Essays on Medical Errors

There was a time when nurses were not included in malpractice and negligence lawsuits, but that is no longer true. Today, nurses are included with doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers and agencies when the outcomes of patient treatments are undesirable. When a nurse is accused of failure to competently perform her or her responsibilities to the patient and employer, the result may be as serious as the death of the patient. For this reason, focus has centered on the types, incidences, and ways to prevent actions that cause patients harm and may result in expensive and license-threatening litigation ...

HITECH legislation and its primary goals

Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 forms part of a stimulus package that was approved as law in order to champion the use of EHR (electronic health records). Electronic health records possess the capacity to transform the health care sector from a largely paper based sector to reliance on clinical information and other sources of information in assisting the providers to deliver higher levels of quality care to patients (Beasley and Sinsky, 2014). At its core, HITECH has five primary objectives. First, HITECH seeks to augment quality, the safety, efficacy of health care ...

Introduction

Unexpected medical expenses are very common, and they are frustrating when they happen. These medical requirements have to be met, and this necessitates the need to have an insurance cover. The US federal government offers health insurance programs called Medicare and Medicaid that cater for the financial burden for aged and poor citizens respectively (Rowland & Lyons, 1996). A hospital that accepts Medicare or Medicaid as pay sources is very sensitive to its clients. Furthermore, a hospital should satisfy its customers fully and reduce the cost of medical services for them (Rowland & Lyons, 1996). This paper analyzes quality initiatives that ...

Introduction

In the recent past, medical errors have been on a sharp increase whereby cases of medical negligence reported daily in our healthcare system have been on the rise. As a key pillar in the economy, there is need to address various challenges and health care errors for the well-being of our society. In addition, healthcare is growing at a rapid rate as more complex and new developments in technologies emerge that allows care healthcare professions to work remotely. This new technology and medical advancement is a new fertile ground for more errors that are likely to occur. Though many ...

Rapid Appraisal

The impacts of nursing inputs on the quality care provided in nursing homes was investigated and found that mix staffing process can effectively optimize the organization standard and reduce the patient adverse outcomes (Hendrix, 2001, para.25). The statistical outcomes of this study present valuable data that is relevant to the proposed issue. The study outcomes demonstrated that the costs of care for decubitus ulcers significantly reduces with the presence of RNs and NAs while it increases with the LPN presence, indicating the significance of delegating appropriate staff for appropriate work as it can effectively improve patient outcomes and reduce ...

A hospital is not just an institution where one can get professional examination and treatment, this type of medical organization is also to provide excellence in medical research, patient case and medical education services. Some hospitals serve as outstanding examples of high-quality and well-planned health system management within a wide clinical network and are consistently expanding the range of multispecialty services. This paper reviews the policy and principal daily operations that relate to the area of ethical and fiscal responsibility of health care assistants (HCAs). Management system of any medical institution presupposes that HCAs are competent stewards of resources ...

1.0 Without putting the figures you cited into a spreadsheet, it is quick to appreciate the fact that the medical costs of obesity is clearly higher than the cost of implementing the research project. The net obesity cost (NOC)-to-project implementation cost (PIC) ratio of 10.2 [$1,429 / $140] is convincingly high. A patient’s annual savings from obesity cost can virtually finance this project implementation estimate. However, it is unclear to us if the cost of implementing the proposed exercise prescription protocol (EPP) or the actual implementation of EPP by the patient, using the necessary equipment and ...

Simulation in Nursing Education

The concept of simulation in healthcare education has been since the time of world II. The basic concepts of simulation in associate’s or bachelor’s nursing program comprised of CPR manikins, role playing, static manikins, and conventional techniques based on the utilization of various taught concepts were used as a teaching modality since over 5 decades (Norman J. 2012). The concept of high-fidelity education has been in place for over 2 decades but it is new and unique in the nursing education. The process involves the use of simulation with the help of high-end computer technology including simulation ...

Team Nursing

Team nursing is a system where patient care is distributed among nurses working in a coordinated approach. Craig (2015) defines team nursing as two or more people interacting interdependently with a common purpose, having measurable goals and encouraging mutual participation in problem-solving. It is the shared purpose that makes it possible for teams to implement ways through which they promote desirable health outcomes by sharing patients’ results and jointly participating in discussions to enhance performance. In such cases, the nurse in charge can delegate authority to a team leader who then works closely with the rest of the team ...

