Examples of quality initiatives
Three complaints, and only two of them are quality problems. The insurance one is a business decision the paper asks you to defend separately, so keep the halves apart.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 23, 2026
Two of the three complaints are quality; one is strategy
Sort the three complaints before planning, because they are not the same kind of problem. Long wait times and incomplete information from staff are operational quality problems with known interventions behind them. The narrow range of accepted insurance is not a quality problem at all; it is a revenue and access decision made by whoever owns the clinic, and the paper correctly gives it its own task. Keeping those halves apart is what stops the paper becoming a general essay about patient satisfaction, and the initiatives you pick for the first half should address the first two complaints specifically rather than being three good ideas about quality generally. Sort them in the first paragraph and the two page limit becomes workable rather than tight, because you know which of the two tasks each sentence belongs to. Three good ideas about quality generally will not do here.
Choose initiatives that address wait time and communication with mechanisms, not slogans. For throughput: demand-capacity matching using actual arrival data, a fast-track stream for low-acuity presentations, and online check-in or queue transparency, which changes perceived wait even when actual wait is unchanged. For communication: teach-back at discharge, a written after-visit summary, and standardised handoff so the same information reaches the patient from everyone. The brief asks for examples of successful application, so each initiative needs a published or documented instance behind it rather than a claim that it works. Then defend the payer decision on its own terms. Accepting Medicaid expands the catchment, stabilises volume, and may reduce the uncompensated care already being absorbed; against that, Medicaid rates are typically below commercial ones and administrative burden rises. Take a position and support it with two examples, since the brief asks you to defend rather than to survey.
Likely learning objectives
- Separate operational quality problems from strategic payer decisions.
- Select quality initiatives that map onto named complaints.
- Support each initiative with a documented instance of successful application.
- Defend a payer-mix decision with financial and access arguments.
Assignment instructions
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Imagine that you are the clinic manager of an urgent care center. Recently, your center has seen an increase in complaints regarding long wait times, inadequate or incomplete information from staff during visits, and the relatively small number of insurance types accepted at the facility. Write a 2 page paper in which you: Examine at least three (3) examples of quality initiatives that could increase patient satisfaction and potentially reduce healthcare cost. Support your response with examples of the successful application your chosen quality initiatives. Defend your position on the decision to accept Medicare or Medicaid as potential pay sources for your urgent care center. Provide support with at least two (2) examples that illustrate your position. Use at least two (2) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements: Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are: Analyze the impact of healthcare financing and health insurance on healthcare access, quality, and cost. Determine the factors that affect healthcare quality in healthcare organizations. Use technology and information resources to research issues in healthcare policy, law, and ethics. Write clearly and concisely about healthcare policy and law using proper writing mechanics.
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes. Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages. Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor. The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.
What the urgent care paper must contain
- 01A two page paper, excluding cover and reference pages.
- 02At least three examples of quality initiatives that could increase satisfaction and reduce cost.
- 03Examples of the successful application of each chosen initiative.
- 04A defended position on accepting Medicare or Medicaid as pay sources.
- 05At least two examples illustrating that position, and at least two quality references.
Three initiatives, then the payer decision
The three complaints, sorted
Distinguish the two quality problems from the payer decision.
What the assessor is likely looking for
The sorting made explicit rather than assumed.
Initiative one: throughput
Address wait time with demand-capacity matching or a fast-track stream.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A mechanism that changes flow rather than a resolution to be faster.
Initiative two: communication
Address incomplete information with teach-back and a written summary.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A specific technique with evidence behind it.
Initiative three: perceived experience
Cover queue transparency or check-in changes that alter perceived wait.
What the assessor is likely looking for
The distinction between actual and perceived wait recognised.
The payer decision
Argue the case for or against accepting Medicare or Medicaid at this clinic.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A defended position with revenue and access reasoning.
Two supporting examples
Give two concrete instances that illustrate the position taken.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Examples that bear on the decision rather than on quality.
Where urgent care and payer evidence sits
Recommended databases
- AHRQ
- CMS
- KFF
- PubMed Central
Search sequence
- 1.Search emergency or urgent care throughput interventions for the first initiative.
- 2.Look up teach-back evidence for the communication initiative.
- 3.Find Medicaid reimbursement rate comparisons for the payer section.
- 4.Check uncompensated care data to support the access argument.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
Re-Engineered Discharge (RED) Toolkit
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality · 2023
A documented discharge communication intervention, for the second initiative.
Key Facts about the Uninsured Population
KFF · 2024
Uninsured population data, for the access side of the payer argument.
Value-Based Programs
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · 2025
How payers link payment to experience, for the cost half of the initiatives.
Evaluation of the effect of a consumer-driven health plan on medical care expenditures and utilization
Health Services Research · 2004
Benefit design and utilisation, for how insurance type changes who attends.
TeamSTEPPS 3.0
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality · 2024
A structured communication programme, for standardising what staff tell patients.
Before you submit the paper
Common mistakes
- Treating the insurance complaint as a quality problem.
- Choosing initiatives that do not address either named complaint.
- Asserting an initiative works without citing an instance where it did.
- Surveying both sides of the payer question instead of defending a position.
- Using web sources that the brief explicitly excludes.
Submission checklist
- Does each initiative map to wait time or to staff communication?
- Is there a documented successful application for each?
- Have you taken a clear position on Medicare or Medicaid?
- Are there two examples supporting that position?
- Are all references academic rather than general web sources?
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read Brinevia's academic-integrity policy.
Written by
Maren Caldwell
MSN, RN, CNE
Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation
Maren is a registered nurse with over 15 years of clinical and educational experience in medical-surgical nursing. She writes on NCLEX preparation, patient care fundamentals, pharmacology and evidence-based practice.
Reviewed by
Dr. Tessa Redmond
DNP, RN, CNE
Evidence-based practice and clinical education
Tessa is a doctorally-prepared nurse educator. She reviews Brinevia content for clinical accuracy and alignment with current evidence-based guidelines.