Assessment 1: Enhancing Quality and Safety – Inadequate Patient Education in Healthcare

Patient education is one of the linchpins for guaranteeing safety and ensuring optimal health outcomes occur wherever there is care involved. Sometimes, a lack of proper information about the health problem, treatment alternatives, and care has created severe risks that lead to undesirable consequences. Besides, healthcare has become very complex, with patients being unique individuals, making effective education challenging. Poor patient education results in critical issues, such as medication errors, missed appointments, and mismanagement of chronic illnesses, factors that put patient safety at risk and inflate the cost of healthcare.

Factors Contributing to Poor Patient Education

Several factors account for the inadequate patient education in health facilities. Complexity, which might be incomprehensible to the patients, is one of the major causes of medical information. A majority of the patients have a limited health literacy level; thereby, a lack of comprehension might arise about the medical terminology used, diagnosis, or even the implications brought about by specific treatment options (Bastami et al., 2022; Jung & Roh, 2020; Tsiamparlis-Wildeboer et al., 2020). Additionally, healthcare providers are always in a hurry and hardly able to create enough time for proper teaching. The fast-movement environment adds to the heavy workload that nurses and physicians often grapple with, reducing the capacity for proper patient teaching.

Other factors include the patient’s psychological and emotional status. In this regard, a patient can fail to retain or understand health information during health visits due to fear, anxiety, or confusion over health status, as indicated by literature provided by Bastami et al. (2022), Jung & Roh, 2020, and Tsiamparlis-Wildeboer et al. (2020). Cultural and language barriers are another critical complication between clinical providers and patients, leading to increased communication with misunderstandings and inadequate education.

Evidence-Based and Best-Practice Solutions

In light of this patient education problem, healthcare organizations can apply evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs. The most widely used best practice in this regard is appropriate educational interventions reflecting a patient’s literacy level, language, and cultural background (Ricci et al., 2021).  All medical information should be made plain and depicted with the help of pictures and teaching aids, such as pamphlets and videos, that could bridge the gap between complicated terms and the patient’s understanding.

Another strategy is the active engagement of the patient through the use of technology to deliver education. Telehealth platforms, patient portals, and mobile health applications offer access to resources for patients to become educated about their condition, as well as reminders regarding medication administration and instructions related to care plans (Schooley et al., 2020). This tool allows the patient to be in an active role in managing their health, specifically when being discharged from a hospital. The online and interactive digital channels offer a far more engaging education in which patients can ask questions, play video tutorials, and even receive step-by-step instructions on the management of their health condition.

Health professionals should also employ the “teach-back” method, where patients are asked to repeat in their own words what they have been taught. This ascertains whether the patient has understood the information correctly and presents an opportunity to identify and clarify any misunderstandings (Yen & Leasure, 2019). It is a means that has proved effective in improving patient comprehension and adherence to treatment plans.

Nurses’ Role in Coordinating Care

Improving patient education and care coordination is critical to enhancing patient safety, and nurses are integral to this process. As first-line caregivers, nurses spend more time with patients than any other health professional category and are thus better positioned to understand their patients’ educational needs (American Nurses Association, 2024; Flaubert, 2021). Through these frequent contacts, nurses can provide continuous patient education throughout the patient’s journey to help him be well-informed about his condition, treatment, and follow-up care.

With that in mind, nurses can further ensure appropriate communication between the patient and other professionals collaborating on the case and confirm that appropriate information transmission takes place. Nurses, for example, can reinforce the information given by physicians and specialists, reinforce instruction, and help patients understand why they get specific treatments (American Nurses Association, 2024; Flaubert, 2021). Additionally, nurses can support their patients in responding to various problems or queries during the treatment process and find ways to minimize confusion and anxiety.

To advance patient safety and reduce costs, nurses can create and provide a personalized education plan for the patient. This process should consider the patient’s literacy level, cultural background, and learning style. Personalizing education will enable the nurse to improve patient concordance with treatment regimens and reduce hospital readmission, ultimately leading to better health outcomes.

Stakeholders in Coordinating Safety Enhancements

Numerous stakeholders are engaged in promoting safety improvement initiatives related to patient education. These include health administrators, physicians, nursing staff, patient educators, and patients (Laurisz et al., 2023). Collaboration among such stakeholders will ensure that patient education is approached from various dimensions so that a variety of patient’s needs and the healthcare system’s requirements are satisfied.