Introduction

Change is a perpetual in today’s fast paced world. What is modern today becomes obsolete tomorrow. New technologies mean a change in the way on thinks, learns and gets his information or uses it. Any organization may feel the challenges brought about by those new technologies and why they need to implement them within their culture. Any change within or outside an institution is sure to incite mixed reception and perception among its members and clients. The essay applies a change theory to an organizational-based on Kotter’s change model and plans a change process. The change process ...

Leadership entails the ability of an individual to apply his leadership Knowledge and skills to influence his follower’s so as to accomplish the organizational goals. A good leader is one who has high regard for his employees and always sees the best out of their abilities. According to Surllivan (2013) an effective leader is one who has specific knowledge and skills about the about an organizations working condition and is always confident while dispensing his duties. Kershaw (2013) in his submission reiterated that most people have a misconception about what effective leadership is all about. A good leader ...

Dear Senator/Representative (Legislator’s Name):

As a leader of a non-profit health care organization, I would like to respectfully express my views and observations about the current health care status in our country. In particular, medication administration procedures. I would also like to call your attention about my goal in promoting a safer health care system for the benefits of all patients across our country. I agree that the reform in our health care system may have been long overdue. It feels great to know that our government is exerting its efforts to improve the overall system through health care reform laws. However, I ...

The present day healthcare system is highly fragmented; it is made up of different teams of health professions who have different education and training levels and plays specific roles in healthcare delivery process (Lancaster et al., 2015). The teams include nurses, physicians, technicians, anesthesiologists, surgeons and unlicensed assistive personnel (UAPs). Patients also have a broad range of health problems that needs to be addressed. As such, care for such patients cannot be entirely provided by one care provider. Typically, a hospitalized patient interact with several health care providers at the course of his/her stay at the hospital. Therefore, it ...

(Author, Department, University,

Corresponding Address and email)

Abstract Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a method of combining traditional and well-established practices with research-based evidence for better healthcare related outcomes. It has become a priority in many parts of the world. International organizations such as World Health Organization (WHO) as well as the European Commission are emphasizing on the adoption of EBP. It is important in nursing profession as it helps in fulfilling the gap between what nurses know and what is good for patients, and removal of this gap can help in reducing undesired outcomes. It is also helpful in decreasing the healthcare costs, ...

Clinical question

The picot question is: In addressing patient to nurse ratio and patient’s outcomes, is an enhancement of nursing continuous education more effective than mandatory nurse–patient ratios regulation in increasing number of nurse and quality improvement in two years? To find answers to the above clinical question, the questions that this study will seek to find answers to from various published research studies shall include: whether enhancing nursing continuous education improves nurse-patient ratios and the role of nurse leadership as well as staff regulations in increasing nurse numbers so as to improve nurse-patient ratios.

Description of the problem

Nurses are critical to ...

Importance of NSQI Measures

I would advise that NSQI measures should be compulsorily included in a Quality Improvement program to achieve enhanced outcomes. Nursing-sensitive indicators assist healthcare facilities to form a great understanding of the relationship between patient outcomes and the quality of nursing care they provide. In other words, nursing-sensitive indicators are really helpful for a facility to identify the areas of improvement, which is inevitable for designing and implementing a Quality Improvement program effectively. In addition, nursing-sensitive indicators are beneficial to justify the need for increased nursing staff, which is also an integral part of a Quality Improvement program. These indicators ...

Purpose

This paper looks to evaluate the impact of the nurse-to-patient ratio in achieving the desirable outcomes. It will analyze the evidence which depicts ways of improving this ratio to improve the quality of care given to patients and meeting their needs. Additionally, the paper will describe the impact of staffing problem to the well-being of the patient and work satisfaction. It will come up with questions which will be used to find the evidence which addresses this issue. Lastly, the paper will describe the strategy which will be employed to locate articles in regards to nurse-to-patient ratio.

Describe the problem

Nurses played ...

