NURS FPX 6218 Assessment 1 Proposing Evidence-Based Change

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NURS-FPX6218: Leading the Future of HealthCare

Instructor’s Name

October 2024

Proposing Evidence-Based Change

Healthcare organizations are responsible for improving the quality of outcomes for patients and ensuring the safety of their health (Bhati et al., 2023). Effective results in the healthcare setting can be obtained by identifying the major health issues of a specific community and implementing change practices using evidence to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of the treatment provided to the patients. Evidence-based practices always ensure that the treatment and care quality provided to the patients must be effective in improving the outcomes of the patients. The proposed changes were dependent on specific issues and can be implemented effectively by identifying the desirable outcomes. This proposal will also define the rationale behind the proposed change by analyzing the two non-US healthcare organizations that have implemented the change for the effectiveness of patient outcomes. The determination of financial and health implications on the organizations is necessary to ensure that the changes are best for the improvement of the practices of the healthcare providers.

Executive Summary

Proposed Change

Healthcare organizations are responsible for providing care quality to patients by improving the strategies designed for the positive outcomes of the patients. The patient transition involves effective communication and coordination among the staff members and the clinical settings to ensure the effective transition of the patients and enhanced patient outcomes regarding the care coordination provided to them (Earl et al., 2020). However, during the shift changes of the nursing staff most of the time problems like missing information, and inaccurate data occur which are mainly due to poor handoff approaches and ineffective communication among the staff members. These problems can cause major health issues involving delays in managing the health situation of the patients. This may also lead to negative patient outcomes, complications due to ineffective treatment, or delays which will have the worst impact on the clinical settings and performance of the staff members.

Digital Handoffs

The health issues regarding the ineffective communication about the handoffs among the shifting nurses can be effectively resolved using digital handoffs which are effective in reducing the rate of errors occurring due to the inability of the staff members to provide quality information about the patient situation to the healthcare providers (Blazin et al., 2020). Technology intervention is always suitable for the improvement of the practices that are being considered ineffective due to the lack of efficiency of the staff members.

Local or Regional Healthcare System for a Proposed Change

The change that is necessary to be implemented from the perspective of the local or regional healthcare system is the improvement of communication between the healthcare providers regarding the effective transition of the patient from one healthcare setting to another for the betterment of the health situation of the patient ​​(Sheehan et al., 2021). This communication is mostly affected due to the poor coordination among the shifting nurses regarding the transition of handoffs at the end of the shifts for a better understanding of the other staff members to ensure the quality outcomes of the patients. This effective management of the handoffs can be improved through the implementation of digital handoffs that are more effective and accurate in managing patient information completely and accurately for the positive response of the patients. This digital integration helps in the reduction of health disparities and increases the life span of the patients by introducing early intervention of the healthcare providers.

Expectations for Improvement Sustainability

The expectation related to the implementation of digital handoffs in clinical settings for the improvement in the health outcomes of the patients and increasing the life span of patients by validating the sustainability of the digital tools in providing quality feedback to the patients is given below;

  • The decrease in the rate of medical errors is one of the most effective factors of the implementation of digital handoffs in the clinical facility.
  • The enhancement of the response of the patients can be ensured through the use of digital handoffs as it reduces the long stays of patients and the rate of hospital readmissions.
  • The integration of digital handoffs will reduce the work burden of the nursing staff thus increasing their level of satisfaction and improving their efficiency in generating positive patient outcomes.
  • The technology intervention can only be effective through the integration of HIPAA guidelines which are necessary for the prevention of patient security and safety.

Desirable Outcomes

​​The outcomes are always the major factor in the implementation of any healthcare practice change as they help in the determination of the effectiveness of the clinical facility and the impact of impact on the response of the patients. A few desirable outcomes regarding the implementation of digital handoffs are given below;

  • Increasing the health safety of the patients by reducing the rate of health damages or near-miss events that occur due to ineffective communication and care coordination among the staff members.
  • The rate of hospital readmissions is also reduced by the implementation of digital handoffs as they are effectively monitoring the patient situation.
  • The reduction in the rate of hospital readmission and the prevention of near misses or health damage events results in the improvement of cost management of the clinical setting.
  • The satisfaction of the staff members is always the major factor in the implementation of any change practice and the digital handoffs effectively reduce staff burden increasing the level of staff satisfaction.

