Health Care Policy
Considering the Policy Process (Chapter 7 – Berkowitz in Mason, Levitt, & Chaffee), appraise a recent healthcare policy change on your unit or in your organization using the Policy Process.
Problem: What was the basis for the policy change? What was the problem? How was it identified?
Evidence based rationale: What evidence was used to determine the problem was significant enough to result in a change?
Options: Were there alternative options for consideration prior to developing the policy? How was the policy implemented?
Stakeholder Involvement: Who was informed and educated about the decisions and issues surrounding the problem, issue, policy?
Implementation: What were the actions steps to implementation?
Evaluation: Did the policy work (resolve the problem it was designed to address)? Were there any unintended consequences of the policy? How likely will the policy impact change on the unit, in the organization or in your practice?
Sample Answer
Here is an appraisal of a recent healthcare policy change on my unit or in my organization using the Policy Process:
Problem: The problem that led to the policy change was a high rate of patient falls. This was identified through a review of patient safety data, which showed that the unit had a higher rate of falls than other units in the hospital.
Evidence-based rationale: The evidence that was used to determine the problem was significant enough to result in a change included the patient safety data, as well as research on the causes and prevention of patient falls. The research showed that there are a number of factors that can contribute to patient falls, such as poor lighting, inadequate staffing, and a lack of patient education.