NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 1
[Student Name]
Capella University
[Prof. Name]
August 2025
NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 1: Diabetic Benchmarks
Numerous laws, regulations, and policies are in place in the dynamic healthcare industry to provide the best possible treatment for patients. These laws and regulations may come from both state and federal sources. Since the goal was to monitor and compare clinical outcomes of healthcare organizations, the standards from the 1990s have been applied to the healthcare industry (Willmington et al., 2022, p.2). Benchmarking aids in performance improvement through the use of dashboards that assess an organization’s performance in areas such as patient population or medical intervention. In order to achieve the established requirements, NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 1 aims to enhance the foot, eye, and HbA1C examinations performed on the diabetic population at Mercy Medical Center in Minnesota.
Dashboard Metrics
The 2019–2020 HbA1C and foot and eye tests are the main focus of the hospital dashboard metrics. There isn’t a consistent downward trend in these three measures when evaluating healthcare dashboard metrics, but it does highlight the need to enhance diabetes tests across the board. One of the goals of Healthy People 2030 that is getting worse is the proportion of adults with diabetes who get an annual eye exam. The goal is for 70% of adults with diabetes to be screened at a yearly eye checkup; as of 2019, Healthy People 2030, this figure is 64.8 percent. The Mercy Medical eye test dashboard displays two notable drops, the first occurring in the fourth quarter of 2019 and the second occurring in the second quarter of 2020. The first half of 2019 saw poor performance as well, while 2020 saw more stable performance. Foot exams are another NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 1 metric that requires significant improvement in the hospital; they fared extremely poorly in Quarters 3, 2019, and 2 and 3, 2020. Last but
not least, the HbA1C testing dashboard showed poor performance in 2019’s second and fourth quarters, however all 2020 quarters showed better performance rates than 2019.
Not Meeting Benchmarks
If left untreated, diabetes can become incapacitating. According to the Minnesota Health Department, healthcare providers should keep an eye on five diabetes goals in order to deliver the best possible care. HbA1C below 8.0 mg/dL, blood pressure below 140/90, abstinence from tobacco, statin therapy unless contraindicated, and ischemic vascular disease patients using aspirin or an anti-platelet medication unless contraindicated are the goals. In order to lessen the burden of complications related to diabetes, the current guidelines typically recommend out-patient services like eye and foot exams, HbA1C checks, and routine primary care visits, according to the healthcare dashboard metrics (Albright et al., 2021, p. 2). Underutilization of these services puts patients at risk for diabetes-related complications. These outcomes, which might include infection, therapy, limb amputation, or even death, can result from a simple diabetic foot lesion. The hospital’s diabetic exam dashboards all showed poor performance rates in NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 1, therefore they fell short of expectations. The discrepancy in the number of patients getting regular foot inspections is the most worrisome feature, as it indicates a serious lapse in patient monitoring and care.
Underperforming Benchmark
Mercy Medical Center’s overall foot exam results in 2019–2020 fell short of the national average. By analyzing the nationwide reported average and creating the standard, the nationwide Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report created these
benchmarks. According to the requirements for diabetic foot tests, 84% of diabetic patients over 40 undergo a foot examination each year. In dashboard metrics in healthcare, patient education is recognized as a critical component for improving these standards during evaluation of dashboard metrics in the healthcare industry. Patient education alone is insufficient to prevent diabetes complications, despite the fact that it is a useful variable in reaching the standards set to lower the frequency of diabetic issues and improve the patient outcome. Reducing foot and leg amputations among the fully developed population of diabetic patients is the other goal of Healthy People 2030. Amputation is the most common diabetic foot wound consequence. To effectively prevent ulcers, a multidisciplinary approach involving frequent foot exams, wound care, offloading methods like suggested footwear, meticulous glucose monitoring, and patient education is required (Del Core, et al., 2018. p. 9). According to the most recent data from Healthy People 2030, the overall rate of diabetes-related amputations in 2016 was 4.9 per 1000 persons with the disease. In addition to having a detrimental effect on an individual’s quality of life, an amputation will also lengthen hospital stays and considerably raise the death rate, according to NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 1. In one study, 29.4% of patients died following amputation, and the researchers tracked patients who had already had an amputation for 109 weeks (Del Core, et al., 2018. p. 8).
Stakeholders
An organization’s stakeholders have a stake in it. These stakeholders could be Mercy Medical’s staff, investors, clients, patients, and the local community. Finding reliable performance metrics that are suited to the stakeholders who will be using the benchmarking data in the end is crucial in the healthcare sector (Willmington et al.,
2022, p. 17). It is emphasized in NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 1 that in order to enable precise quality improvements, performance indicators must give the pertinent stakeholders the right information. By developing programs aimed at improving patient outcomes, the healthcare metrics dashboard demonstrates how performance data in the domain of diabetes examinations may result in process modifications.
Conclusion
According to NHS FPX 6004 Assessment 1, indications are set up to support the development and maintenance of a constant standard of care in the medical environment. When it came to the diabetic patient group, Mercy Medical Center in Minnesota performed poorly on all benchmark assessments. A collaborative staff approach, along with the proper training of the personnel, could improve the Mercy Medical Center’s standards and overall patient results. Staff education regarding the need of diabetes exams is the first step towards improving patient outcomes. According to the dashboard and health care benchmark evaluation, there is a greater chance of improving patient compliance when staff members are able to effectively communicate with clients about the significance of follow-ups and appropriate home care. A method whereby staff members follow up with patients possibly by scheduling appointments can also improve benchmark scores, which in turn leads to better patient outcomes.
References
Albright, R. H., & Fleischer, A. E. (2021). Association of select preventative services and hospitalization in people with diabetes. Journal of Diabetes and its Complications, 35(5) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2021.107903
Del Core Michael, A., Junho, A., Lewis,Robert B., I.,II, Raspovic, K. M., Lalli Trapper, A. J., & Wukich, D. K. (2018). The evaluation and treatment of diabetic foot ulcers and diabetic foot infections. Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics, 3(3) https://doi.org/10.1177/2473011418788864
Willmington, C., Belardi, P., Murante, A. M., & Vainieri, M. (2022). The contribution of benchmarking to quality improvement in healthcare. A systematic literature review. BMC Health Services Research, 22, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-07467-8
