DDHA 9902 Week 8 Implementation Memo Example

Course	DDHA 9902 Practice-Based Problem Analysis, Findings, and Recommendations
Week	Week 8
Paper type	Implementation memo
Length	About 810 words, 4 pages
Format	Memo, APA 7 citations
School	Walden University
Program	Doctor of Healthcare Administration (DHA)
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for DDHA 9902 Week 8

Memorandum

To: Vice President, Clinical Operations

From: DHA Student, Discharge Summary Project

Date: November 18, 2026

Re: Implementing the discharge summary recommendations

Request

This memo asks you to approve the sequence below and to assign the functions named to carry out four recommendations that grew out of this term's work on Larchmont's tardy summaries; the organization is a composite. None requires a capital purchase. Each item keeps its finding and recommendation numbers so that the chain from evidence to action survives the change of format.

The Plan at a Glance

Table 1

Recommendations With Owners, Costs, Sequence and First Indicators

Finding	Recommendation	Owning function	Cost category	Sequence	First indicator \|
F1a	R2: monthly address reconciliation and a daily list of failed transmissions	Health information management	Staff time redirected	First, month 1	Failure list reviewed every morning by day 30 \|
F1, F2	R1: register fax-only practices for secure messaging, highest volume first	Physician relations, with the interface team	Staff time redirected; vendor registration support	Second, months 1 to 6	Ten practices registered within 60 days \|
F4, F1a	R3: Friday and weekend summaries signed before the patient leaves	Hospitalist group leadership	Staff time redirected	Third, month 3	Friday timely share reported monthly \|
F1a	R4: verify the primary care clinician at registration and at discharge planning, after better measurement	Patient access and case management	Staff time redirected; training	Fourth, months 4 to 9	Expanded follow-up data from five more practices \|

Owners are named by function, not by person, so that the plan survives staff changes.

Why This Sequence

R2 comes first because it is the cheapest and because it will improve the evidence for everything else. A daily list of failed transmissions will show health information management, every morning, which summaries did not arrive and why, shrinking the quarter of late summaries whose cause is now undetermined. Starting with R2 means the other recommendations will be judged against a clearer baseline.

R1 begins in the same month but runs for six months, because registering practices depends on each practice's willingness and on vendor support. Physician relations already visits the independent practices and is best placed to make the request; the interface team handles the technical setup. Adler-Milstein et al. (2021) describe how participation in electronic exchange depends on organizations choosing to join, so this item is planned as outreach, practice by practice.

R3 waits until month three because it changes how hospitalists work and needs agreement through the hospitalist group's own meeting, which meets monthly. Starting it later also allows R2's daily list to show whether Friday summaries are failing for signing reasons or for transmission reasons.

R4 comes last because its underlying finding is the weakest. The first months go to gathering visit dates from additional practices, which will show how often summaries really go astray before patient access and case management workflows change.

Cost by Category

Costs are described by category rather than totaled, because most are redirected time whose value depends on what that time was doing before. Health information management would redirect about one hour a day of one analyst's time to the failure list. Physician relations would add practice registration to existing visits, about two hours per practice. The interface team would spend a few hours per practice on setup, and the messaging vendor provides registration support under the existing contract. Hospitalists would sign some summaries earlier rather than later, which shifts their time without adding much. Patient access and case management would need a short training session and a small amount of added time per patient. No space, equipment or new software is needed.

Leading Indicators

Each item has a first indicator that can be checked within weeks, before the main measure moves. These matter because the main measure, the share of summaries arriving within two business days, is reported quarterly and will move slowly. Damschroder et al. (2009), in a framework for implementing health services research findings, emphasize the inner setting, including whether staff see an implementation as compatible with their work and whether leaders signal its priority. The indicators are chosen so that early resistance or delay is visible to you and to each owning function, rather than discovered at the quarter's end.

Risks

Two risks could slow the plan. Independent practices may be slow to register, particularly small practices with limited administrative staff; physician relations should offer to complete the paperwork with them. The hospitalist group may resist earlier signing on busy Fridays; R3 should begin as a three-month trial with the group's own leaders reviewing the results. Kripalani et al. (2007) describe how failures of information transfer at discharge affect patient care, and that framing, rather than a compliance argument, is likely to persuade both groups.

