NURS FPX 6016 Assessment 3 Data Analysis and Quality Improvement Initative Proposal
Student Name Capella University NURS-FPX 6016 Quality Improvement of Inter-professional Care Prof. Name Date Data Analysis and Quality Improvement Initative Proposal Good morning everyone. The topic for today’s presentation is data analysis and quality improvement initiative proposal on a health care issue that will be discussed throughout the presentation. It is the primary responsibility of healthcare professionals to provide quality care to their patients and work together to improve patient safety. To fulfill this essential duty it is significant for a healthcare organization to promote interprofessional collaboration among the employees, ensure effective leadership styles are utilized and healthcare workers are encouraged to incorporate evidence-based strategies in their practices. For this purpose and improvement of quality, leaders, and management of any healthcare organization plays an important role in successfully implementing the QI initiatives and achieving desirable outcomes. This presentation is based on a similar QI initiative that is proposed for the Vila Health facility where an incidence of adverse drug events provoked the management and other stakeholders to take effective interventions to preserve patients’ safety in terms of medication. Health Care Problem –Adverse Drug Events (ADEs) Adverse drug events are defined as those incidences where a patient is harmed due to exposure to a medication or because of a medication error that occurred due to poor quality of care. To understand it better, medication errors that occur at any stage of the medication process from prescription to administration, can lead to undesirable harm to the patients (Patient Safety Network AHRQ, 2019). Research states that the high-risk population encounters adverse drug events in elderly patients as they have multiple comorbidities for which several medication regimens are followed which can lead to adverse drug reactions or medication errors (Choi et al., 2022). Further study concluded that about 16-18 patients from 100 patients face various ADEs, which increase the mortality rate between 8.8-9.5% (Sahilu et al., 2020) and approximately 50% of these events are avoidable (Ersulo et al., 2022). Adverse drug events are not only harmful to the physical health of the patients but they also impact the finances of the hospitals. Research indicates that around $5.6 million is spent annually on ADEs by various hospitals in the US (Choi et al., 2022). Hence this is also an eye-opening challenge of adverse drug events and requires extensive efforts from the hospital management to initiate a quality improvement plan for safe practices and reduction in the costs associated with ADEs. A report from the patient safety and quality department of the Vila Health facility that recorded adverse drug events in the year 2021 to 2022 is presented in this presentation. Analysis of Dashboard Metrics Related to ADEs The statistical dashboard of Vila Health facility considered five major metrics to prepare this safety and quality report. The metrics are The quality of the data available is helpful in that the number of patients encountering adverse drug events has minimally reduced between both years however, the risk factors associated remained the same. The concerning point concluded from this data is the increasing length of stay and a significant increase in the readmissions rate. Although death incidences have decreased, leadership is still required to take quality improvement initiatives to further improve the results and ensure patients’ safety. These outcomes are concerning for the stakeholders of Vila Health facility – the patients, nurses, doctors, leaders, and policymakers. NURS FPX 6016 Assessment 3 Data Analysis and Quality Improvement Initative Proposal Increased rate of readmissions is one of the major concerns as it is harmful to patients’ health as well as puts a financial burden on the hospitals. According to research, the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) which was established by Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, puts a hefty penalty by reducing Medicare expenses on the hospitals which have greater readmission rates. The purpose of this program is to reduce readmissions, minimize hospital costs associated and improve patients’ safety (Gai & Pachamanova, 2019). Thus hospitals need to improve communication and coordination among healthcare professionals to perform practices that are in favor of patients’ safety (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2023). Another concern is the increased length of stay. A study identifies that most of the ADEs which result in increased length of stay are preventable and targeting those patients with an extended hospital stay due to preventable adverse events is an important action for stakeholders (Ersulo et al., 2022). These pieces of evidence are advocating the need for solutions and a quality improvement initiative. Outlining Quality Improvement Initiative Leadership plays an important role in encouraging employees to work for better patient outcomes and improve the quality of care. The quality improvement initiative proposed against adverse drug events includes three major strategies a) initiation of technologies for the overall medication process, b) constant professional training is recommended for healthcare professionals, and c) appropriate use of hands-off methods. Technology-Assisted Medication Process Adverse events related to medications can occur at any stage of the medication process (prescribing- administering), hence the introduction of technologies like computerized physician order entry (CPOE), electronic health information, and machine-readable coded systems are essential at every stage for correct prescription, right drug preparation and dispensing as well as right administration (Hajesmaeel Gohari et al., 2020; Schneider, 2018). The introduction of some of these technologies in Vila Health will reduce the discrepancies between the medications which are prescribed and administered. Moreover, this will act as a warning system for healthcare professionals before committing a malpractice action. Continuous Professional Training Research on the implementation of medication safety programs resulted that training related to medication safety improves the knowledge of healthcare professionals, increases their confidence, encourages positive behavior, and assists them in using the knowledge in their practices (Khalil & Lee, 2018). Continuous professional training also helps managers to assess the clinical competencies of healthcare professionals and take appropriate actions for improvement so that patient safety is ensured. Proper Hands-off Handover/hands-off is a process where the exchange of information and responsibility takes place between healthcare professionals. Proper hands-off is important