Health Care Administrators can provide resources to facilitate effective patient education through staff training programs, patient education materials, and technology integration. In setting patient education as an organization’s quality improvement initiative, administrators prioritize building a culture of patient empowerment and safety. Physicians also play an important role in patient education. Although their time with patients may be limited, they must explain diagnoses and treatment options in a form that the patients will understand. Therefore, they must work in close contact with nurses to achieve consistency and clarity of information throughout their contact with the patient (Laurisz et al., 2023).

Consistently, the patient educators and care coordinators can provide additional support by engaging the patients in more in-depth educational sessions and ensuring access to resources. They can even go as far as developing patient-friendly education materials using best practices. The other stakeholders to be considered are the patient and family members themselves (Laurisz et al., 2023). Better health outcomes arise when there is a higher degree of active participation from the patient or their caregiver since they will follow treatment plans and follow through with care more effectively when they fully understand how they can take an active part in their health management.

Conclusion

Patient safety is still in jeopardy due to ineffective patient education. Poor education causes avoidable complications, increases healthcare costs, and results in unfavorable health outcomes. Factors contributing to the problem include time constraints, limited health literacy, and cultural or language barriers. However, healthcare organizations can promote better patient education and safety by employing evidence-based and best-practice solutions, such as tailored education, the integration of technology, and the teach-back method.

Because nurses are on the front lines of care coordination and patient education, they are highly instrumental in the issue. In collaboration with other providers and stakeholders, nurses can ensure that patients are educated and prepared to manage their health to minimize complications and improve overall quality.

References

American Nurses Association. (2024). Care coordination and the essential role of nurses. ANA. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/health-policy/care-coordination/

Bastami, F., Zamani-Alavijeh, F., zareban, I., & Araban, M. (2022). Explaining the experiences of health care providers regarding organizational factors affecting health education: a qualitative study. BMC Medical Education, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03807-8

Flaubert, J. L. (2021). The role of nurses in improving health care access and quality. In www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573910/

Jung, M. J., & Roh, Y. S. (2020). Factors influencing the patient education performance of hemodialysis unit nurses. Patient Education and Counseling, 103(12). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2020.06.010

Laurisz, N., Ćwiklicki, M., Żabiński, M., Canestrino, R., & Magliocca, P. (2023). The stakeholders’ involvement in healthcare 4.0 services provision: The perspective of co-creation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), 2416. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032416

Ricci, L., Villegente, J., Loyal, D., Ayav, C., Kivits, J., & Rat, A. (2021). Tailored patient therapeutic, educational interventions: A patient‐centred communication model. Health Expectations, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13377

Schooley, B., Singh, A., Hikmet, N., Brookshire, R., & Patel, N. (2020). Integrated Digital Patient Education at the Bedside for Patients with Chronic Conditions: Observational Study. JMIR MHealth and UHealth, 8(12), e22947. https://doi.org/10.2196/22947

Tsiamparlis-Wildeboer, A. H. C., Feijen-De Jong, E. I., & Scheele, F. (2020). Factors influencing patient education in shared medical appointments: Integrative literature review. Patient Education and Counseling, 103(9). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2020.03.006

Yen, P. H., & Leasure, A. R. (2019). Use and Effectiveness of the Teach-back Method in Patient Education and Health Outcomes. Federal Practitioner, 36(6), 284–289. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6590951/

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For this assessment, you will develop a 3–5 page paper that examines a safety quality issue in a health care setting. You will analyze the issue and examine potential evidence-based and best-practice solutions from the literature as well as the role of nurses and other stakeholders in addressing the issue.

Introduction
Health care organizations and professionals strive to create safe environments for patients; however, due to the complexity of the health care system, maintaining safety can be a challenge. Since nurses comprise the largest group of health care professionals, a great deal of responsibility falls in the hands of practicing nurses. Quality improvement (QI) measures and safety improvement plans are effective interventions to reduce medical errors and sentinel events such as medication errors, falls, infections, and deaths. A 2000 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report indicated that almost one million people are harmed annually in the United States, (Kohn et al., 2000) and 210,000–440,000 die as a result of medical errors (Allen, 2013).

The role of the baccalaureate nurse includes identifying and explaining specific patient risk factors, incorporating evidence-based solutions to improving patient safety and coordinating care. A solid foundation of knowledge and understanding of safety organizations such as Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and The Joint Commission and its National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) program is vital to practicing nurses with regard to providing and promoting safe and effective patient care.