Communication errors

Communication is among the crucial aspects especially in nursing that promotes optimal care delivery. As such, effective communication among healthcare professionals especially during shift changes helps in preventing various medical errors like medication overdose as well as surgical complications. In addition, effective communication helps in enhancing the clinical outcomes of patients since medical errors are closely associated with various adverse events that have severe health as well as economic consequences on patients. According to Pham et al. (2012), effective communication among healthcare professionals especially during shift changes helps in minimizing the incidences of medical errors and subsequent injuries as ...

WGU

A. Table of Contents Professional Resume – presents my clinical knowledge, skills, experience, and philosophy to potential employers Executive Summary – provides an overview of the contents of the portfolio Professional Reference Questionnaire – presents the objective and subjective evaluation of my key behaviors and clinical performance by one of my professional references Importance of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) – discusses the need to develop knowledge and skills in quality leadership in order to improve the quality and safety of patient care and promote holistic, patient-centered care

Copy of IHI certificate of completion – serves to validate my completion of the IHI Organizational Systems and Quality Leadership course

Evidence-based Practice – summarizes an evidence-based research project on hand hygiene Applied Leadership – summarizes my ...

Puerto Rico and the Electronic Health Record (Part I)

The focus of this research is on Congressman Pedro Pierluisi who serves in the as the representative of Puerto Rico. He is from the Democratic Party. He can be contacted at 2410 Rayburn House Office Building. His phone is 202-225-2615 and his email is http://pierluisi.house.gov. Currently, the key major stakeholders involved in the bill are the congressmen since the bill is still in the committee stage in the house. The contents of the bill are being deliberated on by the subcommittee on health. As such, the real benefits of the bill have not achieved yet. However, in the event ...

Part 1

The current changes concerning the demographic structures of the United States population present both opportunities and challenges to the development of the nation. Notable variations in the population makeup of the country are based on the realization that the aging population is increasing by the day and as such, there is the need for developing care plans that are specifically suited for this portion of the populace (Shi & Singh, 2015). The chief solution that can adequately address these concerns has a healthcare profession that can sufficiently look into the problems brought about such as chronic diseases and propose the ...

TSU

Research in Nursing Practice Abstract Patient safety is important not only for patient but also for medical community, and this safety includes the reduction of medical and surgical errors. In the last few years, researchers have started showing great interest in the use of checklists before performing a surgery to reduce surgical errors. Usually, those checklists include the time out process, i.e. a kind of break or pause, before starting any surgical procedure. Those checklists may also include the information of patient, information of site or side, and information of procedure. Before starting any operation, operating staff communicate with ...

Part 1

The focus of this research is on Congressman Pedro Pierluisi who serves in the as the representative of Puerto Rico. He is from the Democratic Party. He can be contacted at 2410 Rayburn House Office Building. His phone is 202-225-2615 and his email is http://pierluisi.house.gov. Currently, the key major stakeholders involved in the bill are the congressmen since the bill is still in the committee stage in the house. The contents of the bill are being deliberated on by the subcommittee on health. As such, the real benefits of the bill have not achieved yet. However, in the event ...

According to the institute of medicine (IOM) medical error occurs due to failure to complete a planned action as intended. A lot of lives are lost due to medical errors that can otherwise be prevented (Ehteshami et al., 2013). This has forced the Joint Commission and institute for safe medication practices to adopt new technologies that can help health care professionals to prevent these medication errors. The goals of these technologies are to improve the administration of medication and patient identification. Technology has proved to be the best method to improve the safety of the patients. In United States, ...

Competency is the possession of knowledge, skills, behavior, and the capacity to enhance the patients’ safety, medical outcome and satisfaction. Informatics as a nursing competency focuses on the integration of technology as an evolving practice of nursing. The use of electronic health records in the healthcare management has been critical in the promotion of the patient’s safety, medical outcome, and promotion of efficiency in health institutions. This paper will study the importance of informatics competencies in enhancing patients’ safety, medical outcome and satisfaction. Also, the study will put into perspective the implications of informatics on nursing education, practice, ...

Introduction

The adoption of technologies, particularly EHRs, in small hospitals has been slow despite their perceived benefits at the organizational level. Instead, most of the available literature have concentrated on EHRS implementation in large clinical settings. This gap happens regardless of the fact that both environments have similar needs when it comes to enhancing patient care. Concentrating on a small New York-based hospital, this essay discusses EHRs implementation using Rogers’ (2003) qualities as a guideline to successful change. These qualities include relative advantage, compatibility, simplicity, trialability, and observability.

