NURS FPX 6016 Assessment 2 Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation

NURS-FPX 6016 Quality Improvement of Inter-professional Care

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Introduction 

Errors in medication have a significant impact on addressing the issues of how people perceive medical care and how they think the quality of care will be provided to them in times of distress. Healthcare and the services that are being rendered by the companies have a significant impact on the perception that people have toward medical care. Errors in medication have a significant impact on the perception that people have toward medical care. Medication errors are one of the most significant and common errors in medical practice and have been prevalent across the world.

It is the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States, and approximately 100,000 deaths are accounted for in the name of medication errors in the United States every year (Cha, 2016). Medication error is not solely based on having medication at the wrong time or accidentally doubling up the dosage; rather, it occurs at different stages of the medication use process and can result from other factors such as issues in medication systems, issues of medication management, or human error such as reliability mistakes, fatigue, a poor environment, or a staff shortage (World Health Organization, 2018). 

NURS FPX 6016 Assessment 2 Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation

Likewise, the management of a patient with heart failure is one of the most complex medical situations that requires effective and active care, and errors in medication in such a condition can have a significant impact on the individual’s health or may lead to life-and-death circumstances. Errors in medication can have very significant as well as fatal consequences (Tariq et al., 2020). These may include things like passing away, being in a life-threatening scenario, being hospitalized, being disabled, or having birth defects (FDA, 2019).

In rare instances, mistakes made with medication might result in the development of a new condition, which may be either temporary or permanent, such as itching, rashes, or a disfigurement of the skin (qlicksmart_admin, 2017). Medication errors can cause patients to suffer not just physically but also emotionally and psychologically. Medication errors have a number of negative effects, the most significant of which are a decline in patients’ levels of contentment and an erosion of their faith in the medical system (Tariq et al., 2020). 

The aim of the current essay is to evaluate the quality improvement initiative, how the suggested changes aim to bring about change, and what can be done to outdo the lags in the suggested changes while evaluating the suggested changes efficiency altogether.

Current Quality Care Initiative

For enhancing medication safety and reducing medication errors, it is important to come up with ideas that may encourage thinking outside the box and thinking through while ensuring there’s no loophole missed. The suggested quality care initiative attempts to provide a plan that can help in resolving the issue by making sure that the medication is provided in safe hands. The case suggested that the error in medication led to an adverse event for the heart patient undergoing the surgery; thus, the first and foremost quality improvement step suggested was to enhance the medication’s safety by using a patient entry order that sorts medications alphabetically by their formula names rather than their brand names.

Other methods could be using the barcodes or identifying specific medical dispensaries where people can buy those medications. This allows for a universal medication to be available regardless of the brand, allowing the patient to not get confused over which brand is best and get mugged for high prices.

Learning about the medication that you take and asking questions regarding medication or sharing concerns allows the patient to understand their own medical conditions and associated risk, thus making them more serious in taking care of themselves (Mayo Clinic Q&A: Reducing the Risk of Medication Errors, n.d.; Manias et al., 2020). Similarly, having communication within the team with standardized protocols that allow it would also help in establishing clear and guided communication and information exchange, which increases patient safety and the quality of care that is being provided.