NR 392 Week 2 Discussion: Quality Improvement Processes (RATED A+)

NR 392 Week 2 Discussion: Quality Improvement Processes (RATED A+) Hello Professor and Class Why is it important to have a structured process to approach and improve nursing care quality? Structure is an important component when improving nursing care quality. It is important to know what barriers are challenges nurses face in order to come up with a structure that will improve quality of care. “To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System,” created a public awareness on medical errors and patient safety (Lanham, 2003). Having a structured process is part of building an organizations reputation which in turn boost the community confidence and trust for the organization. Imagine a health care organization without structure facing challenges like; hospital acquired infections, medication error, surgical errors etc. It will be disastrous for patients because each care member will be caring for patient in a way that they think is right. In order to combat these issues, the health care industry have to come up with a structured process including rules and regulations and solutions on how to deal with situations that arises while caring for a patients. With the industries need to provide structure to health industry, the Six Sigma and Lean approaches were established. How can use of this structured process help to improve quality nursing care in your setting? The Six Sigma approach aims at reducing variation while improving on the quality of care (Sherwood, 2012). With the current cost of health care during the recent years, most facilities are trying to manage resources, provide excellent care while decreasing cost. For example serious patient falls occurring in the hospital are associated with $4,200 in excess costs and 12, days in excess length of stay (Lanham, 2003). Even though the health care industry priority is patient care and safety, from a business stand point, they are also looking forward in making profits. The Lean approach focuses on reduction of waste. The goal is improve quality while eliminating waste. This approach could be utilized by my organization. On the unit we take care of stroke and respiratory patients. We see a lot of wastage with the metered dose inhalers. Metered dose inhalers are very costly and sometimes used as recue inhalers, it will be reasonable to give patients their leftover medications, especially those patients without insurance. Giving them the remainder of their inhaler allows them time to get new inhalers in the community through their pharmacy or charitable organizations. It also prevents them from coming back to the emergency room or getting admitted within 30 days of discharge which further increases health care cost. As a nurse we are allow to advocate for our patient by asking the doctor to write an order which will allow you give the medication to the patient. References: Lanham, B., & Maxson-Cooper, P. (2003). Is six sigma the answer for nursing to reduce medical errors and enhance patient safety? Nursing Economic$, 21(1), 39-41, 38.