Enhancing Quality and Safety Nursing Paper

Enhancing Quality and Safety Nursing Paper

Enhancing Quality and Safety Nursing Paper

Enhancing Quality and Safety

Introduction

People seek medical attention in hospitals and other healthcare facilities as they know that they are safe there and cannot experience any harm. Hospitals and healthcare professionals have the mandate of ensuring the safety of the patients at all costs. According to the World Health Organization (2017), patient safety is a fundamental aspect of healthcare. Any event that impacts the quality of care and safety of the patients can have very serious and costly consequences for both healthcare facilities and patients. Medication errors are among the most preventable cause of death in the US. According to Cloete (2015), they are also one of the most common causes of unintended harm to patients in healthcare facilities. There are various causes of medication errors and they all contribute towards making a healthcare facility an unsafe environment for patients. Therefore, it is imperative that healthcare institutions identify the probable causes of medication errors and implement an effective quality improvement plan. Enhancing Quality and Safety Nursing Paper

Causes of Medication Errors

There are various causes of medication errors in a healthcare facility. They include things like exhaustion on the part if the healthcare professionals. According to Majeed (2017), there is a shortage of healthcare professionals in the US and that number is set to grow over the coming years. Shortage of healthcare workers have various impacts on healthcare delivery and the quality of care within a healthcare facility. For instance, such a shortage would result in a large number of patient that very few healthcare workers would have to attend to at any given time. This would overburden and exhaust the workers as they would have to work multiple shifts or long hours. As a result, they would be prone to making mistakes during the administration of medication as they might read the wrong things, fail to examine the medical history of the patients, and might also fail to assess the effect that the medication might have on the patients and the reaction. Administering medication is a very sensitive process that requires the utmost competence and concentration as any mistake can have dire consequences and can even cost the life of the patient.

Medication errors can also occur when the healthcare professionals do not observe the various safety protocols and systems in place to ensure that they do the right thing. One safety protocol in place is the five rights of medication administration. According to Blignaut et al. (2017), these five rights includes administering the right medication, in the right dose, to the right patient, at the right time through the right route. Many of the medication errors that occur usually involve the administration of the wrong dosage among other things.

As earlier stated, system level failures like shortages in healthcare workers and even things like poor management, and poor equipment design can also result in medication errors. Communication plays a major role in healthcare facilities as it allows various healthcare professionals to assist in the management of a patient. Any gaps in the system of communication can result in medication errors.

Evidence-Based and Best Practice Solutions

There are various strategies that can improve patient safety and help reduce medication errors. These strategies include things like having adequate healthcare staffs in the healthcare facilities. Adequate staffing will help achieve economic and clinical improvement when it comes to patient care as it would enhance patient satisfaction and serve to decrease and even prevent medication errors. Marznaki et al. (2020) lists understaffing as one of the various causes of medication errors. Sufficient staffing can improve workflows, reduce burnout, workload, and turnover rates.

Another strategy is to implement the use of information technology systems that will serve to reduce medication errors. These technology systems include the use of Computerized Physician Order Entry Systems and Automated Medication Dispensing Systems among other things. According to Risor et al. (2016), automated technologies are an effective strategy of reducing medication error rates. These technologies have various capabilities such as packing medication in multidose or unit dose bags for various individual patients among other things.

Effective medication reconciliation in healthcare settings during transfer and discharge of patients, admission can help reduce medication errors. Errors can occur during these processes and failure to reconcile the processes can lead to miscommunication and increased risks. According to Rose et al. (2017), medication reconciliation is a significant focus of quality measurement activities. The Joint Commission has provisions that require healthcare professionals to reconcile the medication of the patients at each visit.

Stakeholders

Patient safety is paramount when it comes to healthcare delivery in healthcare facilities. Each healthcare professional has a vital role to play in ensuring the overall safety of the patients while in healthcare facilities. The nurse is the primary person when it comes to the delivery of healthcare. They are with the patients at every process and stage of healthcare and thus play an important role in driving quality improvement initiatives. The nurses collaborate with other healthcare professionals in the delivery of quality and patient centered care. Nursing educators, healthcare administrators, and other professional associations work together with nurses to provide the nurses with the various resources that they require to ensure patient safety and quality of care. The stakeholders involved in patient safety therefore include society in general, patients, healthcare professionals, healthcare administrators, nurse educators, and professional associations.

Conclusion

Hospitals and healthcare professionals have the mandate of ensuring the safety of the patients at all costs. Patient safety is a fundamental aspect of healthcare. Medication errors are among the most preventable cause of death in the US. There are various causes of medication errors in a healthcare facility. There are various strategies that can improve patient safety and help reduce medication errors. There are various strategies that can improve patient safety and help reduce medication errors. These strategies include things like having adequate healthcare staffs in the healthcare facilities. Each healthcare professional has a vital role to play in ensuring the overall safety of the patients while in healthcare facilities. The stakeholders involved in patient safety therefore include society in general, patients, healthcare professionals, healthcare administrators, nurse educators, and professional associations. Enhancing Quality and Safety Nursing Paper

References

Blignaut, A. J., Coetzee, S. K., Klopper, H. C., & Ellis, S. M. (2017). Medication administration errors and related deviations from safe practice: an observational study. Journal of clinical nursing, 26(21-22), 3610-3623.

Cloete, L. (2015). Reducing medication errors in nursing practice. Cancer Nursing Practice, 14(1).

Majeed, A. (2017). Shortage of general practitioners in the NHS.

Marznaki, Z. H., Pouy, S., Salisu, W. J., & Zeydi, A. E. (2020). Medication errors among Iranian emergency nurses: A systematic review. Epidemiology and Health, 42.

Risør, B. W., Lisby, M., & Sørensen, J. (2016). An automated medication system reduces errors in the medication administration process: results from a Danish hospital study. European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, 23(4), 189-196.

Rose, A. J., Fischer, S. H., & Paasche-Orlow, M. K. (2017). Beyond medication reconciliation: the correct medication list. Jama, 317(20), 2057-2058.

World Health Organization. (2017). Patient safety: making health care safer (No. WHO/HIS/SDS/2017.11). World Health Organization. Enhancing Quality and Safety Nursing Paper