Need To Improve the Process of Assessing and Triaging ED Patients

Need To Improve the Process of Assessing and Triaging ED Patients

As an Emergency Department RN, I have observed a need to improve the process of assessing and triaging ED patients. In my experience working in an Emergency Department (ED), I have observed a need for more effective processes for assessing and triaging ED patients. Ineffective processes in assessing and triaging can result in long wait periods, a backlog of patients, and insufficient care. Consequently, patients may not promptly receive the required attention, resulting in delays in diagnosis and treatment ( Kellett, 2021). This can harm patients’ health and well-being, leading to costly medical bills and possible long-term health complications.

An action plan for improvement based on the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework from Evidence-Based Practice should be created to resolve this practice gap. It is a useful technique to employ when formulating an action plan to enhance the process of assessing and triaging ED patients.

The first step in the PDSA framework is to plan. During this step, one must identify the gap in practice, establish goals, and create an action plan. In this instance, the gap in practice is the need to improve the process for assessing and triaging ED patients. The plan should include creating a standardized assessment and triage procedure for all ED patients. This should include identifying risk factors for each patient and developing a method for accurately determining the patient’s risk level. Personnel to create the assessment and triage process, staff to educate on the process, and resources to ensure the process is followed are among the resources required to implement the plan ( Kellett, 2021).

To-Do is the second stage in the PDSA framework. The plan’s execution is done in this stage. The assessment and triage procedure should be created during this stage and tried in a pilot setting. To ensure the procedure is efficient and successful, it should be tested on a small number of ED patients. The staff should receive sufficient training on the process during this second step, and resources should be made accessible to guarantee that the process is followed consistently.

The study is the third stage in the PDSA framework. This entails assessing the outcomes of the plan’s execution to ascertain its efficacy and efficiency. The assessment and triage process’s pilot testing results should be examined in this stage to see if the intended results were obtained (Hall & Roussel, 2020). To ascertain whether the process has significantly improved, comparing the findings of the pre-and post-implementation assessments is necessary. To find any possible areas for improvement, the results should also be contrasted with those of other processes of a similar nature. To ensure that the process produces the intended results, the results should also be evaluated to see if any changes or adjustments are required (Hall & Roussel, 2020). Several variables, including turnaround time, accuracy, adherence to standards, and patient satisfaction, should be considered in this evaluation. Evaluation should go beyond the immediate process to account for any possible effects of the changes on other processes or departments. Any areas for development can be found and addressed through this assessment, allowing the procedure to be improved going forward.

The PDSA framework’s fourth and final stage is to act. Based on the evaluation’s findings, this stage entails creating an action plan. The evaluation’s findings should be incorporated into this step’s action plan development to enhance the procedure further. The action plan should outline precise measures that can be taken to enhance the procedure and the resources required to carry them out. The action plan should include a schedule for carrying out and evaluating the actions.

In conclusion, an action plan can be created using the PDSA framework from Evidence-Based Practice (Hall) Ch. 10 to enhance the procedure for evaluating and prioritizing ED patients. Plan, Do, Study, and Act are the four phases of the PDSA structure. Each stage aids in creating an action plan by offering a systematic approach to tackling the issue and identifying the resources required to carry it out.

References

 Hall, H. R., & Roussel, L. A. (2020). Evidence-Based Practice: An Integrative Approach to Research, Administration, and Practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Kellett, J. (2021). What is the ideal triage process and the resources it requires? The Lancet Regional Health: Western Pacific, p. 13.

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Need To Improve the Process of Assessing and Triaging ED Patients

Identify a gap in your current or past practice. Using the PDSA framework from Evidence-Based Practice (Hall) Ch. 10, describe how each step contributes to developing an action plan for improvement of that

700 words APA style