As the director of the outpatient orthopedic services, you are asked to create a referral system for your clinic for women who are high risk for osteoporosis. How would you approach this project? How would you determine the effectiveness of your project?
The referral process forms an integral component of a patient’s care. For many women, bone loss becomes a major problem because of significant drop in estrogen levels (Mayo Foundation, 2016). When estrogen levels drop the body’s ability to make new bones drops as well (Mayo Foundation, 2016). This process may eventually cause loss of bone mass or density, which results in osteoporosis. Since evidence tells us osteoporosis can be prevented it is very important for our clinic to have a referral program in place for woman who are at a high risk for
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An evidence based practice project team was organized at the start of the project. Within the team we did include two members that had successful past referral program experience. The team collected internal and external data related to the need of a referral program for women at risk for osteoporosis. The problem was linked to interventions and outcomes.
The team located, identified, and analyzed best practice evidence related to creation of a clinic referral program. The team also wanted to provide a frame work so appropriate referrals were received and a tool was created so correct information was transferred to the provider during the referral process. A plan was created, champions were found in multiple areas, and education took place.
We trialed the referral program with a small independent family practice clinic located next to our orthopedic clinic. The project team analyzed each referral that came in. Information was also gathered from patient satisfaction surveys during the trial period. After the trial period the team moved on to implementation of the new referral program to the
There are many different diseases that can affect our skeletal system and Osteoporosis is one of them. Osteoporosis lessens bone strength and bone density (amount of bone mineral in bone tissue), which will lead to fragile bones. It mainly affect the hips, ribs, spine, and wrists. Male or female, at any age, can get this but it is mostly occurs in older women (Team, 2016). Osteoporosis is very common, there are more than 3 million cases a year. There are many causes/risk factors, symptoms, and some treatment cases. About 54 million Americans have Osteoporosis and low bone mass (Foundation, 2016).
The problem statement, “What it means to live with osteoporosis related vertebral fracture and How HRQOL and daily life are affected several years after vertebral fracture. How women cope with this disparity.” (Halberg et al, 2010), is i...
Walker, J. (2010). The role of the nurse in the management of osteoporosis. British Journal Of
Osteoporosis is a condition, in which bones are weak from deterioration, loss of bone mass, and quality-bone strength. Osteoporosis usually triggers postmenopausal women (women who have not had their period for a whole year), or older men and women. Some risks both older men and women endure when experiencing Osteoporosis are decrease of calcium and bone fractures. These symptoms or effects can all be caused by weight loss, smoking, age, ethnicity, genetics, medications, bone structure, and certain diseases that can later on contribute to Osteoporosis, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoporosis may be prevented by going to drug therapy to stop alcoholism and smoking, a sufficient amount of calcium intake, and exercising; such as jogging, walking,
By 11/13/2015, the team leader and I will evaluate the patient questionnaires from the patients to interpret their satisfaction with nursing interaction and if they feel that their concerns were heard and
Osteoporosis is associated with repeated fractures, tender bones, neck and back pain, a decrease in height as well as poor posture. There is a variety of factors that contribute to the development of osteoporosis. These include a calcium deficiency, possibly due to a poor diet, aging and old age, the loss of estrogen that comes with the onset of menopause in women, as well as genetics. There are several other diseases that contribute to osteoporosis such as Cushing’s Disease and rheumatoid arthritis. There are 40 million Americans who struggle with this disease, men as well as women although women are more likely to develop it due to the loss of estrogen during and post-menopause. The estrogen loss is a major factor in bone formation. Other factors include family members who have had the disease, smoking, and being on certain medications such as prednisone.
