NURS FPX 4905 Assessment 2 Define and Analyze Your Healthcare Process Problem or Issue of Concern

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Capella university

NURS-FPX4905 Capstone Project for Nursing

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Date

Define and Analyze Your Healthcare Process Problem or Issue of Concern

The practicum experience at The Longevity Center provides an opportunity to engage with integrative and regenerative medicine practices that emphasize natural healing and patient-centered approaches. The primary aim of this practicum is to build practical skills and deepen the understanding of how innovative therapies address chronic conditions at their root cause. By being directly involved in patient management, clinical discussions, and decision-making, students can critically evaluate operational challenges and identify key process issues that affect diagnostic accuracy and patient outcomes. This analysis focuses on the practicum setting, clinical and operational decision-making processes, and a central process issue related to regenerative medicine diagnostics.

Practicum Setting Overview

The practicum is conducted at The Longevity Center, a facility that combines conventional medicine with modern regenerative and integrative treatment approaches. The clinic’s mission is to promote patient well-being through preventive care, anti-aging treatments, and advanced regenerative therapies. Its patient population is diverse—ranging from healthy individuals seeking preventive care to chronically ill patients seeking long-term solutions for persistent conditions (The Longevity Center, 2024a).

The center’s clinical team consists of three full-time healthcare professionals who operate in a highly collaborative manner. Despite its small staff, the clinic focuses on personalized treatment planning, real-time monitoring of therapy effectiveness, and long-term wellness strategies. As a practicum participant, engaging in clinical and operational decision-making provides first-hand exposure to designing innovative patient care solutions. Furthermore, the clinic places significant emphasis on continuous learning by integrating literature reviews, podcasts, and case-based experiences into its practice model (The Longevity Center, 2024a). Such an environment nurtures critical thinking, professional growth, and comprehensive patient-centered care.

Clinical and Operational Decision-Making at The Longevity Center

Clinical decisions at the center primarily involve tailoring treatment plans for patients using regenerative modalities. Some of the most frequent decisions include determining whether to use Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy or stem cell injections, evaluating treatment timing and dosage, and assessing patient eligibility through diagnostic tools such as the Longevity blood panel (The Longevity Center, 2024b).

Operational decisions, on the other hand, involve scheduling treatments, ensuring appropriate documentation, managing biological and medical supply inventory, and monitoring patient flow. As part of the practicum, involvement in both evaluative observation and team discussions provides valuable insights into balancing patient-centered care with clinical efficiency.

For example, when reviewing laboratory results, practitioners often must adjust treatment approaches in real-time, such as modifying injection protocols after reviewing ultrasound findings (Majewska et al., 2025). These troubleshooting efforts are essential to improving treatment responsiveness, as many patients experience variations in healing, inflammation, or fatigue recovery rates.

The effectiveness of these decisions can be seen in improved patient outcomes such as reduced pain, enhanced tissue repair, better mobility, and higher satisfaction scores. Monitoring tools like follow-up evaluations, pain assessments, range-of-motion testing, and patient satisfaction surveys are utilized to measure treatment success (The Longevity Center, 2024a).

Identifying a Process Issue Related to Diagnosis and Outcomes in Regenerative Care

A major process challenge at The Longevity Center lies in delayed and inconsistent diagnostics for complex chronic conditions such as autoimmune disorders, chronic pain, and fatigue syndromes. Unlike conventional medical centers where diagnostic pathways are highly standardized, The Longevity Center often receives patients who have already visited multiple providers without success. These patients frequently arrive without a definitive diagnosis but with longstanding symptoms that affect quality of life.

This diagnostic gap stems largely from the limitations of conventional care models, which prioritize symptom management rather than addressing root causes (Dutra et al., 2025). For instance, patients with chronic joint pain may be prescribed surgery or pain medications, while regenerative solutions like PRP therapy are overlooked. As a result, patients often enter the Longevity Center frustrated and in need of repeated, time-intensive diagnostic procedures.

At the clinic, slow diagnostic workflows further complicate timely care. Despite having access to blood panels and regenerative testing, delays in intake evaluations create a bottleneck, prolonging treatment initiation. This inefficiency negatively affects patient outcomes by increasing pain duration, lowering functionality, and creating mistrust in healthcare services (Slawomirski et al., 2025).

Impact Analysis of Diagnostic Delays on Quality, Safety, and Cost

The diagnostic challenges at The Longevity Center impact three major domains: quality of care, patient safety, and healthcare costs.

