Week 6: Accountability for Clinical Outcomes and Promoting Safety and Quality

Introduction

Throughout your education, patient safety and improving the quality of patient care have been examined. Through numerous readings and media pieces, you have heard about Never Events. These are serious and costly medical errors that are preventable, such as wrong-side surgery, medication errors, and hospital-acquired infections. Each of these types of medical errors is preventable. The consequences of such errors are now financial as well as legal and emotional. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services no longer reimburse for medical errors classified as Never Events.

As a nurse, how can you help to prevent these types of medical errors? What is your accountability for clinical outcomes? There are standards and core measures in place that guide nursing practice. In addition, the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) examines those components of clinical care that are specific to nursing. The NDNQI quantifies, or assesses, these nurse-sensitive components and provides specific feedback on how well nursing practice is being executed in those areas related to patient care.

This week, you will consider a series of articles that focus on strategies for ensuring safety and quality care for patients. You will also explore how successful, efficient teamwork between nurses, nursing leaders, physicians, and other medical personnel can help prevent many of the Never Events from occurring and decrease the likelihood of such events in the future.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Analyze the core measures and standards for nursing practice that promote patient safety and quality of care outcomes
• Analyze the impact of the nurse’s role in clinical outcomes for organizations
• Analyze nurse-specific challenges for influencing change in quality improvement
• Analyze the role of the nurse in supporting the organization’s strategic agenda in improving clinical outcomes

Photo Credit: PhotoAlto/Odilon Dimier / PhotoAlto Agency RF Collections / Getty Images

Learning Resources

Prior Knowledge

It is not uncommon for students to be required to complete group projects or to work as part of a team. While obtaining your RN credentials, or at some time in your work career, you have more than likely at some point been part of a unit or a collaborative team. Reflect on that experience of working with others to achieve a common goal. How did the actions of your team members impact your success as a team? Consider how this same philosophy applies within an organization. How might the actions of the individuals influence the success of the organization?

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Amin, A. N., Hofmann, H., Owen, M. M., Tran, H., Tucker, S., & Kaplan, S. H. (2014). Reduce readmissions with service-based care management. Professional Case Management, 19(6), 255–262. doi: 10.1097/NCM.0000000000000051

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Forster, A. J., Dervin, G., Martin, C., & Papp, S. (2012). Improving patient safety through the systematic evaluation of patient outcomes. Canadian Journal of Surgery, 55(6), 419–425. doi: 10.1503/cjs.007811

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Johansen, M. L. (2014). Conflicting priorities: Emergency nurses perceived disconnect between patient satisfaction and the delivery of quality patient care. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 40(1), 13–19. doi: 10.1016/j.jen.2012.04.013

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

McDowell, D. S., & McComb, S. A. (2014). Safety checklist briefings: A systematic review of the literature. AORN, 99(1), 125–137. doi: 10.1016/j.orn.2013.11.015

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Payne, D. (2014). Elderly care: Reflecting on that ultimate ‘never event.’ British Journal of Nursing, 23(13), 702. doi: 10.12968/bjon.2014.23.13.702

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Thornlow, D. K., & Merwin, E. (2009). Managing to improve quality: The relationship between accreditation standards, safety practices, and patient outcomes. Health Care Management Review, 34(3), 262–272. doi: 10.1097/HMR.0b013e3181a16bce

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

American Hospital Association. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.aha.org/

 

Explore the American Hospital Association’s website. Focus on the information on improving patient safety and quality of care.

American Organization of Nurse Executives. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.aone.org

 

“Since 1967, the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) has provided leadership, professional development, advocacy and research to advance nursing practice and patient care, promote nursing leadership excellence and shape public policy for health care nationwide. AONE is a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association” (AONE, 2016).

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Quality of care center. Retrieved August 11, 2016, from http://www.cms.gov/Center/Special-Topic/Quality-of-Care-Center.html?redirect=/center/quality.asp

 

Most health care organizations receive some amount of reimbursement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Reimbursement continues to be jeopardized and reduced by pay for performance standards. Health care organizations are being held to higher standards by CMS. Explore the standards set to improve patient safety and the quality of care. Consider how they affect acute care providers and nursing practice.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2016). Health and Medicine Division. Retrieved from http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/

 

The Health and Medicine Division (HMD) promotes policies and best practices in an effort to improve patient safety and delivery of quality care. Review a few of the publications available at this site.

The Joint Commission. (2016). National Quality Forum (NQF) endorsed nursing-sensitive care performance measures. Retrieved from http://www.jointcommission.org/national_quality_forum_nqf_endorsed_nursing-sensitive_care_performance_measures/

 

The Joint Commission (TJC) also accredits health care organizations. Through funding provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Joint Commission developed the Implementation Guide for the National Quality Forum (NQF) Endorsed Nursing-Sensitive Care Performance Measures. Review this guide as you consider how core measures and national guidelines improve nursing practice.

Required Media

Laureate Education. (Producer). (2009b). Topics in clinical nursing: Accountability for clinical outcomes and promoting safety and quality [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

 

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 15 minutes.

 

Discussion: Promoting Safety and Quality

In the article “Managing to Improve Quality: The Relationship Between Accreditation Standards, Safety Practices, and Patient Outcomes,” the authors discuss the growing trend by medical insurance companies to eliminate reimbursement for Never Events. As these types of mistakes should be easily preventable, hospitals have developed protocols to lessen or extinguish the occurrence of these events. In addition, The Joint Commission (TJC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have developed core measures to guide health care providers’ efforts in improving patient safety and the quality of care delivered.

Health care organizations have developed strategic agendas to help meet these standards and reduce the incidence of Never Events. Nurses significantly influence the overall quality of health care provided and play a pivotal role in improving patient outcomes.

For this Discussion, you will consider the standards that are in place for nurses and how they can be used to improve quality of care.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review the information at the Joint Commission and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services websites on the core measures and standards presented in this week’s Learning Resources.
• Consider the nurse’s role in supporting the organization’s strategic agenda as it relates to improving clinical outcomes.
• Conduct an Internet search for either a Never Event or a core measure, and select one to address in your post.

By Day 3

Respond to the following:

• How has the emphasis on quality of care, patient safety, and clinical care outcomes been impacted by specific standards emanating from TJC and/or CMS? Cite your selected core measure or Never Event in your response.
• What is the impact of the nurse’s role in clinical outcomes for the organization?
• Discuss nurse-specific challenges in influencing change in quality improvement.
• How does this influence the ability of the organization to achieve its strategic agenda?

Support your response with references from the professional nursing literature.

Note Initial Post: A 3-paragraph (at least 250–350 words) response. Be sure to use evidence from the readings and include in-text citations. Utilize essay-level writing practice and skills, including the use of transitional material and organizational frames. Avoid quotes; paraphrase to incorporate evidence into your own writing. A reference list is required. Use the most current evidence (usually ≤ 5 years old).

Read two or more of your colleagues’ postings from the Discussion question (support with evidence if indicated).