Each bone is made up of a thick outer shell known as cortical bone and a strong inner mesh of trabecular bone which looks like a honeycomb, with blood and bone marrow between the struts of bone. Throughout each bone, older, worn-out bone tissue is broken down by specialist cells called osteoclasts and rebuilt by bone-building cells called osteoblasts. This process of renewal is called bone remodelling, when the bone tissues are not balanced after remodelling it can lead to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis occurs when the struts that make up this structure become thin causing bones to become fragile and break easily. Osteoporosis is commonly linked with women; this is because the oestrogen hormone in women is vital for maintaining healthy bones. When a woman reaches menopause and the monthly periods stops, it leads to a fall in the oestrogen levels, this can result to a quick reduction in bone density. Women are said to be at greater risk if they have an early menopause, if they have had a hysterectomy before the age of 45 or if they have had an absent period within 6 months as a result of over exercising or dieting. In men, the cause of osteoporosis is not yet known however, the reduction of the testosterone hormone which helps keep the bone healthy has a link with the disease. As men age, there is a reduced production of this hormone and this may increase the risk of osteoporosis. The reason for a reduction
It is no secret that the current healthcare reform is a contentious matter that promises to transform the way Americans view an already complex healthcare system. The newly insured population is expected to increase by an estimated 32 million while facing an expected shortage of up to 44,000 primary care physicians within the next 12 years (Doherty, 2010). Amidst these already overwhelming challenges, healthcare systems are becoming increasingly scrutinized to identify ways to improve cost containment and patient access (Curits & Netten, 2007). “Growing awareness of the importance of health promotion and disease prevention, the increased complexity of community-based care, and the need to use scarce human healthcare resources, especially family physicians, far more efficiently and effectively, have resulted in increased emphasis on primary healthcare renewal.” (Bailey, Jones & Way, 2006, p. 381).
Touhy, T. A., Jett, K. F., Ebersole, P., & Hess, P. A. (2010). Ebersole and Hess' gerontological nursing & healthy aging (3rd ed.). Bone and Joint Problems (pp. 285-287). St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby/Elsevier.
Women are at a higher threat of developing osteoporosis when their ovaries discontinue producing estrogen. This is due to the fact that estrogen supports maintaining proper calcium levels in bones. “A collapse of bony vertebrae of the spinal column results in loss of height and stooped posture. Hip fractures are a common occurrence.”
When promoting primary health care services, there are many factors that must be considered when developing an effective marketing plan. Primary care providers are the gatekeepers of health care in the United States; many patients have to visit them before being referred to specialist providers (Bodenheimer, 2003). They are also being tasked with ensuring patients are receiving preventative services and managing more complex chronic diseases (Akinci & Healey, 2004). Recruitment of primary care physicians is challenging because they are expected to do more and are not being reimbursed proportionally for the added workload (Bodenheimer, 2003). In this paper, a group of primary care physicians in Washington D.C. is looking to research their consumer population base in order to provide them better services and recruit new primary care physicians to their practice (Colorado State University-Global Campus, 2013). A successful primary care marketing plan will recruit quality health care providers while improving consumer accessibility to their services, customer satisfaction rates, and patients’ continuity of care with their health care provider.
After the successful completion of this study, there would be dissemination of the result to the involved stakeholders in addition with staff nurses, hospital administration, and other members of staff working in the floor and hospital. Patients and family members, Some organization and local
Efforts are being made for health care professionals to participate in studies by filling in questionnaires so we can better understand the situation in clinics and set better standards for all hospital staff. These questionnaires are good tools to help us understand the situation in each hospital and set a plan. The existing tools in use are SOVES-G-R, POAS and POIS.
Bone resorption acts to cleanse the bone that has remained for a long period of time and reduce the calcium salts that have crystallized, which causes the bone to become more brittle. When bone resorption occurs at an increasing rate, and bone deposit fails to keep up, the result is a devastating bone disorder called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is prominently characterized by a decline of bone mass, causing a fragility susceptible to fracture. There are three main features that contribute to the development of Osteoporosis, as follows; peak bone mass is less than optimal, excessive bone resorption causes loss of bone mass and structural damage, or inadequate bone formation occurs in response to bone resorption (Becker, C., 2008). During childhood and adolescence bone growth exceeds bone resorption until peak mass is obtained during adulthood. Peak bone mass is achieved by age 40, but varies cross culturally and between genders. After year of peak bone mass, the onset of menopause for women and normal aging in both sexes, bone structure and bone mass begin to deteriorate. The rate at which this deterioration occurs and the pattern of bone loss is most probably
Since a significant part of the population is young females, there is a need for services regarding gynecology, family, and pediatric care (Taylor, 2004). Despite most of the population being young, diabetes and hypertension also play a role in the population and therefore, services are needed to address these issues (Taylor, 2004). Since most of health care center populations are from low income households, health care centers usually provide enabling services such as “case management, translation, transportation, outreach, eligibility assistance, and health education” as well as other comprehensive services (Taylor, 2004, p. 8). To assure health care centers are fulfilling its purposes, each health care center goes through a Performance Review Protocol where the health care center is graded more on their performance than its compliance, unlike its former Primary Care Effectiveness Review (Taylor,