Introduction
The hospitalized patients and the healthcare personnel face several risks in their day-to-day activities. Thus, risk management in healthcare is a complex issue that requires various players, including administrators, nurses, physicians, and patients, to assess, detect and prevent risks in patients. This issue involves a series of steps to analyze the existing risk management programs to identify any weaknesses for adequate improvement during the implementation phase. An effective risk management plan is significant for reducing the health risks and the financial losses of the patient.
It also provides a framework for improving the safety of hospitalized clients (Kaya et al., 2019). This paper will discuss how quality and improvement processes in an organization add to the risk management programs for high-risk operations and high-alert drugs, especially the usage of anticoagulants.
Roles of the Organization’s MIPPA-Approved Accreditation Body
The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Provider Act (MIPPA) accredited several bodies to ensure the optimal evaluation of the plans to enhance the safety of patients. Some of these bodies endorsed in reducing the incidences of high-risk processes and high-alert drugs in healthcare are the Joint Commission, Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) (Allen-Duck et al., 2017).
These bodies have outlined key elements of evaluation for the success of the implementation of the strategic risk management plan. First, these bodies ensure that the healthcare personnel is empowered to administer the anticoagulant medications effectively. An effective education scheme is imperative in enhancing the knowledge of the pharmacologic actions, route of administration, and the ideal dosing of these drugs (Allen-Duck et al., 2017). The nurses are also given the necessary information for the proper identification and dosing of the anticoagulants.
Second, the organization needs to perform an interdisciplinary failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA). The Joint Commission collects data on the adherence to the available policies by the healthcare personnel through interviews and observations. This project is essential in identifying the potential sources of mistakes in the management of anticoagulant medications. Dager et al. (2020) state that the possible sources of errors in this therapy include duplication of anticoagulant treatment, look-alikes vials and syringes, accidental stopping of drugs, and dosing errors. A practical assessment of the probable causes of the mistakes is critical for additional interventions to promote patient safety by reducing errors.
Furthermore, the accredited body should ensure the compliance of the medical practitioners to the standard guidelines for prescribing and administering anticoagulant medications. The adherence to the guidelines, including using pre-determined orders of the drugs, enhances the prescription’s suitability according to the patient’s unique needs. Nevertheless, the Joint Commission collects periodic reports from the hospitals on the performance of the risk prevention in harmful medications management (Dager et al., 2020). The board of management conduct inspections to determine whether the healthcare personnel uphold the five rules of drug administration and counterchecking of the patient and the drug information by two nurses before administering drugs. Adherence to the standard protocols is essential in decreasing medication errors.
Roles of Administration in Healthcare Ethics
The hospital administration has an essential role in ensuring the availability and adherence to the policy guidelines. Effective implementation of the risk management plan promotes the plan’s success, enhancing the quality of life and the safety of patients undergoing treatment with anticoagulation therapy. Kaya et al. (2019) assume that the hospital management has a role in ensuring the availability of the prerequisite options for optimal anticoagulant therapy. There should be an adequate supply of anticoagulant drugs and policies for standard handling of these drugs. The guidelines provide the prerequisite information to the staff on the proper practices in drug prescription and administration.
Furthermore, the ward administrators are responsible for ensuring the availability of the policies and guidelines at the ward level. Healthcare personnel must be constantly reminded of the most appropriate manner of delivering high-quality care that meets the patient’s needs. Moreover, they need to collaborate with the risk management personnel at the hospital to ensure compliance with the regulatory bodies’ guidelines on proper anticoagulation therapy. Periodic assessments by the administrative personnel are essential in exploring whether the staff members are adhering to the protocols (Dager et al., 2020). The managers are also liable for providing education for maximum patient safety.
Compliance with the Plan to Ethics
Upholding the ethical and legal requirements guiding patient care is vital for the safety of patients. Ethical regulations require that all the interventions done by healthcare professionals should be for the benefit of the patient. The interventions should also result in little or no harm or injuries to the patients’ health (Allen-Duck et al., 2017).
The risk management plan aims to reduce the risk of adverse effects following anticoagulation therapy in line with this principle. It projects to reduce medication errors, resulting in severe bleeding, disabilities, or even death to patients. Therefore, this plan promotes the patient’s safety and wellbeing. Additionally, informed consent of patients was obtained before being drafted in this study. The healthcare personnel also ensure the privacy and confidentiality of the patients’ information and apply practical critical thinking skills to share it with other members of the multidisciplinary patient management team.
Legal and Ethical Responsibilities of Healthcare Personnel
Healthcare professionals are ethical and legally bound to uphold patient safety by adhering to standard operating protocols. First, they must practice the five rights of drug administration which entails ensuring the right patient, correct route of administration, right drug, right dose, and the right frequency of administering the anticoagulants (Kaya et al., 2019).
Second, healthcare personnel needs to administer the medications to reduce the incidences of medication errors. Adherence to these principles is vital to enhancing the safety of patients. Moreover, it is the professional duty of healthcare personnel to maintain a current body of knowledge on the evidence-based practices in anticoagulation therapy. The personnel must continually update their knowledge base through participation in seminars and workshops to maintain current information on the ideal approaches to enhance patient safety.
The Impact of the Quality Improvement Processes
The quality improvement program has been influential in enhancing the achievements of the organization. First, according to Allen-Duck et al. (2017), the satisfaction of patients has dramatically improved due to the provision of high-quality care. This plan encourages the healthcare personnel to utilize the standard practices in anticoagulation therapy to reduce medication errors. Consequently, this has resulted in the prevention of undesirable health and economic consequences for the patients promoting their wellbeing and satisfaction.
Second, the organization receives an increased number of customers due to the high quality of services provided. Patients from faraway places seek treatment services from the hospital due to the issuance of individualized and safe care. Finally, the hospital suffers fewer lawsuits from unsatisfied patients due to medication errors by healthcare professionals. There are also reduced incidences of fines from regulatory bodies due to non-compliance to the standard operating protocols in managing anticoagulation therapy.
The MIPPA accredited bodies, including the Joint Commission, have a role in ensuring the risk reduction from high-risk processes and high-alert drugs, especially anticoagulants. Healthcare personnel and the administration have significant roles in ensuring compliance with the standard protocols for managing anticoagulant therapy. It is also beneficial for the professional to uphold ethical and legal recommendations to enhance the patient’s safety. An effective risk management plan has considerable benefits to the healthcare organization.
References
Allen-Duck, A., Robinson, J. C., & Stewart, M. W. (2017). Healthcare quality: A concept analysis. Nursing Forum, 52(4), 377–386. Web.
Dager, W. E., Ansell, J., Barnes, G. D., Burnett, A., Deitelzweig, S., Minichiello, T. & Kaatz, S. (2020). “Reduce the likelihood of patient harm associated with the use of anticoagulant therapy”: Commentary from the anticoagulation forum on the updated Joint Commission NPSG. 03.05. 01 Elements of performance. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 46(3), 173-180. Web.
Kaya, G. K., Ward, J. R., & Clarkson, P. J. (2019). A framework to support risk assessment in hospitals. International Journal for Quality in Health Care: Journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care, 31(5), 393–401. Web.