Addressing Patient Safety Issues
The article “To err is human,” published by the Institute of Medicine indicates that medical errors and mistakes have continued to affect the quality of medical services available to more clients. Medical practitioners or nurses might not cause some of these errors. Ineffective conditions and faulty systems can lead practitioners to make mistakes (Darvish, Bahramnezhad, Keyhanian, & Navidhamidi, 2014).
The emergence and use of information technology in medical practice is something that has helped address some of these concerns. The use of medical technology is currently making it possible for practitioners to come up with accurate decisions and offer appropriate care to targeted patients. The development of information technology has made it easier for health workers to foresee problems and avert them on time. Many healthcare institutions have been using such technological systems to promote decision-making whenever providing healthcare.
The use of modern health systems has promoted safer practices and acceptable decisions. The process makes it impossible for a healthcare worker to do things unacceptably. The use of informatics has been observed to minimize most of the errors made by many physicians and healthcare workers (Darvish et al., 2014). Through the use of modern informatics, many healthcare institutions have managed to learn from their past errors. The implementation of voluntary reporting systems has helped collect useful information that can be used to prevent adverse medical outcomes or events (Darvish et al., 2014).
Modern technologies have been considered to promote safety in different healthcare organizations. This is the case because such systems guide workers to make accurate decisions, involve others, forestall mistakes, and engage in teamwork. That being the case, competent practitioners using modern technologies will avert the patient safety issues outlined in the article.
Informatics and Improvement of Health Care Safety
Health informatics is a field that has received much attention in the recent past. The use of informatics has assisted in improving the quality and safety of care available to many patients in my organization. To begin with, the use of modern health technologies has improved how care delivery is coordinated. Different practitioners are involved and encouraged to part of the care delivery process depending on the diverse needs of the patients. Information is relayed to the relevant individuals on time in order to promote safety. Errors have significantly been minimized in the facility. This is the case because the workers diagnose various health conditions using the right technologies and equipment.
The use of electronic health records (EHRs) has resulted in safer and quality care. Coordinated teams always come together to diagnose and identify areas for improvement (Lavin, Harper, & Barr, 2015). Tasks such as admission ad medication have been automated in the facility. The hospital has managed to save time while at the same time, increasing the level of efficiency.
Informatics is making it easier for more patients to be involved throughout the healthcare delivery process. Patients can track their symptoms and medications using the existing health systems. The level of communication has increased significantly in the healthcare institution. One of the areas for improvement is that of telemedicine. The concept is currently being considered to improve the quality of care available to more patients. Another area where growth is needed is considering how informatics can be improved in such a way that more patients become part of the healthcare delivery process (Lavin et al., 2015). The involvement of the patient will result in safe, efficient, and quality care.
Reference List
Darvish, A., Bahramnezhad, F., Keyhanian, S., & Navidhamidi, M. (2014). The role of nursing informatics on promoting quality of health care and the need for appropriate education. Global Journal of Health Sciences, 6(6), 11-18. Web.
Lavin, M., Harper, E., & Barr, N. (2015). Health information technology, patient safety, and professional nursing care documentation in acute care settings. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 20(2), 1-17. Web.