Relative Advantage

First, relative advantage refers to a product’s extent of technical attractiveness ...

Introduction and Statement of the Problem

Bedside shift reporting occurs as one of the most pertinent concepts in the context of health care. This can be attributed to the colossal role it plays in enhancing the process of care for patients. The core essence of bedside shift reporting entails the fact that it identifies all the care accorded to patients by nurses in the previous shift. As such, it offers a means through which patient care can be continued in a coherent manner. Despite the significant evidence that points to the fact that bedside shift reporting is important in patient care, it is yet to ...

For a long time now, nurses have been fighting against inadequate staffing and the outcomes that such issues have on them and the patients under their care. Additionally, the ever ballooning needs of the health care system have resulted in the number of patients requiring care going above the available healthcare personnel (Aiken, et al., 2014). As such, the available nurses presently working in the country, both at the state and the federal level are overwhelmed by the responsibilities bestowed on them. From the foregoing, therefore, it is evident that finding the optimal level of the nurse-to-patient ratio has ...

Medical errors occur in the day to day interaction among the patients and the clinicians. The doctors' role specifically, stipulate for the doctor to disclose such error to the patient at the point of realizing the same. However, there are ethics and laws that govern the doctor's right and the patients' rights as well. Assume a scenario where the doctor realizes wrong prescription from the clinicians, could this not have an impact if disclosed in front of the patients? In Pensylvania, such ethics are well established in the laws that govern the physicians' options to either disclose or not ...

Introduction

The nursing profession has experienced unendurable nursing shortage over the last years. Shortage of nurse does not only compromise the quality of patients’ health care but also has detrimental effects on the nurses themselves due to high patient-to –nurse ratios. For instance, the shortage of nurses leads to job burnout due to increased workloads and frustrations among the nursing staff. In addition, nursing the shortage leads to increased workloads and longer working hours that are the main cause of job dissatisfaction that eventually increases the turnover of nurse (Wyte-Lake et al., 2013). The purpose of this paper is to ...

InstitutionLeadership Learning Experience Project

- The Need for Interdisciplinary Teams

Interdisciplinary teams are important in nursing as they improve the quality and safety of care offered to patients. Interdisciplinary teams consist of professionals from different disciplines who work together and share expertise, skills and knowledge (Gardner, 2005). Collaboration and teamwork are imperative in healthcare which requires professionals with varied expertise. Poor collaboration between health professionals and lack of teamwork influences quality and safety of care (Gardner, 2005). Research linked poor collaboration with poor patient outcome and increase in medical errors. This is because patients do not get appropriate and timely care. Poor communication ...

An EHR system is an electronic health records system that stores all the medical information about a patient. The system is a digital version of keeping records that can be located at any moment. When accessed, the system will show the medical journey of a patient, from a previous diagnosis, allergies, the medication they have been given and the laboratory test results. Because of this, the system helps in promoting the management of the risks that occur with errors on medication. In addition, the systems operate on a digital network that makes it easy for any healthcare to access information about a patient at any ...

Abstract

The aim of this study is to look at ethical dilemmas of staff nurses that often arise across a variety of work settings and how nurses resolve ethical dilemmas. Every nurse differs in educational preparation and experience. The impact of the dilemma can vary and influence decision-making, and the complexities caused by legalities often impact the nursing roles during the dilemmas. The role of self, support to patients and families, patient educator and communicator are necessary during the ethical dilemmas.

Nurses face ethical challenges daily when providing quality care and can remain highly dissatisfied in their struggle when faced with ...

Current reforms under the Obama Care are geared towards greater accountability in the U.S. health care system. The use of technology, including electronic medical record (EMR) systems, is essential in effectively adapting to such changes. A robust EMR system has the capacity to reduce medical errors, makes the documentation and communication of information more efficient, and enables the cost-effective storage of records (Harrington et al., 2011). It is a highly useful technology that will enhance the quality of care of patients, reduce the probability of lawsuits arising from medical errors and increase the job satisfaction of nurses. Hence, investment in ...