1. Quality of Care

• Delayed or incomplete diagnostics lead to postponed treatments, resulting in suboptimal outcomes.
• Regenerative therapies like PRP and stem cell injections require precise timing and alignment with the patient’s biological condition to be most effective (Popescu et al., 2021).
• Patients may experience dissatisfaction, mistrust, and emotional exhaustion due to these delays.

2. Patient Safety

• Late or inaccurate diagnosis risks chronic inflammation, autoimmune progression, and soft tissue degeneration.
• Such complications may force patients toward invasive interventions, such as surgery, which contradict the clinic’s philosophy of natural and minimally invasive healing (Kvarnström et al., 2021).
• Patients with prior unsuccessful treatments may also face increased risks of side effects and complications.

3. Cost Burden

• Diagnostic inefficiencies increase financial strain on both the clinic and patients.
• Multiple tests, extended care timelines, and lack of insurance coverage for regenerative therapies create financial barriers.
• For example, PRP injections range from \$707–\$1,797 on average, while bone marrow concentrate (BMC) treatments can exceed \$4,000, making treatment accessibility challenging (Charnoff et al., 2022).

Table: Impact of Diagnostic Delays at The Longevity Center

Domain	Impact of Diagnostic Delays	Supporting Evidence
Quality	Delayed initiation of therapies; decreased treatment effectiveness; patient dissatisfaction and mistrust	Popescu et al. (2021)
Safety	Risk of chronic inflammation, autoimmune progression, need for invasive surgeries	Kvarnström et al. (2021)
Cost	Increased patient expenses; extended care timelines; additional diagnostic testing; reduced insurance coverage	Charnoff et al. (2022)

Conclusion

The practicum at The Longevity Center highlights the strengths and limitations of regenerative healthcare practices. While the clinic excels in offering personalized, non-invasive, and advanced therapies, its diagnostic delays represent a key process challenge. These inefficiencies compromise quality of care, patient safety, and cost-effectiveness. Addressing this gap by streamlining intake evaluations and standardizing diagnostic procedures would not only improve patient outcomes but also enhance clinic efficiency and affordability. Ultimately, optimizing diagnostics is essential to fulfilling the clinic’s mission of ensuring long-term health and wellness through regenerative care.

References

Charnoff, J., Rothman, R., Andres Bergos, J., Rodeo, S., Casey, E., & Cheng, J. (2022). Variability in patient-incurred costs and protocols of regenerative medicine procedures for musculoskeletal conditions in the United States. HSS Journal®: The Musculoskeletal Journal of Hospital for Special Surgery, 19(1), 77–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/15563316221105880

Dutra, S., Reigado, G. R., Santos, M., Sardinha, D., Hernandes, S., Marchi, B. L., Zhivov, E., Chambergo, F. S., & Nunes, V. A. (2025). Advances in regenerative medicine-based approaches for skin regeneration and rejuvenation. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1527854

NURS FPX 4905 Assessment 2 Define and Analyze Your Healthcare Process Problem or Issue of Concern

Kvarnström, K., Westerholm, A., Airaksinen, M., & Liira, H. (2021). Factors contributing to medication adherence in patients with a chronic condition: A scoping review of qualitative research. Pharmaceutics, 13(7), 1100. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics13071100

Majewska, L., Kijowski, J., & Dorosz, K. (2025). Effect of patient age on Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) and fibrin treatments for skin density and thickness: A single-center ultrasound study. Life, 15(2), 308. https://doi.org/10.3390/life15020308

Popescu, M. N., Iliescu, M. G., Beiu, C., Popa, L. G., Mihai, M. M., Berteanu, & Ionescu, A. M. (2021). Autologous platelet-rich plasma efficacy in the field of regenerative medicine: Product and quality control. BioMed Research International, 2021, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/4672959

Slawomirski, L., Kelly, D., de Bienassis, K., Kallas, K.-A., & Klazinga, N. (2025). The economics of diagnostic safety. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Health Working Papers. https://doi.org/10.1787/fc61057a-en

The Longevity Center. (2024a). Integrative and regenerative treatments. The Longevity Center FL – Nurturing Health at Its Source. https://www.thelcfl.com/

NURS FPX 4905 Assessment 2 Define and Analyze Your Healthcare Process Problem or Issue of Concern

The Longevity Center. (2024b). PRP Injections. The Longevity Center FL – Nurturing Health at Its Source. https://www.thelcfl.com/our-services/regenerative-therapies/prp-injections/