Introduction
Technology is an essential aspect in the management of different sectors of any country’s economy. The health care sector is one of the important fields in which requires technology for the execution of various tasks as far as offering health care services is concerned. Technology in the health care sector is applied in areas such as performing x ray scans, the use of laser beams to eliminate cancerous cells amongst other areas. Additionally, technology is applied in this sector when it comes to the storage and retrieval of patient records. In this case an improvised data base system could be relevant. In the United States of America, a national data base for the Nurses Association of America is a good example of how technology is applied in the field of nursing as a health care component. The national data base has great significance in the Nurses’ Association because it collects nurse sensitive data from all the hospitals in the United States of America.
One of the most important uses of the National Data base is based on guaranteeing and improving patient safety and offering of quality services (Gerhke, 2002). This is achieved due to the fact the data base contains information from various national hospitals. An analysis of the data base indicates the performance of different hospitals as far as provision of health care services is concerned. In this case, the hospitals which are most effective in offering heath care services are highlighted. This creates a competitive nature of the hospitals because every hospital wants to be on the front line in offering the best health care services. This is what results to improved health care services amongst hospitals hence an advantage to patients.
Hospital performance should be annually analyzed so as to safeguard the health care of patients in a given population (Wachter, 2007). This analysis is aided by the national data base which provides information on the all the hospitals in the United States of America. With the annual analysis, the government of the country is able to dismiss all the hospitals that are unable to meet the requirements in offering health care services. This gives the implication that quality services in health care provision are no option.
The National data base also creates efficiency when patients are referred from one hospital to another. Once the patient is referred to another hospital, the referral hospital is able to access the patient’s history through the national data base. All the patient’s health records can be easily accessed through the national data base. Patient history is very crucial because it is what is used in deciding the type of medication the patient will require (Wurman, 2004). Patients can get quality health care from any hospital that has the national database system.
The widely collected data in the national data base is useful in analyzing patient outcome and nurse staffing in the different departments in the hospitals. The data collected especially on the patient outcomes is from the adult and pediatric care, step down, surgical and rehabilitation units amongst others. The data collected from all these units is transformed into useful information which is essential in assessing patient outcomes. Data collected on nurse staffing is important when the nurses seek transfer from one hospital to another. The hospital to which the nurse is transferring is able to view the qualifications of the nurse by accessing the national data base. This aids in staffing and also ensures that the hospitals allocate duties to the nurses in the most effective and efficient way possible.
The National data base system has various benefits such us online tutorial programs for hospital staff members amongst others. Patient safety is therefore guaranteed when hospital staff members undergo these online tutorials. The tutorials are important because they are simplified and well integrated into the data base system. These tutorials are also significant in cutting down on employee training costs. The training programs are diversified and very effective hence the reason why many hospitals should adopt the National data base system.
The National data base system gives the provision of trending over data from various sources. This data mainly concerns patient outcomes hence the reason why it is so important for the effective performance of hospitals. This is where the data trends can be accessed through multiple quarters instead of a single of isolated snapshot of performance. The multiple quarters through which the data is analyzed creates efficiency in making conclusions and comparisons on patients’ outcomes. The wide nature of the data base also enables the analysis of staff without giving misleading judgments due to the comparison involved.
The National data base enables web based data entry which simple and efficient when dealing with huge figures (Ramakrishnan, 2002). There are numerous patients and each of these patients has different records. The web based data entry procedures therefore simplify patient data entry activities. The records involved in web based data entry are made to be as simple as possible to the clients. Assessing and analyzing the data base is therefore made easy for anyone who wishes to check and compare data from different hospitals on employee safety and performance. On the other hand, the web based data entry procedures make the work for IT experts in the hospitals simple.
Research opportunities are enhanced by the National data base system for the Nurses association of America. in this case researchers are able to access, analyze and evaluate data from different hospitals and come up with research proposals concerning patient safety and health care provision. For instance, researchers are able to check on the most prevalent diseases or infections in most hospitals. The researchers may also be able to analyze the percentage population which accesses the health care facilities in a given period of time. Therefore, it would be justified to give the notion that the National data base system is a very important component creating research opportunities on different topics concerning the provision of health care services.