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine conducted a study showing that medical errors contributed to the morbidity rate of hospitalized patients in the U.S. by as many as 44,000 to 98,000 deaths (Woo, Ranji & Salganicoff, 2008). Ranking as 5th to 8th among the major causes of deaths in the country, medical errors surpassed the numbers caused by motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer and AIDS at that time. The IOM study caused a snowballing of further research and policy making with regard to medical error reduction. More than a decade later, preventable medical errors persist. One such case involved the ...

The importance of Health Information Technology (HIT) to the healthcare sector cannot be overemphasized. The availability of information as well as the ability to exchange this information is very crucial to the efficient delivery of care across all levels of the health care system. These levels involve different stakeholders that include the care team, patients, and health care organizations among others, which in totality comprise a political, economic system. The diagnosis and effective treatment of patients depend on the capacity of care providers, whether individual medical practitioners or large healthcare organizations to access three main types of medical related or ...

Nursing homes are residential places for patients who require continuous nursing care because they are unable to deal with day to day activities in life. The homes provide staff round the clock to ensure that their patients have the care they need at all time. Usually, the patients are those who have already been treated in the hospitals, but still need constant health care which cannot be provided by their family at home. They provide both medical and therapy services. The homes provide skilled nursing care to the old who are no longer able to take care of themselves ...

Introduction

As technology continues to advance every single day, health care systems are also advancing together with this technology. One aspect of heath care system that has witnessed massive advancement is the Electronic Health Record Systems, usually abbreviated as EHR. Electronic Health Records refers to a record of a patient’s health information and history generated and stored in electronic databases. The information may be in regards to aspects such as allergies, x-rays medications, immunizations amongst others. More and more health institutions are adopting this brand of health technology and abandoning the traditional methods recording health data that involve manual paperwork and ...

Abstract

Owing to technological advances, health care providers have found it imperative to adopt an also use electronic health records to aid in the documentation of relevant data in its quest to facilitate the provision of better, efficient and less costly health care. The effective implementation of this process cannot be met without an adequate Health Information Technology workforce. Extant literature and research on the subject has tended to focus on the staffing ratios, job roles, leadership and educational qualifications, competencies as well as gap and growth whilst ignoring other salient parameters necessary in building the appropriate human capacity. ...

Introduction

Problem definition Language barrier is a critical issue in the field of heath care. It is a roadblock to the access of quality health care services. Patients who cannot speak or understand the same language as the health care providers have a challenge when they are accessing the services. They may not understand the prescription given by the doctors. They may not use the drugs properly and as required by the standardized drug and substance abuse policies. The patients may not even be able to explain the problems they face to the health care providers. When patients seek medical attention from ...

Introduction

A sentinel event involves the occurrence of an unexpected event that may involve death, a serious physical/psychological harm or a big risk thereof. A serious injury in this case may involve a loss of an organ such as limb, hand or a particular function. A sentinel event may also involve severe temporary injury that may require intervention to sustain life. Such events are referred to as sentinel because their occurrence calls for a quick response as well as investigation. A wrong sight surgery (WSS) is one of the sentinel events in healthcare. A wrong site surgery refers to a surgery procedure that is carried ...

In the United States, a national system for determine qualified health care providers does not exist. Local and state governments as well as professional organizations are responsible for providing people with credentialing information about healthcare providers. In my state, the department of health is responsible for providing the public with the necessary information on practitioners’ qualification. My state has a license data base called the provider credential search where on the department of health website where the public can go to find out the information about healthcare providers. https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/providercredentialsearch/SearchCriteria.aspx. The state department of health provides this information as a service to its ...

Abstract

Approximately fifteen million babies in the world are born each year prematurely; out of that number, 1.1 million eventually die. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurses provide vital care for these vulnerable babies and their families. These nurses encounter numerous challenges while providing care services such as a loss of energy, loss of enthusiasm, and lack of accomplishment, which are the dimensions of burnout.

Purpose: Conduct a meta-analysis to determine the factors related to burnout and identify the subsequent implications for practice.

Design: A meta-analysis was conducted for the existing literature regarding burnout in NICU. This consisted of XX relevant articles within the last five years. Results: The primary indicators of burnout were XXXX. Possible interventions to ...

