There is the need for healthcare facilities and the professionals working in such facilities to be aware of the safety and quality issues which affect the wellbeing of patients. The core objective of such a move is to ensure that patients are able to emerge with desirable outcomes and that possible readmission cases, high morbidity and high mortality cases are reduced. In this regard, therefore, it is essential that hospitals take into account the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) measures which will oversee an improvement in the safety and quality of services which patients receive and by extension their overall experiences.
The measures chosen for this paper are discharge information, communication with nurses and communication with doctors. As regards to discharge information, it is essential that care providers ask their patients questions to determine whether they have understood their discharge instructions. Such a move will be vital in having the patients adhere to the medication to avert any possibilities of under dosing or overdosing on the medication provided to them (Institute for Healthcare Communication, 2017). Such a move will be essential in ensuring the safety of these individuals.
In regards to communication with nurses, there is the possibility of the compromised diagnostic accuracy due to the rush and harsh attitude which nurses have towards patients. If such care providers do not take their time to properly assess patients and allow them to report about how they feel, essential information regarding the condition of the patient may be left out thus exposing them to quality and safety dangers (Institute for Healthcare Communication, 2017). Finally, in terms of communication with doctors, the realization that these physicians fail to explain to their clients the reasons for prescribing a particular medication means that the chances of a malpractice risk occurring are very high and as such, may result in compromised safety.
Lower safety and quality ratings have got negative implications in the running of facilities. In terms of reimbursements, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reduces the payments to hospitals under the inpatient prospective payment system with high readmission cases (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS, 2013). As for accreditation, the Joint Commission requires health care facilities to put the patient safety goals into use for them to be given the required accreditation certifications (Abbasi, Tavakoli & Moslehi, 2012). Lower quality and safety issues will prevent the commission from accrediting such facilities. To the community, increasing cases of poor quality and safety from a particular facility will drive the number of people seeking healthcare services from such a facility away.
In seeing to it that these issues have been addressed, it will be crucial for the hospital to put in place measures which will encourage proper communication between patients and the healthcare practitioners working in the facility. Workshops and seminars whose agenda will mainly focus on developing good relationships at the hospital will be vital.
References
Abbasi, S., Tavakoli, N., & Moslehi, M. (2012). Readiness of hospitals with quality management systems based on joint commission on accreditation standards.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. (2013). Medicare and Medicaid programs: hospital outpatient prospective payment and ambulatory surgical center payment systems and quality reporting programs; Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program; organ procurement organizations; quality improvement organizations; Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program; provider reimbursement determinations and appeals. Final rule with comment period and final rules. Federal register, 78(237), 74825.
