NURS-FPX 4020 Assessment 1 Enhancing Quality and Safety

NURS-FPX 4020 Assessment 1 Enhancing Quality and Safety

Optimizing nurse-to-patient ratios, as indicated by a study in the Journal of Nursing Administration, can reduce distractions and workload, leading to improved patient safety. The integration of Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) within electronic health records, as demonstrated in research published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, offers real-time alerts and reminders to prevent medication errors (Panduwal & Bilaut, 2020). Lastly, according to The Joint Commission’s recommendations, interprofessional collaboration enhances medication safety by facilitating a team-based approach to medication review and optimization. Establishing a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) culture with resources from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) ensures that healthcare organizations regularly assess and enhance medication administration processes, contributing to long-term safety improvements and cost reduction (Abdurrouf & Pandin, 2021).

Nurses’ Role in Coordinate Care

Nurses are pivotal in coordinating care to increase John’s safety during medication administration and reduce associated costs. The following are specific examples of John’s safety risk and how nurses can help improve patient safety.

Medication Reconciliation 

Nurses can lead in conducting thorough medication reconciliation to ensure that John’s home medications are accurately documented upon admission. Studies have shown that medication reconciliation by nurses can reduce medication discrepancies by up to 80%. By preventing discrepancies, nurses contribute to safer medication administration and avoid costly medication errors resulting from discrepancies between the home medication list and hospital orders (Francis et al., 2021).