Errors during the medication administration process remain among the leading causes of compromised care quality. An ongoing transformation of care is expected to minimize the adverse impact associated with the activity. The following paper provides an overview of possible applications of a transformation process to the practice of home health care.
The concepts of transformation proposed in the document can be divided into two distinct categories. The first category involves improvements associated with access to primary care (Institute of Medicine, 2011). According to the findings of the committee, nursing practitioners comprise a significant proportion of hospital staff responsible for the delivery of care (Institute of Medicine, 2011).
However, while the trend of an increasing demand for nursing practitioners is expected to be observed in the long term, the number of medical students entering primary care setting is on a steady decline in the recent years. The related transformation concept is expected to address the issue by modifying the supply in an attempt to meet the demand and, by extension, reduce the number of medication administration errors. At the level of home health care practice, this can be accomplished by implementing the reporting system that would provide a complete picture of staff distribution and type of care required per site. In this way, a more effective distribution of human resources can be achieved.
The second aspect is that of quality of care. This aspect includes several factors, each of which can significantly impact the integrity of the medication administration process and lead to errors. For instance, working conditions have a profound effect on the performance of the facility staff (Hughes, 2008). Since working conditions is an encompassing term, a multifaceted intervention is necessary that would be based on collaboration between practitioners and administrators. In this way, a more favorable environment can be developed, which would have a positive impact on care quality.
Medication administration safety remains a major issue in the modern healthcare setting. Transforming care remains among the most feasible solutions to this issue. Focusing on the areas of care accessibility and quality is the most feasible way of applying its concepts to the practice of home health care.
References
Hughes, R. (Ed.). (2008). Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Institute of Medicine. (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.