You are encouraged to complete the Identifying Safety Risks and Solutions activity. This activity offers an opportunity to review a case study and practice identifying safety risks and possible solutions. We have found that learners who complete course activities and review resources are more successful with first submissions. Completing course activities is also a way to demonstrate course engagement.

References

• Allen, M. (2013). How many die from medical mistakes in U.S. hospitals? https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/09/20/224507654/how-many-die-from-medical-mistakes-in-u-s-hospitals.
• Kohn, L. T., Corrigan, J., & Donaldson, M. S. (Eds.). (2000). To err is human: Building a safer health system. National Academy Press.

Professional Context
As a baccalaureate-prepared nurse, you will be responsible for implementing quality improvement (QI) and patient safety measures in health care settings. Effective quality improvement measures result in systemic and organizational changes, ultimately leading to the development of a patient safety culture.

The purpose of this assessment is to better understand the role of the baccalaureate-prepared nurse in enhancing quality improvement (QI) measures that address a safety quality issue in a health care setting. This will be within the specific context of patient safety risks at a health care setting of your choice. You will do this by exploring the professional guidelines and best practices for improving and maintaining patient safety in health care settings from organizations such as QSEN and the IOM.

Looking through the lens of these professional best practices to examine the current policies and procedures currently in place at your chosen organization and the impact on safety measures for patients surrounding a specific safety quality issue, you will consider the role of the nurse in driving quality and safety improvements. You will identify stakeholders in QI improvement and safety measures as well as consider evidence-based strategies to enhance quality of care and promote safety in the context of your chosen health care setting.

As a baccalaureate-prepared nurse, you will be responsible for implementing quality improvement (QI) and patient safety measures in health care settings. Effective quality improvement measures result in systemic and organizational changes, ultimately leading to the development of a patient safety culture.

The purpose of this assessment is to better understand the role of the baccalaureate-prepared nurse in enhancing quality improvement (QI) measures that address a safety quality issue in a health care setting. This will be within the specific context of patient safety risks at a health care setting of your choice. You will do this by exploring the professional guidelines and best practices for improving and maintaining patient safety in health care settings from organizations such as QSEN and the IOM.

Looking through the lens of these professional best practices to examine the current policies and procedures currently in place at your chosen organization and the impact on safety measures for patients surrounding a specific safety quality issue, you will consider the role of the nurse in driving quality and safety improvements. You will identify stakeholders in QI improvement and safety measures as well as consider evidence-based strategies to enhance quality of care and promote medication administration safety in the context of your chosen health care setting.

Scenario
Select one of the safety quality issues presented in the Assessment 01 Supplement: Enhancing Quality and Safety [PDF] ]resource and incorporate evidence-based strategies to support communication and ensure safe and effective care. (I have chosen “Inadequate Patient Education in Healthcare” See attached file)

Instructions
For this assessment, you will analyze a safety quality issue in a health care setting and identify a quality improvement (QI) initiative.

Be sure that your plan addresses the following, which corresponds to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Please study the scoring guide carefully so that you know what is needed for a distinguished score.

• Explain factors leading to a specific patient-safety risk in a health care setting.
• Explain evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient safety and reduce costs.
• Explain how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety and reduce costs.
• Identify stakeholders with whom nurses would coordinate to drive safety enhancements with a specific safety quality issue.
• Communicate using writing that is clear, logical, and professional, with correct grammar and spelling, using current APA style.
  

  Assessment 1: Enhancing Quality and Safety – Inadequate Patient Education in Healthcare

Additional Requirements

• Length of submission: 3–5 pages, plus title and reference pages.
• Number of references: Cite a minimum of 4 sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your findings and considerations. Resources should be no more than 5 years old.
• APA formatting: References and citations are formatted according to current APA style.

Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 1: Analyze the elements of a successful quality improvement initiative.
  • Explain evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient safety and reduce costs.
• Competency 2: Analyze factors that lead to patient safety risks.
  • Explain factors leading to a specific patient-safety risk in a health care setting.
• Competency 4: Explain the nurse’s role in coordinating care to enhance quality and reduce costs.
  • Explain how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety and reduce costs.
  • Identify stakeholders with whom nurses would coordinate to drive safety enhancements with a specific safety quality issue.
• Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly, evidence-based strategies to communicate in a manner that supports safe and effective patient care.
  • Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions; contains few errors in grammar or punctuation, word choice, and spelling.
  • Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references exhibiting nearly flawless adherence to APA format.