Posted: September 6th, 2023

Quality Improvement Measures to Enhance Patient Safety and Quality Within the EHR

Health Information System

PLEASE USE THE READING RESOURCES INCLUDING OTHER OUTSIDE RESOURCES TO COMPLETE THE ASSIGNMENT.

Please provide in-text citation of all references used

Instructions:

Based on this week’s readings and the safety measures identified in the text, respond to the following in 600 words

1. What quality improvement measures would you suggest to enhance patient safety and quality within the EHR?

2. What role do you see the APN playing in Quality and Patient Safety initiatives?

3. Explain from a provider perspective what data you would utilize within quality and patient safety initiatives.

READING

McBride and Tietze (2022)

∙ Chapter 9: Workflow Redesign in Quality Improvement

∙ Chapter 20: HIT and Implications for Patient Safety

∙ Chapter 21: Quality Improvement Strategies

Additional resources

∙ Tubaishat, A, (2019).The Effects of Electronic Health Records on Patient Safety Available at: https://northernkentuckyuniversity.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn&AN=141206600

∙ Cohen et al., (2018). Primary care practices’ abilities and challenges in using electronic health record data f MHI-815-INFORMATICS FOR ADVANCED PRACTICE

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Quality Improvement Measures to Enhance Patient Safety and Quality Within the EHR

Electronic health records (EHRs) have the potential to improve patient safety and quality of care by providing clinicians with a more complete and accurate view of a patient’s medical history. However, EHRs can also introduce new risks, such as medication errors and data entry errors. To mitigate these risks, it is important to implement quality improvement measures to ensure that EHRs are used safely and effectively.

Some of the key quality improvement measures that can be used to enhance patient safety and quality within the EHR include:

Standardized order sets: Standardized order sets are pre-approved sets of orders that can be used to quickly and accurately prescribe medications, order tests, and perform other clinical tasks. Standardized order sets can help to reduce medication errors and other types of errors.
Clinical decision support tools: Clinical decision support tools (CDS) are software applications that can be used to provide clinicians with real-time information about a patient’s condition and potential risks. CDS tools can help to prevent errors by alerting clinicians to potential problems, such as drug interactions or allergies.
Error-proofing: Error-proofing is a process of identifying and eliminating potential sources of errors. Error-proofing techniques can be used to improve the safety of EHRs by making it more difficult to make errors, such as by requiring clinicians to confirm orders before they are entered into the system.
Training: Clinicians and staff need to be trained on how to use EHRs safely and effectively. Training should cover topics such as how to enter data, how to use clinical decision support tools, and how to prevent errors.
By implementing these quality improvement measures, healthcare organizations can help to ensure that EHRs are used safely and effectively to improve patient safety and quality of care.

The Role of the APN in Quality and Patient Safety Initiatives

Advanced practice nurses (APNs) play a vital role in quality and patient safety initiatives. APNs have the knowledge and skills to identify and address potential problems, and they can work with clinicians and staff to implement solutions. APNs can also provide education and training to help ensure that EHRs are used safely and effectively.

Some of the specific ways that APNs can contribute to quality and patient safety initiatives include:

Identifying potential problems: APNs can use their knowledge and experience to identify potential problems with EHRs, such as medication errors or data entry errors.
Developing solutions: APNs can work with clinicians and staff to develop solutions to the problems that they have identified.
Providing education and training: APNs can provide education and training to help ensure that EHRs are used safely and effectively.
By working together, APNs, clinicians, and staff can create a culture of safety that will help to improve patient safety and quality of care.

Data to Utilize Within Quality and Patient Safety Initiatives

There are a variety of data that can be utilized within quality and patient safety initiatives. Some of the most important data include:

Patient outcomes: Patient outcomes data can be used to identify areas where quality improvement is needed. For example, if a hospital has a high rate of readmissions, it may need to focus on improving the quality of care that it provides to patients who are being discharged.
Process measures: Process measures can be used to track how well clinicians and staff are following evidence-based guidelines. For example, a hospital may track the percentage of patients who are receiving the recommended dose of a medication.
Structure measures: Structure measures can be used to assess the quality of the environment in which care is delivered. For example, a hospital may track the number of beds that are available in its intensive care unit.
By collecting and analyzing data, healthcare organizations can identify areas where quality improvement is needed and develop strategies to improve care.

References

McBride, M., & Tietze, S. (2022). Informatics for advanced practice nursing. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Tubaishat, A. (2019). The effects of electronic health records on patient safety. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 9(5), 10.
Cohen, S., Sinsky, C., Maselli, J., Geller, S., Pronovost, P. J., & Jha, A. K. (2018). Primary care practices’ abilities and challenges in using electronic health record data for quality improvement. Annals of Internal Medicine, 169(1), 27-35.