NR 451 Week 4 Discussion – Evaluating Quality Patient Outcomes

Week 4: Evaluating Quality Patient Outcomes How can data provide information to evaluate quality patient outcomes? Give an example of data that can reflect poor quality in care. How can quality improvement be a daily task in patient care? Why does continuous quality improvement need to be associated with change? In my facility, valuable data collected is used for the basis of decision making to improve quality, performance, and achieve desirable outcomes. Statistical evidence evaluated along with clinical significance, determines the usefulness of the results as evidence for practice (Houser, 2018, pg. 379). Data collection and evaluation by the nurse establishes the basis of all interventions in the plan of care of the patient. Utilizing data to support implementation of protocols that have proven outcomes, aids in the decision of certain interventions. Patient experience is an outcome that we are concentrating on at my facility. There is a team collecting data through patient surveys and interviews with the patient just prior to discharge on the effectiveness of hourly rounding by the nurse. After taking my car in for service I am asked I am asked to rate the quality of the service performed and if my problem is fixed. For the patient, has there been an improvement of symptoms because of the care provided? I wonder if there is anything to gain from making use of patient satisfaction data. Does high patient satisfaction mean high quality care was delivered? Quality, according to the Institute of Medicine (2001), is the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge. Quality indicators are the standards. Poor quality indicators such as death, disease, disability, discomfort, and dissatisfaction, are areas for definite improvement. Positive indicators are achievement of appropriate self-care, demonstration of health-promoting behaviors, health related quality of life, perception of being well cared for, and symptom management to criterion (Hughes, 2008). An example of poor data that reflect poor quality of care would be the negligence of reporting near miss events. In my safety coach training, I learned that most adverse events are preventable. If we are not able to gather data of near miss events, we are not able to make a change in practice that prevent and adverse event from occurring. My facility makes it easy to report such events electronically and anonymously, but it is perceived as tedious. As a result, the same errors are sometimes reported in safety huddle numerous times. Everyone would agree that we all want high quality healthcare. Quality improvement should be a daily task in patient care. Nurses should be seeking out ways for improvement in patient and environmental safety, delivery of timely, effective, and efficient care, that is patient centered. There is still a great need for more investigation in measuring and improving the quality of care in all healthcare settings. Continuous quality improvement must be associated with change. A good example of this is in our lesson this week how nursing care has changed and evolved from total patient care to patient centered care. The systematic, databased monitoring, and evaluation of organizational process, is nonstop to achieve the end goal of continuous improvement (Houser, 2018). Reporting of safety issues is top priority so we can improve the way things are done. High quality care usually is associated probability of good outcomes, but not always. Despite our best nursing care, based on data providing evidenced based practice, life for everyone is terminable. References Chamberlain College of Nursing. (2017). NR451: RN Capstone Course: Week 4 Lesson, Continuous Quality Improvement for Improved Patient Outcomes. St. Louis, MO: DeVry Education Group. Houser, J. (2018). Nursing research: Reading, using, and creating evidence (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett. Hughes, R. G. (Ed.). (2008). Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Institute of Medicine (2001). Committee on Quality of Health Care in America. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; Retrieved from: