Improving Quality of Care and Patient Safety NURS-FPX4020 Improvement Plan with Evidence-Based and Best-Practice Strategies

Improving Quality of Care and Patient Safety NURS-FPX4020 Improvement Plan with Evidence-Based and Best-Practice Strategies

Application of Evidence-Based Strategies

Health organizations must incorporate the best evidence and implement proven interventions for preventing medication administration errors. In our case study, communication breakdown and human factors facilitated an administrative error that adversely affected the patient. Manias et al. (2020) support the possibility of preventing causal factors for medication errors by implementing scientifically proven interventions, including interprofessional collaboration, prescriber education, technological advancements to incorporate computerized physician order entry (CPOE), and pharmacist-led medication reconciliation.

On the other hand, Reeves et al. (2017) suggest effective communication and reporting systems as ideal approaches for reducing medication mistakes. Implementing these recommendations requires institutions to embrace contingency plans and consolidate resources for enacting quality improvement initiatives.

Improvement Plan with Evidence-Based and Best-Practice Strategies

Undoubtedly, health organizations must implement quality improvement initiatives and evidence-based strategies to prevent medication administration errors. In this sense, these steps include educating and training prescribers about safe medication administration practices, enhancing reporting and communication systems, installing advanced technologies to replace the traditional documentation steps, and encouraging interprofessional collaboration by transforming workplace cultures.

According to Yousef & Yousef (2017), an ideal plan for preventing medication errors must contain educational workshops for physicians, process automation and technological advancement, setting standardized general guidelines, creating suitable workplace environments to eliminate blame, and punishment for error perpetrators, and empowerment programs. Institutions should consistently implement these recommendations because eliminating medication errors requires continuous quality improvement initiatives.

Existing Organizational Resources

Health organizations and quality improvement implementation teams should leverage the existing institutional resources to guarantee plan sustainability and realize strategic goals. In this sense, it is possible to utilize employees’ competencies, experience, and skills when implementing training and educational programs for newly registered nurses and prescribers. Reputable physicians, IT experts, and informaticists can input these initiatives by sharing information, educating novice nurses about safety guidelines, and ensuring smooth operations of technological infrastructures.

Also, organizations should utilize the existing health record systems and information frameworks to promote interprofessional collaboration and effective communication. In this sense, the presence of electronic health records (EHRs), automated alert systems, and other technologies provide ideal opportunities for healthcare organizations to prevent medication errors. When leveraging the existing organizational resources, it is essential to conduct need assessments to identify resource strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats.

Conclusion

Medication administration errors (MAEs) are among sentinel events that result in multiple patient safety concerns, including adverse reactions to medications, disabilities, mortalities, lengthy hospitalization, and increased economic burden of compensating care. From the case study, it is valid to contend that human, technical, and organizational factors combine to determine the likelihood of error occurrence.

In this sense, issues like ineffective communication and timely reporting systems, time pressure, prescriber experience, familiarity with guidelines, and technological advances significantly determine organizational susceptibility to medication administration errors. While many scholarly studies propose training and educational programs for prescribers, among other strategies, it is essential to embrace the evidence-based practice and implement the best interventions that are consistent with the need to prevent medication errors. Also, it is vital to align and leverage the existing resources when implementing these prevention approaches.

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Manias, E., Kusljic, S., &am