Patients at the Core of Technology Innovations

at
Categories
Tags

 

 

Question
Competency
Explain innovative systems and distribution of technology to enhance the quality of healthcare delivery and patient safety.
Student Success Criteria
View the grading rubric for this deliverable by selecting the “This item is graded with a rubric” link, which is located in the Details & Information pane.
Scenario
You are a nursing supervisor at a private, critical access hospital offering a variety of clinical care and hospital services to the community. As part of this role, you conduct weekly patient satisfaction phone calls and create patient satisfaction improvement plans for the weekly leadership meetings for any patient concerns. You just completed a disheartening phone call with a geriatric patient, named Mabel, who had a six-day hospital stay following a diagnosis of pneumonia. Mabel started the call sharing that fifteen years ago, she was hospitalized with pneumonia at your hospital but was very pleased with her first stay.
Unfortunately, this hospital stay presented a lot of challenges for her. She shared she had to stay an extra night because the doctor never showed to sign discharge papers, the pharmacy was closed overnight so her prescriptions weren’t ready, and she still has not received a bill which had to be mailed because the computer system was shut down for maintenance when she called to inquire. She continued to share that she was provided access instructions for an online portal to view her records, but the link does not work and the user ID and password she was promised would be in the discharge paperwork was nowhere to be found. You are preparing for the weekly leadership meeting and have a patient satisfaction improvement plan share in response to Mabel’s feedback about her hospital stay. In addition, each leader has to come prepared to discuss two innovative technologies they feel would improve patient safety. They are looking at the next fiscal year and want to budget for the integration of two new innovations.
Instructions
Create an improvement plan including an outline for two proposed innovative healthcare technologies on a Word document including:
o Identify all of Mabel’s hospital stay concerns and describe how the failure of technology impacted Mabel’s healthcare delivery.
o Describe two innovative technologies you would recommend to improve client experience, such as Mabel’s and describe how you would evaluate the impact of these technologies.
o Identify evidence from the literature to support how each technology had a positive impact on client safety.

Sample Solution

Patient Satisfaction Improvement Plan

Identifying Mabel’s Concerns and Technology Failures

Mabel’s hospital stay was marred by several issues, many of which can be traced back to technological failures or mishaps:

  1. Delayed Discharge: The doctor’s inability to sign discharge papers electronically, likely due to system downtime or access issues, resulted in an unnecessary overnight stay.
  2. Pharmacy Accessibility: The pharmacy being closed overnight prevented timely medication dispensing, potentially impacting Mabel’s recovery and comfort.
  3. Billing Delays: The computer system shutdown hindered Mabel’s ability to access her bill promptly, causing inconvenience and uncertainty.
  4. Online Portal Access: The malfunctioning online portal and missing login credentials prevented Mabel from accessing her medical records, hindering transparency and self-care.

Proposed Innovative Technologies

To address these issues and enhance patient safety, I propose the implementation of the following innovative technologies:

  1. Electronic Health Records (EHR) with Advanced Features:
  • Benefits:
    • Streamlined communication between healthcare providers
    • Improved medication reconciliation
    • Reduced medical errors
    • Enhanced patient engagement through secure online portals
  • Evaluation:
    • Measure the reduction in medication errors and adverse drug events.
    • Assess the improvement in patient satisfaction with access to medical records.
    • Evaluate the efficiency gains in clinical workflows.
  1. Telehealth Solutions:
  • Benefits:
    • Remote patient monitoring
    • Virtual consultations
    • Increased accessibility to healthcare services
    • Reduced hospitalizations
  • Evaluation:
    • Track the reduction in hospital readmission rates.
    • Measure patient satisfaction with telehealth services.
    • Assess the impact on healthcare costs.

Supporting Evidence from Literature

Electronic Health Records:

  • Studies have shown that EHRs can significantly reduce medical errors, improve medication safety, and enhance communication between healthcare providers.
  • A systematic review by Bates et al. (2003) demonstrated that EHRs can reduce medication errors by up to 50%.

Telehealth Solutions:

  • Telehealth has been proven to improve access to care, especially for rural and underserved populations.
  • A study by Eitel et al. (2017) found that telehealth interventions can reduce hospitalizations and emergency department visits.

By implementing these innovative technologies, we can enhance patient safety, improve the overall patient experience, and address the concerns raised by patients like Mabel.

 

This question has been answered.

Get Answer