Treatment of various diseases determines health outcomes and influences the quality of life. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (2017), the measures for congestive heart failure (HF), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and pneumonia (PNA) to include 30-day readmission help to make hospital care transparent and available and improve the quality of efforts. The signs of these diseases are usually similar, including shortness of breath, fewer or cold sweat, chest pain or tightness, and fatigue. Organizational goals must be carefully identified not to make a mistake in diagnosing and treating patients with HF, AMI, and PNA.
HF is diagnosed when the heart’s muscle is not able to pump the blood properly, causing the narrowing of arteries and high blood pressure. In other words, this condition makes the heart work hard. AMI occurs when the heart’s muscle becomes blocked because the arteries do not supply the blood. This sudden condition leads to the death of the muscle or its part. It is not enough to give some antibiotics, inhibitors, or blockers to improve the situation. Thrombolytics or pain relievers may reduce the level of pain, but angioplasty, stenting, or surgery should be chosen to stabilize the blood flow within the next few hours.
Compared to the two above-mentioned diseases, PNA is a pulmonary disease that is characterized by the infection in the air sacs, and its fulfillment with fluids that result in cough and difficult breathing. The quality of care and its effectiveness can be improved by the same means for patients with PNA and HF (antibiotics and pain relievers). Desai et al. (2018) define a “similar pattern” for these conditions, suggesting that “there may likely be an association, albeit modest, between the intensity of care and clinical outcomes for these medical conditions” (para. 21). Therefore, the same organizational goals may be effective to improve long-term care in HF or PNA patients, while care for AMI patients may lag and become ineffective in a particular situation.
References
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2017). Outcome measures. Web.
Desai, N. R., Ott, L. S., George, E. J., Xu, X., Kim, N., Zhou, S.,… Krumholz, H. M. (2018). Variation in and hospital characteristics associated with the value of care for Medicare beneficiaries with acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia. JAMA Network Open, 1(6), e183519. Web.