Capella 4900 Assessment 2 Strategies to Improve Quality of Care, Enhance Patient Safety and Reduce Costs

Capella 4900 Assessment 2 Strategies to Improve Quality of Care, Enhance Patient Safety and Reduce Costs

Strategies to Improve Quality of Care, Enhance Patient Safety and Reduce Costs

Health information technologies or Digital Health Technologies are effective strategies to improve quality of care which have the potential to enhance patient safety and reduce costs. One of these digital health technologies includes the use of Electronic Medical Records (EMR). EMR is the digital way of recording patient data and clinical information in the form of data elements. The benefit of using EMR is that it organizes, stores, and shows related clinical information by deriving key data elements from current and previous EMR documentation. Furthermore, it has the features of notifying healthcare professionals with timely reminders and online alerts when patients are not following established guidelines (Martin et al., 2023).

Physicians and nurses can use EMR technology to improve the quality of care and patient safety in hypertensive patients. The comprehensive patient information entered into EMR provides health professionals with easier access to patient’s medical history such as blood pressure readings, medications, laboratory readings, and treatment plans. This comprehensive and concise view of all hypertension-related data of patients will enable health providers to make informed and wise decisions. This will improve the quality of care and enhance patient safety as there will be fewer chances of treatment and medication errors (Lopez et al., 2019). For example, in Brian’s case, nurses can monitor his blood pressure regularly and record them in EMR data. 

Capella 4900 Assessment 2

Furthermore, seamless communication through EMR across the healthcare department will improve care coordination in hypertension management. EMR can potentially reduce costs to the health system and patient as the patient information is stored in digital form, less paper-based resources will be required for recording health data. Patients will be less likely to face errors and further health interventions can be avoided which will reduce the costs for patients. Additionally, this EMR can be connected to home-based self-monitoring of blood pressure data so that health professionals also get notified about Brian’s hypertension readings (Rodriguez et al., 2019).

Another strategy to improve the quality of care, patient safety, and reduced costs is teaching Brian and other patients like him about self-management of hypertension. With educational sessions on lifestyle modifications, self-monitoring, and medication adherence, the quality of care delivered is improved as patients will be engaged in healthy and educational activities with health providers. These strategies are effective in managing and treating hypertension as their main aim is to control blood pressure and reduce the onset of any cardiovascular complication.

Capella 4900 Assessment 2

The available sources of relevant benchmark data include the target blood pressure levels recommended by American Heart Association is less than 120/80 mmHg for most patients. Furthermore, population health metrics associated with hypertension and EMR also act as benchmark data for the assessment of the overall health status and outcomes of populations. These metrics include the prevalence of hypertension, rates of cardiovascular events (e.g. heart attack, heart failure, strokes), and the impact of EMR implementation on these outcomes (Casey et al., 2019).

Conclusion

Hypertension is a chronic illness that is untreatable and requires management strategies. If medical attention is not provided to hypertensive patients, it is probable that hypertension will negatively impact the quality of care due to enhanced complications associated with hypertension. This will further affect patient safety and increases costs. As hypertension management requires multiple medications, a nutritious diet, and self-management facilities which enhance the economic burden on the patient and the system as well. The PCNA provides resources for nurses to practice in the management of hypertension which guide nurses in developing an intervention. The governmental policy of ACA has provisions related to patients with chronic ailments like hypertension which permits them to have enhanced health insurance coverage and decreases their financial burden. EMR and Self-manage education programs on hypertension are effective strategies to manage hypertension and can improve the quality of care, enhance patient safety and reduce costs.

References

American Heart Association. (2022, March 4). Health threats from high blood pressure. htt