Data Analytics

Patient Safety

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Hello Dr. Hawkins and class,

Patient safety is vital in providing quality healthcare. In this regard, numerous patient safety measures have been incorporated in value-based care approaches to limit preventable infections and avoidable hospitalizations. Primarily, patient safety is a critical quality measure. The shift in the healthcare approach towards a value-based approach has caused reimbursement to healthcare organizations to be done based on the overall quality of care provided to patients as opposed to the number of patients seen. This shift has demanded that organizations implement measures that yield high levels of patient safety and quality monitoring to improve healthcare outcomes.

Q1. Organizational Culture as it Relates to Patient Safety

Organizational culture influences patient safety and quality of care. It is the beliefs, values, and norms shared by health workers in an organization that informs their actions and behaviors at work. The promotion of patient safety is depended on the principles of the organization’s leadership, attitudes, and behaviors of the healthcare team (mi Lee et al., 2020). Culture determines the accepted practices and norms in a healthcare organization. For instance, practicing hand sanitization before handling a patient is influenced by the accepted norms within that particular organization. The failure to practice effective hand sanitization directly impacts patient safety. Besides, culture determines the effectiveness of implementing interventions designed to enhance patient safety. For example, the introduction of a safety checklist before a surgical operation requires healthcare practitioners in the organization to acknowledge the need for the proposed measure and accept it. Acceptance of change and proposition to improve patient outcomes is greatly influenced by organizational culture.

Q2. Opportunity to Improve Patient Safety Outcomes

Increased patient involvement in their healthcare experience is an initiative that provides better healthcare outcomes at a reduced cost. To achieve this initiative, healthcare organizations should adopt patient-oriented policies that incorporate the opinions and preferences of patients. This move is essential in enhancing service delivery in healthcare institutions and gains public trust and approval (Bishop et al., 2017). Besides, patient participation entails providing them with relevant information regarding diagnosis and available treatment options.

Q3.Current Technology used to Enhance Patient Safety

Technological advances in the mobile industry have developed applications and devices that have transformed the healthcare industry. These wearable devices track body activities such as heart rate, exercise level, and sleep routines among others, helping patients participate in their treatment (Guk et al, 2019). Nurses use this technology to provide better care for patients. For instance, instead of using a stethoscope to measure a patient’s heart rate, an equivalent mobile application can perform the same function. In fact, younger generations who are technology savvy can access a wide range of information from these applications and help nurses with monitoring. Poor data quality and manipulation is a negative result of wearable devices. Data can be manipulated leading to a wrong diagnosis and treatment. Installing strong controls such as encryption can safeguard the quality of data collected by these devices

Q4. Volume-based care and Patient Safety

This approach focused on the number of patients cared for. During a time I volunteered at the community hospital, there was a community sensitization program during the cancer awareness month. The facility provided free screening for an entire week. However, employee performance was evaluated based on the number of patients seen each day. This could have compromised the quality of care in an attempt to meet the required target.

References

Bishop, A. C., & Macdonald, M. (2017). Patient involvement in patient safety: a qualitative study of nursing staff and patient perceptions. Journal of Patient Safety, 13(2), 82-87.

Guk, K., Han, G., Lim, J., Jeong, K., Kang, T., Lim, E. K., & Jung, J. (2019). Evolution of wearable devices with real-time disease monitoring for personalized healthcare. Nanomaterials, 9(6), 813.

mi Lee, Y., & Oh, H. (2020). The Influence of Patient Safety Culture and Patient Safety Error Experience on Safety Nursing Activities of Emergency Nurses in South Korea. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 46(6), 838-847.