Payers for Care

The care for the patients is the responsibility of all the stakeholders involved in the medical setting thus ensuring the quality of treatment provided to the patients. Healthcare organizations are responsible for paying for the changes in practice that are applied for the reduction of health disparities and improvement of positive patient responses (Wasserman et al., 2019). They will afford the cost of the training programs conducted for the training purpose of the staff members regarding the implementation of the digital handoffs. Moreover, the health insurance providers are responsible for taking care of the financial resources needed for the sustainability of the digital handoffs in the clinical facility.

Factors Limiting Achievements

The major factors that are creating hindrances in the way of the successful implementation of digital handoffs include the concern and resistance of the staff members regarding the change in practice along with considering the cost and financial resources required for the installation and application of digital handoffs in the healthcare facility. The integration of new technologies in the clinical facility can be difficult for both the organization and the staff members considering the time it will take to collaborate with the existing technologies (Pijnen, 2022). The digital handoffs also require effective and advanced care coordination and HIPAA-aligned strategies to ensure the safety of the patients.

Reasoning for Changes Leading to Improved Outcomes

The identification of the health issue is the major step in the implementation of change practices that will lead to the improvement in the outcomes of the patients. The gaps in communication and ineffective care coordination issues are effectively addressed in the practice change which will ultimately lead to positive outcomes for the patients (Tiwary et al., 2019). By addressing the root cause of the health issues this approach leads to the real-time monitoring of the patient information thus increasing the positive response of the patients and reducing errors related to inaccurate information thus ensuring the uniformity of the information. The change will improve the patient satisfaction level and increase the well-being of the staff members. Below are provided few outcomes of the practice change;

  • The change in practice will ensure effective and improved communication between the healthcare providers thus validating the quality of care provided to the patients.
  • It ensures that important information regarding patient safety is effectively transferred between the shifting nurses without any missing information.
  •  The decrease in the rate of hospital readmissions is also one of the major cost-effective factors of digital handoffs.
  • The prevention of delay in deteriorating health conditions and the introduction of early interventions are necessary for the elimination of health disparities.
  • The elimination of health damages results in the saving of the cost and improving the financial condition of the healthcare setting.
  • The satisfaction level of the staff members increased due to the reduction in the work burden thus improving the flow of work at the clinical setting.

Well Substantiated Conclusions

It has been concluded from the provided information that the implementation of digital handoffs helps in the development of a positive healthcare environment and increases the rate of patient satisfaction by providing quality care and health services to the patients (Blazin et al., 2020). Moreover, healthcare organizations also benefit from digital handoffs as they effectively ensure the satisfaction of both patients and staff members.

Analysis of Two Non-US Healthcare Systems

To understand the effectiveness of digital handoffs in the United States healthcare facility it is necessary to identify their efficiency in non-US clinical settings which have implemented digital handoffs. The analysis of the two medical facilities is given below;

Sweden’s National Health System

The basic purpose of this healthcare facility is to ensure the care provided to the patient is based on patient-centered strategies and effective in improving the outcome of the patients regarding the treatment and care coordination provided to them (Kuipers et al., 2019). This organization helps in the improvement of the communication between the healthcare providers and the shifting nurses to ensure that the patient information is effectively coordinated among the team members for the improvement in the response of the patients. This healthcare facility has implemented a digital handoff system through the integration of electronic health records (EHR) which are most effective in keeping the information accurate and maintained for the real-time monitoring of the health situation of the patients. The sharing of patient information through EHR holds great significance in reducing the rate of health disparities and increasing the level of patient satisfaction.

