The facility I chose for the assignment is Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center. The incidence trend problem I would like to address is medication errors. The analysis of 30 clinical hours shows that medication errors constitute a severe problem in clinical practice. It is possible to minimize or eliminate the number of medical errors in the healthcare facility by implementing an improved control system over prescriptions and medication intake.
The absence of medication errors is the quality standard in the hospital’s services. Every healthcare facility should try to eliminate the number of medication errors in its practice, directly impacting the quality of services it provides to patients. It is possible to distinguish several quality indicators that apply to this problem, including the inpatient quality indicator, prevention quality indicator, and patient safety indicator (Panteli et al., 2019). A separate quality indicator is connected with pediatric medical services (Panteli et al., 2019). Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center also uses these indicators to determine the quality of the healthcare services they provide. The results concerning medication errors are generally positive, and the clinical practice is stable, according to the investigation. At the same time, the discussion of this problem in the inter-professional team of the hospital shows that there are cases of unreported minor medication errors that did not lead to significant health outcomes for the patient. However, it is not professional, not ethical, and not worthy of the faithful Christian to disregard them. Acknowledging one’s own faults is a crucial issue in self-improvement, and endangering another person’s life by trying to hide the truth is a sinful action for the believer.
Medication error is a severe problem that can lead to the aggravation of the patient’s health state or even lethal outcomes. As a result, nurses should be incredibly attentive in their work to avoid these mistakes. It is written in the Holy Scripture that people make mistakes, but they should try to improve and avoid these errors in the future. It is said in 1 John 1:8: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (King et al., 2008). Therefore, a believer should be modest concerning their abilities and be dedicated to self-improvement.
There are four major categories of quality measures that can be applied to clinical practice. They are balancing efforts, structural, outcome, and process measures. The relevant benchmarks in the discussed topic are the percentage of patients who suffered from medication errors (Haugland et al., 2019). It is an example of the performance benchmark and is directly connected with the quality of healthcare services Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center provides. The team discussion showed that the hospital had developed a strategic plan for eliminating medical errors. At the same time, there are still minor flaws concerning unreported medical mistakes that nurses make because of lack of attention and high levels of stress in the workplace.
The critical detail is that the information about medication errors that did not lead to severe consequences and did not cause significant health impairment to the patient is not usually documented. Therefore, there is no official information in public access concerning the absolute number of insignificant medication errors in the healthcare facility (Furmedge et al., 2018). Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center is not the exception. At the same time, nurses understand that they have committed medication errors even when others do not see their mistakes. The participation in the inter-professional team in the hospital that is trying to improve these processes related to one CMS core measure showed that it is vital to acknowledge one’s own weak sides and mistakes and eliminate them.
Acknowledging mistakes and improving one’s own professionalism are among the priorities for the Christian nurse. As it is said in Hebrews 6:10, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them” (King et al., 2008). Therefore, there is no need to be afraid of God’s wrath for making mistakes, but there is the need to avoid lies and idleness in one’s own behavior.
The number of products or services without defects is an essential component of the normal functioning of the company, and the healthcare facility is no exception. The critical detail is that medication errors in clinical practice might have more severe and adverse consequences for the client than in other spheres (AHRQ, 2022). As a result, it is vital for nurses and other healthcare professionals to pay precise attention to the statistical side of their work.
The stability of the organization’s services is the most critical component of successful work. In the discussed case, it is essential to minimize variability in the services the hospital provides its patients and to eliminate errors in the process. According to the Six Sigma model tool to improve quality and reduce disparities, the first critical step is defining the issue, followed by the measurement and further evaluation of the obtained data (AHRQ, 2022). Next, it is vital to analyze the causes that led to this situation, elaborate on how to improve the overall process and control how this plan is implemented.
The root cause analysis of medication errors shows that these mistakes usually happen accidentally and unintentionally. Nurses and physicians do everything possible to avoid these mistakes, but errors still occur. One of the reasons that leads to medication errors is the lack of mutual communication between different healthcare team members, which leads to a lack of control over the actions of each other (Busse et al., 2019). When the nurse checks the activities of the physician and vice versa, the chances of medication error are reduced significantly. The second critical reason that causes medication error is the overworking of healthcare specialists and the high level of stress at work that does not allow them to concentrate fully on every patient (Busse et al., 2019). These two problems can be solved by implementing a schedule that features the time nurses have to rest during the working day to avoid excessive stress and the obligatory checking of medication prescriptions.
Therefore, there is a need for the quality improvement of the facility’s performance, and the new strategic plan might satisfy this need. Understanding the roots that lead to the problem of medication errors allows healthcare specialists to eliminate these mistakes. These two actions might make Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center’s work more stable and avoid variations in medical prescriptions and taking. As a result, the quality of the healthcare services the hospital provides its patients will increase significantly, which ensures its credibility and high standards. Helping other people and making everything possible to save lives altruistically are integral parts of the Christian mission that believers should pursue. Trying to eliminate possible medication errors also corresponds to the Christian views because it aims at helping people.
References
AHRQ. (2022). Assessing indicator rates using trends and benchmarks. Web.
Busse, R., Klazinga, N., &Panteli, D. (2019). Improving healthcare quality in Europe: Characteristics, effectiveness and implementation of different strategies. European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, 53.), 1-447.
Furmedge, D. S., Stevenson, J. M., Schiff, R., & Davies, J. G. (2018). Evidence and tips on the use of medication compliance aids. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 362-369. Web.
Haugland H, Olkinuora A, Rognås L, et al. (2019). Testing quality indicators and proposing benchmarks for physician-staffed emergency medical services: a prospective Nordic multicentre study. BMJ Open 9, e030626. Web.
King James Bible. (2008). Oxford University Press.
Panteli, D., Quentin, W., &Busse, R. (2019). Understanding healthcare quality strategies: a five-lens framework. Health Policy Series 53, 1-15.