Understanding Patient Safety Culture
To: Brian Miller, Ph.D., Safety and Health Director at Edison Family Health
From: Sinead O’Neill
Subject : Examine Various Measures for Patient Safety and Recognize Importance of Management’s Participation
A journal article titled Quality Assurance and Patient Safety Measures: A Comparative Longitudinal Analysis describes the concept of patient safety culture. Patient safety culture is described as “the result of individual and group beliefs, attitudes, competences and patterns of behaviour that shape their dedication, style and competency with the organization’s health and safety initiatives,” according to this definition. (Manzanera, Moya, Guilabert, & Et. al, p. 1) Our financial stability necessitates that we continue to invest in patient safety. This is backed up by the World Health Organization’s online Patient Safety article. “It is crucial to understand the influence of patient safety in decreasing expenses connected to patient harm and enhancing efficiency in health care systems,” it says. ” (World Health Organization, p. 1) As you may have guessed, the World Health Organization has a lot to say on this topic as well. One of the top ten major causes of mortality in the world is the incidence of adverse outcomes as a result of substandard treatment. Primary and outpatient health care harms four out of every ten individuals, according to research. An estimated 80% of patient injury might be avoided. Errors in illness diagnosis and prescription writing are among the most common. The Edison Family Health Center must have a culture of safety in order to be successful.
Structure, procedure, and outcome assessments must all be investigated in order to decrease the risk of patient harm and the resulting financial costs. In the words of the textbook, “the assessment of the physical and organisational resources available to support healthcare delivery the organization’s capability or potential for delivering excellent services” In Path (p. 36) (Spath), Automated dispensing cabinets, or ADCs, might be used to measure structure. When a nurse or physician takes a drug out of an automated cabinet, it is securely stored away and electronically logged, according to an internet article on Automated Dispensing Cabinets. Another benefit cited in the article is the ability of ADCs to connect to other databases, including as the facility’s admissions, discharges, transfers (ADTs), and billing systems. As stated in (Grissinger p.1), An assessment of whether actions undertaken during the supply of healthcare services are completed properly is how the textbook defines a process measurement. Spath (p. 37) says: It’s possible to check the accuracy of ADC’s data recording procedure by comparing it to patient chart notes. In the long run, this should be monitored, and the distribution method may be altered as necessary. In the textbook, “data representing the outcomes of healthcare services” is defined as a “outcome measurement” term. As Path (p. 35) puts it: Safeguards for Using and Designing Automated Dispensing Cabinets describes one of the possible outcomes if we deploy ADC. It says that “fewer mistakes in medication administration (mainly pharmaceuticals delivered at the incorrect time) and fewer missed doses” have been found in study. According to Grissinger, on page 1,
Investing in Patient Safety
To ensure patient safety, quality measurement adjustments must engage managers from the beginning. Without management’s leadership and thorough awareness of the need for change, the project is at danger of not being successfully completed. This is backed up by the textbook, which states the obligations of the team leader. Team leaders are responsible for coordinating the project, facilitating team discussions, keeping the project on track toward its objective, and establishing the meeting calendar. (p. 157) Spath Managers also assist the rest of the improvement team grasp the project’s aim and guide them in the appropriate way. A top-down approach to establishing a quality assessment vision and plan is necessary. Exceptional success in achieving these quality standards should be the basis for merit-based remuneration or other forms of pay incentives, as well as leaders must lead by example in doing so.
Accountability is a means to gauge patient engagement. It is important for patients to follow the directions on their prescriptions, even if they use ADC to track how much of a drug they have taken. We may send automatic email reminders to patients about their upcoming refills and office visits by tracking when their prescriptions are due for reorder in their files. One technique to prevent medicines from being renewed before their expiration date is to use this method. A patient’s complete medical history is also critical. Patients’ rights and treatment are intertwined, according to NIH research released in 2013. “We witnessed numerous positive instances of these forums, for instance when they updated or developed understandings about professional principles and ethical duty,” write the authors. (Aveling et al. p.1; see also p.2) A better patient result may be achieved if patient and professional responsibility are aligned, according to the researchers.
