Enhancing Quality and Safety UniversityNURS-FPX4020: Improving Quality of Care and Patient Safety

Enhancing Quality and Safety UniversityNURS-FPX4020: Improving Quality of Care and Patient Safety

Quality healthcare provision is the umbrella that covers patient safety and the two are

inseparable. According to MacGillivray (2020), quality healthcare is the degree to which

healthcare organizations deliver safe, timely, efficient, effective, patient-centered, and equitable

services to populations and individuals to influence health outcomes that are favorable. On the

other hand, the IOM defines patient safety as the prevention of preventable harm to patients

when receiving medical care (MacGillivray, 2020). Unsafe care delivery leads to increased

healthcare costs, mortalities, disabilities (temporary or permanent), prolonged preventable

hospital stays and readmissions, emotional and physical suffering, and emergency visits.

Research by MacGillivray (2020) indicates that patient safety issues include medical and

medication administration errors, patient falls, healthcare-associated infections (HAI), surgical

errors, and delayed and missed diagnoses. This research highlights factors that hinder the

provision of safe and quality care while recommending evidence-based practices for promoting

patient safety. In addition, this study identifies ways in which nurses can coordinate care and join

hands with other stakeholders to avoid harm to patients.

Factors that Lead to Medication Administration Errors

Although healthcare systems recognize the extent to which unsafe healthcare practices

can harm patients and the economy and dedicate resources toward patient safety, there is still

much that needs to be addressed. Medication administration errors can be attributed to various

factors that include system failures, human errors, or a combination of the two. According to