 20 pts This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome"Study" 0 pts Unsatisfactory No analysis plan. 8 pts Needs Improvement Little or very general analysis plan. Poor explanation or inappropriate emphasis in an area. Missing >5 elements. 16 pts Satisfactory Performance Basic analysis plan presented. Emphasis needs some redirection. 3-4 elements may be missing important details. 18 pts Exceeds Expectations Discussion includes specific analysis plan. Appropriate emphasis. 1-2 elements may be missing important details. 20 pts Exceptional An analysis plan to evaluate the results of your brief intervention is presented. Include specific outcome measures that will be examined. How will you determine if your objective was met? Include a discussion of appropriate statistical analysis or research studies that should be utilized in this determination. Provide a brief summary of any financial implications involved in this phase. Discuss specific stakeholders that should be involved in the action plan, who will contact them and how, as well as timelines for this. Action plan will result in meeting objectives. Comments: Lacking most of all the components required for this section 20 pts This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome"Act" 0 pts Unsatisfactory No action plan discussed. 11 pts Needs Improvement Little or very general action plan discussed without specific detail relating to the issue or organization. Poor explanation or inappropriate emphasis in an area. Missing >5 elements. 24 pts Satisfactory Performance Basic action plan discussed without specific detail relating to the issue or organization. Emphasis needs some redirection. 3-4 elements may be missing important details. 26 pts Exceeds Expectations Discussion includes specific action plan. Appropriate emphasis. 1-2 elements may be missing important details. 30 pts Exceptional Describe how you would use your results to make a decision to incorporate change or not. How would literature review, stakeholders, finances, and organizational culture play a role in this decision? Discuss specific stakeholders that should be involved in the action plan, who will contact them and how, as well as timelines for this. Action plan will result in meeting objectives. A brief summary of financial implication is provided. Includes specific information pertaining to intervention, evaluation, and analysis phase relating to the host organization. All resources (including technology, stakeholders, consultants, etc) used in the action plan are addressed in this section with consideration to finances. Comments: Lacking most of all of the components required for this section 30 pts This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAppendix A 0 pts Unsatisfactory Interview transcript and CV missing. Any one of these elements missing will receive zero points for this section. 6 pts Needs Improvement Interview transcript and CV provided. Poor explanation or inappropriate emphasis in an area. Missing >5 elements. 12 pts Satisfactory Performance Interview transcript and CV provided. Emphasis needs some redirection. 3-4 elements may be missing important details. 13 pts Exceeds Expectations Interview transcript and CV provided. Appropriate emphasis. 1-2 elements may be missing important details. 15 pts Exceptional Interview transcript provided. CV provided as evidence that the person interviewed was appropriate for the topic being explored. Comments: CV is missing 15 pts This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeClarity of Writing 0 pts Unsatisfactory All writing lack clarity and relevance to the topic. Postings contain greater than ten errors in syntax, grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation (>ten errors). 6 pts Needs Improvement Most of writing lacks a logical and clear approach. Relevance to the topic is difficult to discern. Six or more grammatical or typographical errors are noted. 12 pts Satisfactory Performance Writing may lack some logic or clarity but is overall discernable. May also lack relevance to the topic. Four to five grammatical or typographical errors are noted. 13 pts Exceeds Expectations Writing is relevant to the topic but is unclear at times. Writing is presented logically using standard English language. Direct course applications and synthesis of scholarly information is easily discernable. Postings contain minimal grammatical or typographical errors. 15 pts Exceptional Writing is relevant to the topic and is presented logically and clearly using standard English language. Direct course applications and synthesis of scholarly information is easily discernable. Word choice is correct, precise and unambiguous. Sentence structure is clear, concise and well- constructed. No grammatical or typographical errors. 15 pts This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAPA Format 0 pts Unsatisfactory Paper does not adhere to APA format on multiple levels, exceeding previously stated standards. 2 pts Needs Improvement Paper over all does not adhere to APA format including in text citations, page format, level headings, as well as references noted in the reference page (>eight errors). 3 pts Satisfactory Performance Paper over all does not adhere to APA format including in text citations, page format, level headings, as well as references noted in the reference page (four to five errors). 4 pts Exceeds Expectations Paper adheres to APA format including in text citations, page format, level headings, as well as references noted in the reference page (three to four errors). 5 pts Exceptional APA rules regarding level headings, page/paragraph format, and citations in the body of the paper adhere to APA format as well as references noted at the end of the paper (no more than one to two errors). No more than 25% of your paper should be direct quotes. 5 pts Total Points: 150 Previous Next Submission  Submitted! Aug 17 at 6:12pm Submission Details Download Rapid Cycle Improvement Plan-.docx Grade: 82 (150 pts possible) Graded Anonymously: no  View Rubric Evaluation Comments: Grace you have a good idea for the rapid cycle improvement plan, and you followed the template with an excellent literature review. However, you were missing many of the components required on the rubric. Please review my comments on the rubric and contact me about your grade.