Introduction

Nurse have various legal responsibilities in any hospital setting. The nurse’s responsibilities particularly become accentuated in settings where various problems are being experienced. In this case study, a step down unit of a hospital is experiencing high census and a very high patient nursing ratio, meaning that the unit is serious understaffed. Understaffing is a critical issue in health care because it can lead to several negative consequences. One of these problems is medical errors, and this is, in fact, what happens in this particular hospital. A medication error refers to an error by a care provider either in dispensing, administration, prescribing or ...

Introduction to the organization

The organization that I have chosen for the purposes of the final project is the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). MUSC is the only comprehensive academic health science center in South Carolina (MUSC). The mission statement of MUSC is concerned with preservation and optimization of human life in South Carolina and beyond it. The main activities, conducted by the Medical University of South Carolina, include education of healthcare professionals and biomedical scientists; research in healthcare sphere, as well as provision of comprehensive healthcare services (MUSC). Principles that are used by the University to govern its activities include ...

Every time I read the report on the IOM recommendations, I cannot help but see it as the future of healthcare in the United States.I like the fact that all the recommendations have been simplified and are straight to the point but yet carry a lot of weight in regard to shaping the future of nursing practice. It clearly points out that indeed, nurses have been bestowed with a critical role particularly in producing safe, effective and quality care for all the patients in our healthcare system (Aiken et al, 2003, p.1621). As a nurse on training, I see myself fitting perfectly ...

Health informatics is the practice of managing healthcare information through the use of information systems and other management methods. The rate of adoption and usage of electronic record systems in healthcare facilities has risen over time. This has necessitated individuals such as Sam and Dr. Travis working in internal medicine practice to consider its adoption and use. Under the paper records systems, a patient has to be checked at more than one of the three sites. These means that the patients records are recorded at more than one site and the paper chart needed to be send over all these ...

Executive Summary (Benchmark Assessment)

Introduction Nursing informatics integrates the field of computer science, nursing science, and using data in order to improve nursing practice. Information technology has become an integral phenomenon in the 21st century. Thereby, the healthcare system has to adapt to the dynamic society. Nursing informatics is important because it aims at improving nursing practice through efficiency and analytical skills. Given that most health care systems have adopted the electronic health records systems to ensure that patient care is efficient, nurses should adapt to technology and information systems that have automated patient’s data. Thus, nursing informatics class should be ...

Nursing fatigue and overtime hours is a major issue in the nursing sector in the present times. Studies indicate more than half of the registered nurses work overtime. Working overtime consistently makes the nurse tired compromising their work. According to Hugman (2003), fatigue compromises the ethics registered nurses follow. Registered nurses should be attentive, competent, and responsive when caring for patients (Meahger & Patron, 2004). The American Nurses Association (2012) argues registered nurses have a responsibility of taking overtime assignments when they are sure they can deliver to the ethical demands of their work. Although the American Nurses Association tasks nurses to ...

Current system

In Naxvegas Hospital, the use of paper-based health records has always been in use since it was established. The system requires the development of a personal manual health record where the patient information is recorded and stored. The hospital has health records department where the documented patient records are filed in a systematic order. The files have accumulated over time, and the need for more office space has been a burning issue. The system has employed the terminal digit filing system in the filing area (Bleich, Howard, Slack & Warner, 2010). This helps easy documentation, filing and retrieval of the patient information though ...

The last few years have witnessed tremendous growth in simulation-based medical education (Issenberg 203) possibly due to availability of computerized whole-body mannequins which are moderately priced and heightened patient safety awareness. Simulation is argued to be the most important innovation to have happened in medical education (Passiment, Heather and Grace 1). It connotes a teaching technique which not only endeavors to provide as realistic environment as possible but also an opportunity for directed feedback. This technique has found unprecedented popularity especially in medical and engineering fields. In medical environment, the clinical situations are virtually simulated for learning purposes thereby providing ...

The Never Event Plan from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Research indicates that about 44000 to 98000 deaths take place yearly within the US resulting from preventable medical errors (Kohn, Corrigan & Donaldson, 2010). According to reports by CDC, in the year 2002, about 99000 deaths occurred due to preventable or avoidable hospital-acquired infections (Klevens et al., 2009, p. 160). Moreover, studies reveal that medical errors can account for over 2.4 million additional hospital days as well as 9.3 billion USD in excess charges (Kohn, Corrigan & Donaldson, 2010). As a result, of these alarming statistics as well as shocking medical errors, efforts have existed to enhance the delivery of medical care ...

