Risk and Quality Management Assessment This Analysis Essay

Risk and Quality Management Assessment

This analysis focuses on three different types of risks that are commonly associated with a nursing facility.

Risk and quality management is an important aspect to many health care organizations. This is especially true in nursing facilities because of the level of direct patient interactions that occur on a daily basis. There are many potential risks that can emerge and a nursing facility. Three common risks were identified and introduced. One common risk deals with inadequate or ineffective communication and the problems associated with it such as medication errors. Another risk identified was the spread of infections in a hospital setting. The third risk identified was the risk associated with patient falls that are common and especially damaging to elderly patients. Organizations who properly plan for this risks can effectively improve their quality of care and provide an enriched healthcare experience to their patients.

Communication & Medication Error

One obvious nursing related risk that is prevalent in every organization is medication errors. Nurses have hectic schedules that often require them to multi-task. Therefore a common mistake is for them to somehow mix up a patience medication with another patients, provide medication at the wrong time, or skip a medication altogether. This can either be the responsibility of the nurse or a breakdown in communication by the nursing staff. Therefore it is important to design a quality management system in regards to this risk that has multiple checks to ensure that the medication is correct as well as being properly administered. It is really easy to make mistakes once in a while; therefore there must be a stringent system to eliminate the potential for errors in administering medications.

The quality management system that has developed in known as the bedside handoff in which the staff communicates together at the patient's location. Such an organizational strategy has proven effective in different situations and has most likely saved many lives (Federwisch, 2007). One of the primary advantages to this system is that it allows the hospital staff a better perspective of the patients treatment needs.It fosters improved communication that can decrease the likelihood of common errors such as medication errors. It allows the nursing staff to acquire a comprehensive overview of the patients status and prevents a staff member from "dropping the baton" during a shift change. Not only does it improve the quality of care that is provided, it also can improve communication and the way our team in general interacts on a daily basis.

Hospital Infections

Hospital related infections are another common risk. A nursing facility is a For example, in one of the ON DEMAND training sessions, TJC covers the role of infections in hospital care settings.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates there are approximately 1.7 million new cases of infections that are acquired by patients during their stays in hospitals every year. Of these, approximately 99,000 result in death (although there may be other factors besides infection), making healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) one of the top 10 causes of death in the United States. From a business perspective, this translates into a cost of approximately $4.5-$6.5 billion a year for hospitals to combat these infections (The Joint Commission, 2011).

One study from France collected data from 445,000 beds in nursing homes and found that respiratory tract infections were the most frequent and accounted for 41% of all infections; the infections were significantly associated with age, length of stay, full disability, urinary device, bedsores and the survey period (Chami, Carrat, Lejeune, & Rothan-Tondeur, 2011). Quality management programs are needed to prevent such occurrences as well as risk management systems to prevent these infections from spreading once they do surface.

Hospital Falls

Another common risk is fall-related injuries which can be some of the most common, disabling, and expensive health conditions encountered by adults; especially older adults (Simmons, 2010). There are specific risk factors that this type of risk that included factors such as environmental hazards, adaptive equipment maintenance, psychotropic drug use, physical therapy or exercise, staff….....