During this section of the final assignment, a few factors that impact a consumer’s perception of quality will be discussed. The numerous features that may be relevant to both consumers and providers will be discussed, as well as how each of these criteria or components might be implemented in the delivery of care. Finally, the many measures and evaluation techniques that have been utilised to evaluate the quality will be evaluated, as well as which ones have been claimed to be the most successful and why. As stated in the online article, Health Care Quality from the Patient’s Perspective: A Comparative Study Among an Old as well as a New, High-Tech Hospital, “Patients in need of health-treatment services need personalised, high-quality care, which is also the primary aim of those delivering the care.” (Grondahl and colleagues, p. 1) One factor that might impact one’s point of view is the cost-quality relationship, which is particularly relevant in the context of Medicare and Medicaid health insurance. The amount of money spent on such federally supported health insurance programmes has continuously increased over the years, creating a situation that is becoming more and more difficult to manage. One contributing factor to this issue is the increasing longevity of the senior population.
This is backed by textbook, Health Economics and Policy (Health Economics and Policy). “Although the elderly account for just twelve percent of population, they spend and over one-third of all the medical resources,” the report notes. Henderson (1999, p. 339) describes the process as follows: The amount of money spent by Medicare and Medicaid may also have an impact on how well providers offer excellent care. One possible reason for this is that clinicians who primarily handle Medicare patients may not be as proficient as those who primarily treat people who are covered by private insurance. A recent web paper, The Quality of Care Delivered to Patients Within the Same Hospital Varies by Insurance Type, demonstrates that this is the case. There is some indication that uninsured as well as Medicaid patients are treated by lower-quality doctors when compared to other patients in the same hospital, according to the research, which was conducted in Florida. (Spencer and colleagues, p. 1)
Various Measures for Patient Engagement
Another factor that can influence a consumer’s point of view is technological advancement. It is stated in the textbook that “recent advancements in drugs, medical devices, biotechnology, as well as clinical procedures have helped to define medicine as we understand it today. Henderson (1985, p. 385) describes the process as follows: Many healthcare companies have integrated mobile applications in their practises during the past few years, according to the American Medical Association. Patients may plan and cancel appointments using the One Medical mobile app, which also enables them to seek prescription renewals. One Medical also provides 24/7 video meetings with a digital medical team which is accessible on demand, as well as on-demand video meetings with a digital medical team. Patients may also communicate with their healthcare professional as well as with the administrative staff via the app.
Prior authorization and other managed care strategies, such as those used in utilisation management, help health insurance companies to better control the costs of health care services. It does this by assessing whether or not a patient might benefit from or improve from certain medical treatments, tests, or drugs. In order to do this, it depends on pre-determined medical criteria or standards in order to secure a quality-driven result while also minimising the cost burden on the patient. Hospitals and healthcare systems are expected to have an efficient utilisation review strategy in place under the Social Security Act as well as the Organization for Quality Improvement. Weiner addresses the significance of utilisation management in healthcare in such a podcast titled, The Importance of Utilization Management in Healthcare. He says that “utilisation management has their knowledge in terms of payer requirements and guidelines, as well as clinical that is most essential point, so that we don’t lose sight of the clinical aspect which they can put together as well as bridge gap which typically exists between clinical as well as finance.” Weiner (2020) defines formalised euphemism as in order to be effective, these departments must collaborate with the proper regulatory bodies, examine changes to commercial and government insurance contracts, and have specialists on hand to handle reimbursement laws and regulations, among other responsibilities. Through collaboration with doctors and non-physicians the same, Utilization Management department is able to guide resources and policies in a way that is both quality sensitive and cost efficient.
References
Aveling, E. L., Parker, M., & Dixon-Woods, M. (2016). What is the role of individual accountability in patient safety? A multi-site ethnographic study. Sociology of health & illness, 38(2), 216–232.
Grøndahl, V., Kirchhoff, J., Andersen, K., Sørby, L., Andreassen, H., Skaug, E., . . . Helgesen, A. (2018, October 18). Health care quality from the patients’ perspective: A comparative study between an old and a new, high-tech hospital.
Manzanera, R., Moya, D., Guilabert, M., Plana, M., Gálvez, G., Ortner, J., & Mira, J. (2018, July 24). Quality assurance and patient safety measures: A comparative longitudinal analysis
Spath, P. L. (2018). Introduction to healthcare quality management (3rd ed.). Chicago, IL: Health Administrative Press.
Spencer, C., JH, S., Al., E., LD, E., O, H., P, F., . . . A, R. (2013, October 01). The quality of care delivered to patients within the same Hospital varies by insurance Type: Health Affairs Journal.
Weiner, M. (2020) The Importance of Utilization Management in Healthcare. https://www.besler.com/the-importance-of-utilization-management-in-healthcare-podcast/
Grissinger, M. (2012, September). Safeguards for using and designing automated dispensing cabinets. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3462599/
Patient Safety. (2019, September 13). Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/patient-safety