Decision Requested

Please approve the sequence and confirm the owning functions by the end of the month, so that R2 and R1 can begin in December.

References

Adler-Milstein, J., Garg, A., Zhao, W., & Patel, V. (2021). A survey of health information exchange organizations in advance of a nationwide connectivity framework. Health Affairs, 40(5), 736-744. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01497

Damschroder, L. J., Aron, D. C., Keith, R. E., Kirsh, S. R., Alexander, J. A., & Lowery, J. C. (2009). Fostering implementation of health services research findings into practice: A consolidated framework for advancing implementation science. Implementation Science, 4, Article 50. https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-4-50

Kripalani, S., LeFevre, F., Phillips, C. O., Williams, M. V., Basaviah, P., & Baker, D. W. (2007). Deficits in communication and information transfer between hospital-based and primary care physicians: Implications for patient safety and continuity of care. JAMA, 297(8), 831-841. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.297.8.831

What the DDHA 9902 Week 8 instructions ask for

Implementation memos usually ask you to turn recommendations into an actionable plan for an executive. Build a table that keeps the finding and recommendation numbers in the leftmost columns, so the chain from evidence survives the change of format. Assign each item to a responsible function rather than a named person. Describe costs by category, such as staff time redirected, purchased capability or space and equipment, rather than presenting a single total that hides assumptions. Place each item in a sequence and explain why that order. Give each a first indicator that would show progress within weeks. Name the main risks and how to manage them. End with a specific decision request and a date.

How the DDHA 9902 Week 8 example is put together

The memo opens with the request and notes that no purchase is needed. Table 1 lists four items with finding, recommendation, owning function, cost category, sequence and first indicator. A sequence section explains why the failure list comes first, why practice registration runs as outreach, why Friday signing waits for the hospitalists' monthly meeting and why verification follows better measurement. A cost section describes the redirected time for each function. A leading indicators section explains why early signs matter, citing Damschroder and colleagues. A risks section addresses slow practice registration and hospitalist resistance, citing Kripalani and colleagues. A decision request closes the memo. The table keeps finding numbers in its first column throughout.

DDHA 9902 Week 8 rubric: what earns full marks

Implementation memos are graded on whether an executive could act on them. Markers expect the finding and recommendation numbers to remain visible, owners assigned by function, costs described by category and a reasoned sequence. First indicators that move within weeks earn credit because they allow early correction. Naming risks with practical responses demonstrates realism. A clear decision request with a date completes the memo. Graders also check that nothing in the memo introduces an action the recommendation set did not contain, since the memo's job is to plan, not to add, and they reward memos that an executive could approve in a single meeting.

DDHA 9902 Week 8 help: mistakes that cost marks

Many implementation plans name people, which breaks the plan when someone leaves. Name functions. Another weakness is a single cost total with no breakdown; describe what kind of cost each item carries. Explain your sequence, especially if one item creates information another needs. Choose early indicators you can check within a month or two. Be honest about who might resist and why. If you have recommendations and need them turned into an implementation memo, we can prepare one in your organization's format. Share a draft with each owning function before submitting, since a plan they have not seen is a plan they may not follow. Ask each to confirm that its first indicator is something it can actually report on time.

Get a DDHA 9902 Week 8 example written to your instructions

Provide the prompt, the rubric and the recommendation set the memo has to operationalize, and a memo with owners, cost categories, dependencies and early indicators comes back inside 24-48 hours at no charge the first time. Budget figures held inside an employer's finance system are never requested.

More DDHA 9902 papers and DHA samples

DDHA 9902 Week 8 questions, answered

Where can I find a free DDHA 9902 Week 8 sample paper?

The implementation memo for the discharge summary recommendations is free to read here.

Why are owners named by function in the DDHA 9902 Week 8 example?

So the plan keeps working when individual staff move or leave.

Which recommendation comes first and why?

The daily list of failed transmissions, because it is cheapest and will clarify causes for the other changes.

How are costs presented?

By category, mostly redirected staff time, described rather than totaled.

What risks does the memo name?

Slow registration by small practices and hospitalist resistance to earlier Friday signing.