Economic Conditions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economic Conditions - Essay Example U.S. gross debt increased in terms of percent of GDP 7. Nominal value of the U.S. dollar against all major currencies   In looking at actual data, there was a huge economic downturn during 2008. Despite this, retailers’ sales revenue increased when compared to 2006 and 2007. There was little effect on revenue growth in 2008 compared to 2007, but there was still considerably high revenue growth. The actual revenue growth of 2008 was also higher than the forecasted revenue for 2008.    According to the analysis, the economic downturn did not affect any area of the organization. All regions showed revenue growth during 2007 and 2008 (see Table1.4). This growth indicates that the economy had the same impact on all areas and had no effect on the revenue growth of its products.   By analyzing each area’s revenue, we can look and see if each area has special customer behavior that may affect its revenue. For example, the Web region shows the least amount of revenue (see Graph1). This means that customers prefer an in-store experience over an online one. Customers purchasing behavior depends on geography, gender, age, and the factors of the market. There are other factors that affect customers’ buying behavior. ... ior, and other factors, which the company should take into account either as a risk or an opportunity.   Competitive Marketplace   There is huge competition in the retail industry in the United States. The following are characteristics the marketplace for retailers:   1. Use of Information Technology:   The retail industry is now offering its products through the Web. This benefits customers who like to buy products while sitting at home. Customers can place an order on a company’s website by paying through a secure payment system and then receiving the product at their home. The Internet, particularly e-commerce, has changed how retailers run their businesses.   2. Increase in Discount Stores:   Discount stores are one of the factors behind the retail industry’s success. Nowadays, retail stores offer a money back guarantee, reduced prices, and buy-one get-one free offers.   3. Increase in Store Sizes:   Retail stores are now required to be as big as pos sible sp that they can have all the products that customers demand at one place.   4. Direct Marketing:   Retail stores now use direct marketing strategies to increase their sales by sending emails, messages, catalogs to their customers, and also by selling products on their websites.   5. Mergers and Acquisitions   Retailers are merging and acquiring other stores to achieve a dominant position in market; this may not be possible without a merger or acquisition. By increasing their size, a retailer creates a high barrier of new entrants, and reduces the bargaining power of customers and suppliers. The major reason for a merger or acquisition is to reduce competition in the market.   There are many competitors in the retail industry in the United States. These retailers mostly sell electronics, support products,

Implementing Electronic Health Record innovations for Pressure Ulcer Essay

Implementing Electronic Health Record innovations for Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Management - Essay Example Regardless of the size of the project, the proper integration of a skilled workforce, proven strategies and technology at MICU, would see the successful implementation of the program in various units for easy use by clinicians. If properly utilized, EHR can be the silver bullet to the problem of inconsistencies that are the order of the day in documenting pressure ulcer management processes through paper-work. Prevention of Pressure Ulcer According to Hagens and Krose (2009), to maximize the benefits the EHR for Pressure Ulcer prevention and management, it would be vital to keep problem lists, medical prescription lists and sensitivity lists in all units handling the patients s(National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, 2007). In the MICU case, medical assistants or skin care specialists should enter medications and sensitivities from the paper work, and physicians would enter the problem lists. It would be appropriate to enter data shortly before an appointment is due, and take the cha rt to scanning. In doing so, the pressure ulcer management units will have an entirely electronic chart ready for patient handling when the patient arrives at the units (Kerr, 2009). Alternatively, it would be appropriate to enlist registered nurses for the task of problem list entry before the program is ready for use by various clinicians. Assessment for Pressure Ulcer For acute care, the first assessment should be carried out on admission and after every 1-2 days or whenever the condition of the patient changes (Clarke, Bradley, Whytock, Handfield, Van der Wal, & Gundry, 2005). At MICU, the system would be programmed to notify the health care providers to do assessments every 24 hours. For home health, the first assessment would be carried out on admission, and re-examination done as soon as the patient resumes care, during recertification, refer or release, or whenever the patient’s health condition changes (Adler, 2010). At MICU, it would be appropriate to reassess the p atient’s condition at each nursing visit. And for long-term care in MICU, the initial screening for patients would be appropriately done on admission and every week during subsequent missions. Determining Risk Levels Several electronic tools for risk assessment are accessible to assist in predicting the level of risk of the disease (National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, 2007). They include machines with values that when summed up together, can enable the health care providers to determine the risk score in totality. The Braden and Norton Scales are proven tools that can be used to provide an electronic data for predicting the risk of pressure ulcer risk in MICU. According to Ayello, Capitulo, Fife, Fowler, Krasner, Mulder, Sibbald, and Yankowsky (2009), these tools help clinicians to determine the risk values, which eventually can lead to the formulation of the most appropriate and opportune medical interventions. Norton Scale The Norton Scale comprises five groups: physica l and mental conditions; mobility, activity, and incontinence. These factors are valued from 1– 4 (Tavenner, & Sebelius, 2012). The total values usually range from 5 to 20. An entry of the following data to the EHR system can help clinicians to cope with the condition in a more effective and faster way: Mild Risk values at 14: Moderate Risk at 13: and High Risk at 12. The scale should be credible and kept in such condition to avoid errors in the final readings of data (Liang, 2007). Any alterations can change or render it an