Patient Safety

One of the characteristics of an effective and qualityhealthcare system is patient safety. In the health care center, the patient is the consumer of the services, so it is necessary to ensure that appropriate measures are put in place to guarantee safety. When a patient is exposed to harm, various issues arise, and the health facility may be sued for negligence. To avoid such incidences, the facility should embrace a culture that prioritizes patient safety. Every member of the facility should be aware of his/her responsibility in meeting the safety objective.

Elements of Patience Safety

Patient safety is the measures that ahealth facility puts in place to ensure that errors do not occur when caring for the patients, injuries and accidents are prevented, and a patient does not get infected while in the facility (Dekker, 2016). Some of the health facilities prioritize patient safety, but others fail to do so which poses many risks to the patients. Approximately 440,000 people die annually from errors in the health facilities most of which can be prevented if the hospitals took necessary precautions. The errors are classified into contextual errors, diagnostic errors and communication errors.

Communication errors occur when the patient and the health provider cannot understand each other due to the language barrier, or the caregiver lacks knowledge about the profession and is not aware of the consequences of failing to maintain patient safety(Dekker, 2016). Of the total cases of malpractices experienced in hospitals, one third are related to communication challenges. When a patient visits a health facility, he/she is treated by different professionals which means that the level of quality of services received depends on the communication from each person. The errors may also occur when the patient fails to provide adequate information. The nurse in the triage room may, for example, fail to indicate the blood pressure of the patient correctly. The error can have adverse effects on the patient if/she is given medication that further increases or decreases the blood pressure

Diagnostic errors, on the other hand, occur when the practitioner fails to either diagnose the patient, delays the process or gives the wrong diagnosis(Dekker, 2016). For example, a patient may be diagnosed with malaria when they have typhoid. They will end up taking malaria medication which will not be helpful. Diagnostic errors have a dire impact as the patient may die since the medicine that he/she will get will not be beneficial. To avoid such an incident, it is crucial for the health providers to send patients to thelaboratory to get tested before they are given the medication. Multiple tests can be done to reduce the chances of errors hence maintaining patient safety.

The third error that arises in the hospital is a contextual error which occurs due to the failure of understanding of factors such as social support, religion, finances as well accessibility to care(Dekker, 2016). Before the patient can be treated it is essential for the physician to listen to the patient and develop a treatment that is suitable to the patient. For example, a patient may be willing to undertake a surgery but may have responsibilities that cannot be undertaken if he/she undergoes surgery. By listening to the patient, the physician can, therefore, be able to develop a more suitable treatment plan that will not leave the patient unable to do the routine tasks. The patient may also sustain injuries from a slippery floor or falling from the bed.

Analysis

To avoid communication error, it is necessary to have a well laid out guideline on the communication process. If there is a language barrier, the facility should seek services of an interpreter to ensure that everything is understood the way the patient means. The details of the patients should be recorded and transferred to the next physician to avoid confusion(Dekker, 2016). A thorough examination is necessary for ensuring patient safety, and the health providers should dedicate adequate time to listen to a patient before commencing treatment.

Solutions for Patient Safety

Although patient safety affects many health facilities, it can be handled by creating measures to avoid different types of errors which are a threat to safety (Graban, 2016). Communication errors can be avoided by fostering teamwork among health care workers and getting rid of the language barrier by hiring an interpreter. The solution to diagnostic errors is ensuring that the patient is examined thoroughly before the commencement of treatment. The health providers should also dedicate enough time to listen to the patient so that they can understand their other aspects of life which will help develop a treatment plan. However, in the implementation stage, the Environmental Health and Safety department may face challenges as some of the solutions may be considered illegal.

Conclusion

Patient safety means ensuring that all necessary measures are put in place to ensure that no patient is injured or infected and that are errors that are likely to occur in the facility are prevented. Communication errors, contextual errors and diagnostic errors are likely to happen so health care workers should be dedicated to playing their prevention role effectively. The patients should be examined thoroughly before they are put in medication. Additionally, the physicians should ensure that the contextual factors are considered when developing a treatment plan and that all information about the patient is shared to other practitioners who will attend to the patient.

References

Dekker, S. (2016). Patient safety: a human factors approach. CRC Press.

Graban, M. (2016). Lean hospitals: improving quality, patient safety, and employee engagement. Productivity Press.

 
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