January 25, 2017 Problem Statement
The United State Congress in its’ quest to rebuild the healthcare system, passed a legislation, whereby health care providers and health facilities are charged to follow all guidelines necessary to ensure quality patient care, patient safety, and patient satisfaction, before federal reimbursement or funding will be allotted (US Congress, 2010).
Due to the increasing attention to quality of patient care, an initial standardized patient satisfaction evaluation was provided by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS, 2012). The result of this assessment was then publicly reported so that patients can be more active in their healthcare decisions. Until HCAHPS there was …show more content…
It is done to transfer responsibility and accountability between healthcare teams to ensure adequate continuity of care (Segall et al, 2012). This essential transfer period is referred to as a handoff (Friesen, White, & Byers, 2008). A handoff communication that is done properly ensures the transfer of critical patient information which then provides the receiving team with vital information necessary for adequate quality continuity of care. A handoff communication that is not properly done presents with a high risk of significant medical errors, such as errors in diagnosis, treatments, as well as medication error (Wallis, 2013). Segal et al (2012) maintains that informal/inefficient communication could accelerate adverse events and cause treatment hindrance. Even with mounting evidence showing that handoff communication standardization is advantageous, there persists a lot of variability and inconsistencies in the process (Nagpal et al, …show more content…
The estimated yearly cost resulting from these medical mistakes and mishaps cost between $17 billion and $29 billion (IOM, 1999). Because of these published results showing the adverse effects of medical errors, major discussion and considerations on how to improve the quality of patient care began. Disintegration of the healthcare system as well as healthcare givers not having adequate patient information necessary for proper patient care, have been diagnosed as major reasons for medical errors (IOM, 1999). In 2001, The IOM proceeded to publish and release a second report citing the increasing acutely ill and aging population, fast growing and advancement in technology, and unstructured, inconsistent, and chaotic handoffs as major causes of the decreasing quality of care. Because of this report, the Joint Commission then proceeded to design the National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) 2E. As part of the NPSG mission, healthcare facilities are charged to improve their handoff communication process (Petrovic et al, 2012). The handoff communication was supposed to include these components:
• The information transferred during the handoff, should be complete and up to date
• It should be interactive allowing room for questioning.
• Should be in a conducive environment with limited noise, distractions, and
The United State Congress in its’ quest to rebuild the healthcare system, passed a legislation, whereby health care providers and health facilities are charged to follow all guidelines necessary to ensure quality patient care, patient safety, and patient satisfaction, before federal reimbursement or funding will be allotted (US Congress, 2010).
Due to the increasing attention to quality of patient care, an initial standardized patient satisfaction evaluation was provided by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS, 2012). The result of this assessment was then publicly reported so that patients can be more active in their healthcare decisions. Until HCAHPS there was …show more content…
It is done to transfer responsibility and accountability between healthcare teams to ensure adequate continuity of care (Segall et al, 2012). This essential transfer period is referred to as a handoff (Friesen, White, & Byers, 2008). A handoff communication that is done properly ensures the transfer of critical patient information which then provides the receiving team with vital information necessary for adequate quality continuity of care. A handoff communication that is not properly done presents with a high risk of significant medical errors, such as errors in diagnosis, treatments, as well as medication error (Wallis, 2013). Segal et al (2012) maintains that informal/inefficient communication could accelerate adverse events and cause treatment hindrance. Even with mounting evidence showing that handoff communication standardization is advantageous, there persists a lot of variability and inconsistencies in the process (Nagpal et al, …show more content…
The estimated yearly cost resulting from these medical mistakes and mishaps cost between $17 billion and $29 billion (IOM, 1999). Because of these published results showing the adverse effects of medical errors, major discussion and considerations on how to improve the quality of patient care began. Disintegration of the healthcare system as well as healthcare givers not having adequate patient information necessary for proper patient care, have been diagnosed as major reasons for medical errors (IOM, 1999). In 2001, The IOM proceeded to publish and release a second report citing the increasing acutely ill and aging population, fast growing and advancement in technology, and unstructured, inconsistent, and chaotic handoffs as major causes of the decreasing quality of care. Because of this report, the Joint Commission then proceeded to design the National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) 2E. As part of the NPSG mission, healthcare facilities are charged to improve their handoff communication process (Petrovic et al, 2012). The handoff communication was supposed to include these components:
• The information transferred during the handoff, should be complete and up to date
• It should be interactive allowing room for questioning.
• Should be in a conducive environment with limited noise, distractions, and