- Introduction Amayatakul writes that “electronic medical record (EMR) is a digital version of a paper chart that contains all of a patient’s medical history from one practice. An EMR is mostly used by providers for diagnosis and treatment (Amayatakul, 2012, p.19).” This indicates that Electronic medical records will act as a supplement to nurse practitioners in that healthcare service will be efficient, which will be beneficial to both the patient and the staff members (Anderson, 2005, p.123). In addition, a nurse practitioner need electronic medical record as a way of keeping track of the patient’s past records. This will help the ...

The nursing fraternity is a crucial facet of the overall medical arena, fundamental in the continued preservation and enhancement of patient health care and medical wellbeing. This therefore portends to the need of a coordinated effort, with respect to the implementation of various aspects pertinent to patient health improvement and the reduction of various forms/ types of medical errors. As earlier stated in previous studies, medical errors are not only attributed to human fallibility, but can also be attributed to systemic errors, thus the resulting gradual increase in complications and fatalities. The proposed evaluation plan’s core aim is to provide ...

Dissemination of Evidence into Practice: Medical Errors

While to err is human, there are other causal factors, which do result in the myriad of medical errors experienced. Accordingly, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) provides that more than 100,000 deaths are recorded in the USA alone, on an annual basis. This is in addition to a million plus injuries, all of which are attributed to the prevailing rates of mistakes and medical errors. Various measures exist, with regard to preventing and alleviating the resultant negative effects of medical errors. However, there is need for a coordinated effort, towards finding long-lasting and practical solutions to such occurrences. One of ...

Medical errors are unavoidable, even with the best possible human intervention, preventative measures and system input, as is witnessed through the many deaths associated with hospitalization and medical care. A medical error pertains to the failure of a given prescribed treatment procedure, which has the potential of causing the patient harm. Causes are often varied, interrelated, and in ways in which a single individual or system device cannot be solely blamed. Towards preventing medical errors, proposed solutions exist through varying avenues: enhanced medical staff training and error awareness, as well as the general improvement of the prevailing monitoring systems present. This ...

The alarming report on patient safety crisis in the United States has brought tremendous public awareness which calls for improvement in the quality of care as well as significant changes in the U.S. healthcare system. In 2001, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) launched a program called “A New Health System for the 21st Century” which focused not only on patient safety but on bridging the gap between the right health care and the actual care that people may receive. To modify the quality of care, the Institute of Medicine set the Six Aims for Improvement which served as the framework ...

In the report from the conference “Error in Medicine: The Role of Morbidity & Mortality Conference,” Vincent Liu report that increasing cases of errors involving doctors and patients had led to a national concern on the very issue. Lui report that while it could be assumed that medical errors only affect patients, it was found that physicians were equally affected. The conference was dubbed M& M which was acronym for Morbidity and Mortality. In the conference, doctors discussed modalities that would be applicable in an attempt to reduce such occurrences (Lui, p.1). Lui writes that a report released on patient safety ...

- Introduction and Purpose - Human Factors are responsible for a high number of preventable accidents in Anesthesia practice. It is important that procedures insure the successful transfer of patient care information to different providers for various reasons such as: breaks, meals, and shift changes (Wright, 2013). An ineffective handover programs impacts patient care negatively, due to avoidable error resulting from lack of, or incorrect communications (Klim, et al, 2013) - Practitioners agree that appropriate handover procedures are usually clinical decisions decided at the bed side (Klim, et al, 2013). Errors can likely be avoided if procedures are ...

Healthcare services are changing in the modern scenario. The society expects high quality care and services from the sector. This has increased the pressure by office administrator and healthcare practitioners to ensure that patients are given the required care without compromise. In order for this to be a reality, it is imperative for the human resource administrator to encourage effective performance and quality healthcare from the staff. This is a crucial requirement in the efforts to avoid malpractices, which are detrimental for healthcare providers and hospitals. This requires constant appraisals in order to ensure that the hospital staff is providing the ...