Discussion: The Healthcare Workplace: Using Policy to Improve Patient Safety

According to an article published by the Becker’s Hospital Review (Vaidva, Zimmerman, & Bean, 2018), the top 10 patient safety concerns for 2018 are:

1. Disparate EHRs (electronic health records)
2. Hand hygiene
3. Nurse-patient ratios
4. Drug and medical supply shortages
5. Quality reporting
6. Resurgent diseases.
7. Mergers and acquisitions
8. Physician burnout
9. Antibiotic resistance
10. Opioid epidemic

Each of these concerns has led to poor patient outcomes, including deaths (Vaidva et al., 2018). The good news is that number of hospital-acquired health conditions (e.g., infections, falls, pressure ulcers, adverse drug events, etc.) has decreased by 21%, between 2010 and 2015 (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2016). Similarly, there has been a decrease in medical, medication, or lab errors or delays, which may indicate that policy efforts to keep patients safe have been successful (Davis, Kristof, Squires, & Schoen, 2014).

In this Discussion, you will consider the impact of policy on patient safety and recommend policies that could address different topic areas.

References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2016). National scorecard on rates of hospital-acquired conditions 2010 to 2015: Interim data from national efforts to make health care safer. Retrieved from https://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/quality-patient…

Davis, K., Kristof, S., Squires, D., & Schoen, C. (2014). Mirror, mirror on the wall: How the performance of the U.S. health care system compares internationally. Retrieved from https://www.commonwealthfund.org/sites/default/fil…

Vaidya, A., Zimmerman, B., & Bean. (2018). Top 10 patient safety issues for 2018. Retrieved from https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/10-top-patie…

By Day 4

Post a comprehensive response to the following:

• In your own words, briefly summarize the article. Include 1) the purpose/aim(s) of the study/article, 2) a description of the healthcare setting (e.g., hospital, clinic, urgent care, etc.), 3) the circumstances that created a patient safety issue (e.g., lack of training, working too many hours, understaffed, etc.), and 4) the policy or need for a policy.
• Describe a change in policy or procedure that could help address this patient safety issue.
• Explain what other factors besides policy may have contributed to the safety issue and how these can be addressed.