Executive summary
Introduction
It is apparent that the modern-day healthcare system is faced with a myriad of challenges that require constant and relentless application of evidence and best practices in order to remain true to the central mandate of healthcare, which is, provision of safe and quality care. This implies that as healthcare providers, there is the obligation to be agents of positive change that would ensure both organizational and healthcare objectives are met in an effective and comprehensive manner. In this regard, this paper represents an executive summary of quality improvement program “fall prevention”, intended to reduce the number of falls among inpatients as a way of fostering quality and patient safety.
Arguably, patient falls are pretty ubiquitous in this organization. The occurrence of patient falls is associated with poor patient outcomes, that at the end of the day, lead to injuries, prolonged hospital stay, morbidities, sentinel events, increased cost of care, exacerbation of underlying conditions, patient dissatisfaction or even mortality (Miake-Lye et al., 2013). It is with no doubt that any time one of these fall outcomes occurs, the hospital and the patients incur additional costs-something that compromises the overall concept of patient safety and quality of care as well as organizational performance. The cause of falls is multifaceted and range from individual patient’s psychological to physiological characteristics as well as organizational characteristics in terms of fall prevention procedures and strategies. In this regard, the purpose of this project is to comprehensively arrest the occurrence of patient falls through utilizing a bundle of evidence-based interventions that are intended to prevent the occurrence of falls. This includes strategies such as hourly-monitoring, regular fall risk assessment for patients, installation of bedside alarms and infrastructural modifications. Believably, majority of falls occur when weak patients try to ambulate or move to the washrooms or any other destination within the hospital settings. Infrastructural pitfalls such as unleveled ground, stairs as well as slippery floor also increase the risk of falls occurring, not only for weak patients but the larger population of inpatients. Hourly-monitoring as well as installation of bedside alarms can go a long way in proactively preventing falls since a nurse would be available at any given time to help the patient in ambulation (Miake-Lye et al., 2013). The implementation of all these evidence-based fall prevention techniques is quite promising in terms of arresting the prevalence of patient falls and fostering the achievement of the desired patient and organizational outcomes.
Target/population
This project targets various stakeholders who are directly and indirectly affected by falls. This project essentially targets the general inpatient population with regard to fall prevention. Nonetheless, the successful implementation of the project is tied to other stakeholders, notably, the staff members and the management. It is through staff commitment to the project that it can meet its intended purpose. The role of the staff would be huge in terms of supporting the new fall prevention strategies and the practice changes that accompany the change. Moreover, the management is a core stakeholder in this project since it is through the blessings of the management team that the project can be implemented and subsequently achieves the intended results. The management plays a worthy role in providing a favorable change environment and equipping the project with resources, financial and non-financial, necessary to successfully implement the fall prevention program.
Benefits of the program
There are a myriad of benefits that accrue to the implementation of this quality improvement program that go beyond the patients to the organization at large. The potential benefits of this program include; reduction of patient falls, reduction in additional costs and expenditure allocated to treating and handling injuries and other fall outcomes, a high level of customer satisfaction, improved patient/client loyalty, increased margins, staff motivation and satisfaction and ultimately, improved public image for the organization.
Cost/budget implications
While the initial capital of implementing the project may be realistically high since it essentially involves changing various organizational aspects including, staffing, infrastructure and procedures, its long-term financial benefits are worth the investment. It is approximated that on average, every hospital spends up to $ 35,000 annually in treating injuries resulting from falls (Polinder et al., 2016). Perhaps, this value could be significantly high in this organization due to a huge number of acutely ill patients and geriatric patient population. On the other hand, according to the apparent CMS policy, hospital reimbursement is tied to the level of quality and safety rendered and the occurrence of falls in a major pitfall with regard to reimbursement funds. The implementation of this project is feasibly realistic and necessary since it is pretty promising in terms of reducing the costs associated with the patient falls. To a large extent, customer satisfaction is a major variable to consider especially in the contemporary healthcare sector that is annotated by increased competition. The successful implementation of this project is among the drivers for a high level of customer satisfaction, loyalty, public image and of course, increased revenue (Polinder et al., 2016).
Evaluation of the program
The evaluation of this program would take a pre and post-implementation survey, whereby data related to both qualitative and quantitative variables would be collected and analyzed 3 months pre-implementation and 3 months post-implementation. For the qualitative dimension of this evaluation, an open-ended questionnaire would be used to determine the satisfaction levels of the patients and the staff. On the other hand, the quantitative component of this evaluation would utilize clinical data related to the occurrence rates of falls before and after the implementation of the program. The evaluation results of the two phases (pre and post-implementation) would be compared to determine the overall effectiveness of the project.
References
Miake-Lye, I. M., Hempel, S., Ganz, D. A., & Shekelle, P. G. (2013). Inpatient fall prevention programs as a patient safety strategy: a systematic review. Annals of internal medicine, 158(5_Part_2), 390-396.
Polinder, S., Haagsma, J., Panneman, M., Scholten, A., Brugmans, M., & Van Beeck, E. (2016). The economic burden of injury: health care and productivity costs of injuries in the Netherlands. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 93, 92-100.
