A preventable error occurs when a different or wrong medication or medical procedure is given to a patient even though there exists a correct treatment for that condition. These mistakes may alter the patient’s health entirely, add other medical expenses, or even cause death. For instance, in our healthcare facility, an expectant mother needed urgent attention due to her unusually severe labor pain but the health worker on duty assumed it to be a normal case. By the time the lady got help her condition had worsened and she had to go through a cesarean operation for safe delivery. Thus, to improve the process communication can be enhanced in several ways including nurses letting patients’ well-being be their priority. Proper introduction by the caregiver to the patient and explaining how they will be assisting that particular patient (Marshall, 2019). One should use a friendly and quiet voice and show respect to everyone including the client. The healthcare worker should remember to pay full attention when the patient is stating their problem. In this scenario, one should do it without making a judgment or interrupting, and also by maintaining eye contact. Clinicians should always be mindful of the patient’s body language such as eye contact, gestures, and facial expressions. It is always good to acknowledge the ailing person’s emotions and ask questions using simple non-medical language.
Moreover, caregivers ought to be cautious about the queries they raise in that, they must be open-ended and should not have a psychological effect on the patient. One can also use images or written materials to express what they are trying to convey to the sick person. To avoid some errors, the health care policies should be modified or the procedures changed to allow a smooth patient-caregiver interaction. For instance, in my above case, a policy change would work best. This is because the previous guidelines were that patients should be attended to according to the first-come-first-served protocol. This was unfair and extremely risky for patients who needed urgent treatment. Thus, the above occurrence led to an implementation of a more suitable policy that stated that patients with urgent conditions should be attended to first. Health workers are now required to provide equal and unbiased attention to all patients regardless of their condition.
Reference
Marshall, D. (2019). What are patient preferences, how do you measure patient preferences and how can I apply them in clinical practice for patients? Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 27, S15-S16.