Discussion – Quality Improvement

Discussion – Quality Improvement

The significance of quality provision of healthcare services underpins its necessity in the healthcare delivery system. Quality care has been implicated in improved clinical outcomes among the patient population. Its significance also stretches beyond the scope of the patients to the providers, who not only find satisfaction in delivering quality care but are also protected by their health practices. In the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic, there has been an increasing call for quality provision of healthcare services in an attempt to salvage and preserve the lives of these patients. Nurses being at the core of healthcare delivery, and being involved in the routine handling of these patients, are better poised in delivering quality care to these patients. This paper seeks to explore quality improvement measures applied in the management of COVID-19 patients.

Quality improvement in nursing practice entails the various frameworks that guide nursing practice and are aimed at quality enhancement in the care process. In a crisis scenario as in the covid 19 pandemic, quality improvements focus on the utilization of measures that will improve the clinical outcomes of these patients while minimizing its burden on the healthcare system so as not to overwhelm the resources deployed therein (Fitzsimons, 2020). Such measures include management of personal protective equipment, airway control management, medication handling, and utilization of rapid learning cycles, among others.

Rapid learning cycles are a strategy utilizable in quality improvement in the management process during a crisis. It entails quick adoption of intervention ideas over a short period, observing, gathering data, and learning the effect of these interventions on the realization of the required patient outcomes. Upon observation and learning, and in the event this particular intervention is found to be successful or viable, it is then rolled out to a wider scale and consequently granted emergency use authorization. The overall goal of this rapid learning cycle is to improve the clinical outcomes of management while minimizing its disruption to clinical practices.

Rapid learning cycles have been evident in the handling and management of the COVID-19 pandemic. The early clinical and public health interventions that were adopted during this pandemic were informed by rapid learning cycles. This ranges from the realization of its transmission patterns and enforcement of wearing masks, handwashing with soap, sanitizing frequently, and social distancing in public places as public health interventions. Likewise, in the clinical setting, the adoption of personal protective equipment such as masks, face shields, and full-body gear was found to confer protection to healthcare providers and, by extension, their patients as it minimized the transmission of the virus.

The significance of these interventions was evident not only in various healthcare systems but also in the communities that were hard-hit by the pandemic. A characteristic flattened curve was evident in countries that strictly enforced these safety guidelines. Additionally, there was a great relief in their healthcare systems which initially were overwhelmed by the higher numbers of casualties. The ripple effects were higher patient survival and better clinical outcomes accustomed to the lower mortality rates (Staines et al., 2020). This was attributed to the availability of healthcare equipment that is utilized in the management of these patients.

The advantages realized from the utilization of rapid-learning cycles include quality improvement of healthcare provision, improved clinical outcomes characterized by minimal disruptions in clinical care, and reduction in mortality rates that characterized the pandemic. Despite all these beneficial effects, it has been implicated in several disadvantages. The shorter duration utilized in the observation of the viability of various interventions, may not be fully indicative of their safety. Such interventions as utilization of hydroxychloroquine in the management of covid pneumonia were later linked to cardiovascular events such as cardiac arrhythmias and increased mortality rates (Bakadia et al., 2021). However, the benefits still outweigh the risks and thus justify the utilization of rapid learning cycles in emergencies.

The significance of quality improvement in the realization of better clinical outcomes is evident. Quality improvement is even more significant in crises such as COVID 19. Rapid learning cycles are such a strategy that has shown considerable benefits in such scenarios. It involves testing of idea interventions to determine their viability over a short period.

References

Bakadia, B., He, F., Souho, T., Lamboni, L., Ullah, M., & Boni, B. et al. (2021). Prevention and treatment of COVID-19: Focus on interferons, chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and vaccines. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 133, 111008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2020.111008

Fitzsimons, J. (2020). Quality and safety in the time of Coronavirus: design better, learn faster. International Journal For Quality In Health Care, 33(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzaa051

Staines, A., Amalberti, R., Berwick, D., Braithwaite, J., Lachman, P., & Vincent, C. (2020). COVID-19: patient safety and quality improvement skills to deploy during the surge. International Journal For Quality In Health Care, 33(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzaa050

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Quality Improvement

Topic selection based on Quality Improvement (QI) in area of interest (COVID-19 in nursing practice).