United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS)

The NHS is working globally to improve the response of patient satisfaction with care coordination by improving the standards and approaches of communication between the staff members and the shifting nurses (Khan, 2023). The NHS implemented SBAR along with the implementation of digital handoffs to ensure that the use of the technology in the clinical setting is effective and helps in the reduction of health disparities. This integration of technology ensures a major reduction in the rate of errors that occur due to ineffective communication and care coordination among the team members thus preventing large-scale health damages and increasing the life span of the patients.

Lessons Learned

The implementation of digital handoffs in the clinical setting must be made effective and ensure that they are made standard for communication purposes among the shifting nurses. The integration of SBAR and EHR ensures that these systems are effectively transferring patient information and completely ensuring the safety and security of patient medical data by reducing the errors in the medications and preventing health care disparities (Hamad & Bah, 2022). They also reduce the rate of hospital readmissions by providing effective and quality care to the patients. This change in practice is responsible for decreasing the workload of the staff members, increasing the well-being and satisfaction of the members, and improving the workflow thus creating a positive health environment.

Financial and Health Implications

The identification of financial and health implications of the implementation and not the implementation of the practice change on the patients, staff members, and the healthcare organizations is necessary to understand the areas of concern and the necessary adjustments that need to be made for the positive health outcomes of the patients.

Implications of Implementation

The implementation impacts of digital handoffs in the clinical setting are necessary to be identified to understand the effectiveness of the applied technology and its impact on all the stakeholders involved. Listed below are the implications of the implementation of the digital handoffs;

  • The reduction in the rate of hospital readmissions is due to the prevention of health damage.
  • Increasing the rate of patient satisfaction and well-being thus enhancing the reputation of the healthcare organization.
  • Reducing the cost of readmissions both for the patients and the healthcare providers.
  • Increasing the efficiency of the staff members by reducing the workload and increasing workflow.
  • The use of resources will become more effective by decreasing the rate of hospital readmissions, retests, and so on.
  • The effective and early management of health diseases through the intervention of technology.

Implications of Not Implementation

The financial and health implications of not implementing digital handoffs in the clinical setting are given below;

  • The increase in the rate of health damage is due to the delay in intervention needed to prevent deteriorating conditions.
  • The rate of medication errors will increase, increasing health risks.
  • The readmission rate of the patients will also increase which will create the risks of huge health damages.
  • The decrease in the rate of patient satisfaction will hurt the healthcare setting.
  • Cost of the readmission and retest increases thus creating negative financial impacts on the clinical setting.

NURS FPX 6218 Assessment 1 Conclusion

The identification of the health issue is necessary to ensure that the implemented change in practice is based on evidence and is effective for resolution of the identified problem and increasing the rate of positive patient outcomes. The ineffective communication between the shifting nurses can be improved through the integration of digital handoffs along with the EHR and SBAR to increase patient satisfaction and reduce health issues. The identification of desired outcomes and the rationale behind the change is effective in ensuring the quality feedback of the patients and the staff members. Financial and health implications analysis will provide deep insight into the effectiveness of digital handoffs.

NURS FPX 6218 Assessment 1 References

Bhati, D., Deogade, M. S., & Kanyal, D. (2023). Improving patient outcomes through effective hospital administration: A comprehensive review. Cureus, 15(10). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.47731

Blazin, L. J., Amorn, J., Hoffman, J. M., & Burlison, J. D. (2020). Improving patient handoffs and transitions through adaptation and implementation of I-PASS across multiple handoff settings. Pediatric Quality & Safety, 5(4), e323. https://doi.org/10.1097/pq9.0000000000000323

Earl, T., Katapodis, N., & Schneiderman, S. (2020). Care transitions. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK555516/

Hamad, M. M., & Bah, S. (2022). Impact of implementing electronic health records on medication safety at an HIMSS stage 6 hospital: The pharmacist’s perspective. Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, 75(4), 267–275. https://doi.org/10.4212/cjhp.3223

Khan, Z. (2023). The emerging challenges and strengths of the national health services: A physician perspective. Cureus, 15(5). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.38617

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