Improvement Plan with Evidence-Based and Best-Practice Strategies NURSFPX4020 Capella University Safety Improvement Plan Analysis 

Improvement Plan with Evidence-Based and Best-Practice Strategies NURSFPX4020 Capella University Safety Improvement Plan Analysis 

Improvement Plan with Evidence-Based and Best-Practice Strategies

The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention definition of medication errors emphasizes their preventability (Tariq et al., 2022). Various quality improvement plans can be implemented to prevent medication errors in the aforementioned scenario.

My improvement plan for this seating will include three actions: incorporate technology in prescription, conduct bedside shift reporting, and conduct mandatory medication reconciliation at every point of care transition. As aforementioned, transitions in patient care provide the most chances for medication errors. Therefore, they can also provide the best opportunity for clinicians to prevent these errors.

Implementing CPOEs and CDSS will assist the clinician with prescription and decision-making by providing alerts and warning for potential medication safety risks. These technologies also provide clinicians with platforms for communication and collaboration. They will make the process of interdisciplinary collaboration and coordination efficient.

The last part of the plan is to implement bedside shift reporting to provide an opportunity for medication reconciliation. Handing over at the patient’s bedside will enhance care collaboration that will also be patient-centered, thus lowering the risk for patient safety concerns.

This plan aims are preventing future medication errors and empower interdisciplinary participation in the unit through the three strategies. Expected outcomes include reduced patient medication adverse events, improved patient satisfaction, reduced patient stay, and improved patient-centeredness in care. Implementation of the plan will adopt a PDSA cycle process for projects. Completion of the first cycle can take about three months, and regular monitoring and evaluations will be conducted to ensure project effectiveness.

Existing Organizational Resources

Implementation of the above quality and safety improvement plan will require human and technological resources. While it aims at solving the human shortage at the same time, this plan will require the human skills to actualize the technological plans. A health information system will be the first essential resource for plan implementation.

Human resources that would be required include nurse informaticists and healthcare system technologists. An electronic health information system is required to support various technologies that would be implemented to actualize the project plans. Existing resources in the organization include human resources and electronic health records.

Conclusion

The medication safety issue involved a young adult, a postoperative patient, who received a morphine overdose jeopardizing his safety. Root cause analysis revealed various root causes of medication safety: poor communication, understaffing, and poor care transitioning. Evidence-based literature has documented the above causes, either personal or contextual. Medication administration has been a significant source of medication errors.

Strategies to reduce these errors have included medication reconciliation, health technology use, and interdisciplinary teams. Communication, collaboration, and coordination have been effective in patient safety risk reduction. The quality improvement plan to address the issue included implementation of CDSS, using CPOE, and implementing bedside shift reporting. Human resources and electronic health records are vital resources that will be required to actualize this plan.

NURSFPX4020 Capella University Safety Improvement Plan Analysis Paper References

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2018, August). Care Coordination. Ahrq.gov. https://www.ahrq.gov/ncepcr/care/coordination.html
• Center for Drug Evaluation, & Research. (2019, August 23). Working to Reduce Medication Errors. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/information-consumers-and-patients-drugs/working-reduce-medication-errors
• MacDowell, P., Cabri, A., & Davis, M. (2021). Medication Administration Errors. Intensive Care Medicine.  Order Now