Patient outcome should be the primary goal for any health care facility or hospital (Dekker, 2007). Work place culture and procedures therefore play an important role in ensuring patient safety. The management of hospitals should hence ensure that the work place culture does not jeopardize the status of the hospital. Different hospitals will tend to have different work place cultures when offering health care services to patients. A good work place culture will be one in which patients co-exist and work peacefully and in harmony placing the needs of the client on the front line.
Absolute determination and commitment to employees is one of the work place cultures that may have a great positive impact on patient outcomes (Harris, 2005). This culture acts as a drive to the employees in the hospitals simply because the patients are considered to be the first priority. With the patients being the first priority for a hospital then the offering of quality health care services to patients comes in automatically. The patient outcomes would hence automatically be positive due to the determination of the staff members.
Another important work place culture that may have a positive influence on patient outcome would a positive mental attitude from the staff members. This would act as a source of encouragement even in difficult situations. Employees with this culture would be very effective in improving patient outcome because they would regularly be involved in encouraging patients in the hospitals. Hospitals should therefore ensure that they adopt work place cultures that will have positive impacts in relation to patient outcome. Stewardship is also a work place culture that should be adopted in improving patient outcome. This is where the hospital is accountable for its resources as well as its actions in the provision of health care services to patients. Leadership, Caring, Integrity and Continuous improvement are examples of work place cultures implemented by the Concord Hospital in the United States of America. The Hospital ensures that every new member of staff is integrated into this culture so that the provision of health care services by t he hospital is not jeopardized.
Patient safety is crucial because it has a lot of influence in relation to quality health care. Being one of the first priorities for any health care centre, patient safety is what creates the drive towards provision of quality health care (Wachter, 2007). Quality health care services are hence essential in safeguarding the status of the patients. If a patient requires a special diet meal once admitted, a hospital will have to ensure that it provides the diet to the patient so that the health safety of the patient is not at risk.
Other contributory factors to patient safety include good sanitation and hygiene practices. A hospital should be osmologically clean so as not to create a breeding ground for pathogens. Pathogens pose a great risk to the health status of patients. This is the reason why hospitals have no option but to maintain extremely high standards of hygiene so as to safeguard patients’ safety. From these observations, it would be justified to make an argument that patient safety is what prompts hospitals as well as other health care facilities to provide high quality health care services.
There are various legal implications that arise when it comes to situations involving patient safety and quality health care. Once a hospital is incapable of providing quality health care to its patients, then it has to be legally responsible for the course of action directed towards it by the law. The law requires all hospitals to be in perfect state in the provision of health care services. Therefore, hospitals that are unable to provide high quality health care standards to patients are prone to face the consequences placed by the statutes of law. For instance a health care facility may be found liable for inadequately training its employees on quality health care performance. A hospital may also be found liable if it lacks a clear guideline on medical emergency policies. If a hospital lacks proper emergency policies then the safety of the patients is at stake. Hospitals are therefore prompted to cater for the damages incurred to patients due to neglect or ignorance when providing health care services.
Conclusion
Health is one of the most important aspects of life and should therefore be treated with as much care as possible. This is the reason why patient safety is mostly the basic goal of any health care facility. Patient safety advocates for high quality health care services from the staff members. Health care facilities should hence ensure that they provide services that are of the required standards. Other aspects involving health care provision include technology. This can be looked at from the view point of the national database for the Nurses Association of the United States of America. The data base creates efficiency in the provision of health care services. this gives the implication that health care provision involves many factors mostly incorporating both human and technological factors.
Reference:
Dekker S. (2007). Just Culture: Balancing Safety and Accountability, London: Ash gate.
Gerhke J. & Ramakrishnan R. (2002). Database Management System, New York: McGraw Hill.
Harris R.P. (2005). The Work Culture Handbook, Minnessota: Jaico Publishing House.
Wachter R. (2007). Understanding Patient Safety, New York; McGraw Hill.
Wurman S. (2004). Understanding Health Care, New York: Top.
