Post a brief explanation of the quality improvement model you selected, including a description of the components that make up this model. Be specific. Then, explain how this quality improvement model might be implemented in you healthcare organization or nursing practice in response to an adverse event requiring quality improvement. Be specific and provide examples.

Post a brief explanation of the quality improvement model you selected, including a description of the components that make up this model. Be specific. Then, explain how this quality improvement model might be implemented in you healthcare organization or nursing practice in response to an adverse event requiring quality improvement. Be specific and provide examples.

Health care delivery is complex and faces numerous challenges. An adequate response to these challenges and ensuring that health care remains optimal requires continuous improvement of processes and outcomes. As a result, quality improvement initiatives to address a performance gap should be part of everyday practice. Quality improvement (QI) models should be applied to ensure that the process is systematic and procedural.

The Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Model

The RCA model is among the commonly applied models when the cause of an adverse problem needs to be explicit. RCA is founded on the premise that issues causing errors must be identified, and health care providers should avoid focusing on individual mistakes (Martin-Delgado et al., 2020). In this case, there is more to errors and other adverse events than what is generally seen. Karkhanis and Thompson (2020) explained that RCA has three main components: data, a multidisciplinary team, and error prevention. When a problem occurs, health care providers should collect relevant data through records’ analysis and participants’ interviews, among other strategies. The multidisciplinary team helps to analyze the problem in-depth from a team approach. Eventually, the identified error is eliminated, and appropriate measures to prevent future harm are implemented (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2019). The method identifies errors, responds effectively, and guides interventions to prevent future harm.

RCA Implementation in Response to an Adverse Event

The RCA model can be highly effective when responding to a medication error problem. A suitable example would be when a patient receives the wrong prescription. Implementing RCA in this situation would commence with data collection from the health care providers involved in the process. Next, a multidisciplinary team would analyze the problem to examine whether it was individual or administrative. The problem would then be fixed through technology adoption or training health care professionals to prevent recurrence.

Health care organizations should be committed to continuous quality improvement. For better outcomes, they should apply QI models to ensure that QI is systematic and procedural. The RCA model is highly effective in problem identification, analysis, and solution. It can be used in health care organizations and the broader nursing practice to guide quality improvement.

References

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2019). Root cause analysis. https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/root-cause-analysis