NURS FPX 4040 Assessment 4 Informatics and Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators
Hello, everyone. I appreciate your presence at my presentation on informatics and nursing-sensitive quality indicators. This presentation will focus on the responsibilities of nurses and the interdisciplinary team in various healthcare settings. Specifically, it will discuss the collection of electronic data, the application of informatics, and the use of nursing-sensitive quality indicators to ensure the well-being and satisfaction of all patients. The presentation will place particular emphasis on one nursing-sensitive indicator: the rate of pressure ulcers. Lastly, I will discuss the significance of including or the influence of nurses adhering to sensitive quality indicators in healthcare settings.
Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators
A medical institution’s viability and success depend on its patients’ satisfaction levels. Consequently, many organizations are established to guarantee that patients obtain high-quality medical treatment and consistently experience satisfaction with the services offered. The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) was created to fulfill this need. Established in 1998, its primary objective is to consistently provide high-quality services to patients (Von Gerich et al., 2022). The body used several techniques with the specific aim of drastically reducing medication errors. Additionally, the body aimed to decrease the death rates of patients, which conveyed the notion that the treatments provided were of high quality. The nursing-sensitive quality indicators aim to establish a robust nursing system by emphasizing the expertise and qualifications of nurses, the medication process, and the patient health outcomes that rely on the treatment provided by the responsible practitioner. The healthcare facility uses ANA to transmit patient data and track progress to monitor growth. Hence, the growing prevalence of pressure ulcers among patients has a detrimental impact on the hospital’s reputation, drawing attention to educating newly hired nurses on the topic.
Collection and Distribution of Quality Indicator Data
The healthcare organization employs a systematic approach to collect and disseminate data on nursing-sensitive quality indicators, such as the pressure ulcer rate. This process involves identifying the indicators, establishing standardized protocols, utilizing EHR systems to record patient assessments, conducting routine skin assessments for patients at increased risk, implementing incident reporting procedures, and periodically extracting data from the EHR and incident reporting systems. The gathered data is next subjected to analysis, which includes the process of data cleansing to eliminate any inconsistencies or mistakes, statistical analysis to determine the pressure ulcer rate, and benchmarking to evaluate performance compared to internal or external standards (Viana et al., 2024). Systematic skin evaluations are performed on all patients, especially those susceptible to developing pressure ulcers. Incident reporting systems have a user-friendly interface and seamlessly connect with the EHR system to guarantee the precise and prompt reporting of pressure ulcer cases.
Nurses collaborate with other entities to acquire and disseminate NSQI information, enhancing patient healthcare outcomes and overall satisfaction. This information is organized to restrict access to only appropriate parties, guaranteeing patient privacy and confidentiality. Nurses adhere to evidence-based practices and policies to effectively address particular health conditions and achieve optimal health outcomes via medical procedures (Oner et al., 2020). Aggregated data is distributed through periodic reports, visual representations, scheduled meetings, concise presentations, iterative feedback processes, and public disclosure endeavors. Reports concisely overview research results, highlighting patterns and changes over time. They also use dashboards to provide immediate and up-to-date information, while meetings and briefings focus on analyzing the consequences and devising methods for improvement. Nursing staff may also use feedback loops to provide comments and propose improvements. Public reporting programs facilitate the dissemination of information and ensure responsibility.
The Interdisciplinary Team’s Role
The multidisciplinary team, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, data analysts, and quality improvement experts, gathers and presents quality indicator data to enhance patient safety, care outcomes, and organizational performance (Oner et al., 2020). Their role includes documenting patient care activities, ensuring precision in electronic health records, and monitoring instances of prescription mistakes. Data analysts examine data to uncover patterns and areas that may be improved. The healthcare team, along with organizational leadership, get these reports, which allow them to make well-informed choices on modifications to policies, resource allocation, and strategic planning. The team engages in collaborative efforts to enhance their work’s quality, including activities such as modifying clinical procedures, providing staff training, and implementing new technology. By using its members’ varied knowledge and skills, the team can efficiently identify areas that need improvement, execute changes based on solid evidence, and closely monitor the effects of these changes to guarantee consistent quality and safety in providing care to patients.
Healthcare Organizations Use
NSQIs assist healthcare organizations in monitoring and enhancing patient safety, care results, and organizational performance. Negative symptoms such as pressure ulcers may be decreased by NSQIs (Von Gerich et al., 2022). In addition, they can enhance patient care results by monitoring patient satisfaction, pain control, rates of readmission, and death rates. Conducting patient experience surveys may help identify areas that need improvement while implementing effective pain management strategies, which can result in more accurate assessment methods and individualized treatment regimens. Benchmarking, performance improvement strategies, efficient resource allocation, and effective reporting may enhance organizational performance.
Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines
The pressure ulcer rate is crucial in this process, providing measurable data for reviewing and improving evidence-based practice guidelines. This data facilitates the identification of patterns, variables that increase the likelihood of negative outcomes, and the efficacy of efforts taken to avoid such outcomes. By comparing the frequencies of pressure ulcers in various units, institutions, or regions, healthcare practitioners may assess their performance to established standards and pinpoint areas that need improvement (Viana et al., 2024). Examining pressure ulcer rates has resulted in the creation of risk assessment instruments such as the Braden Scale, which aids nurses in identifying patients with a high susceptibility to pressure ulcers.
Integrating patient care technology, such as EHR, pressure-relieving devices, wearable sensors, and telemedicine platforms, is essential for adopting evidence-based practice recommendations based on pressure ulcer rate data (Ting & Garnett, 2021). These technologies improve patient safety, satisfaction, and results by enabling precise recordkeeping, continuous monitoring of risk variables, and offering clinical decision support tools. Wearable sensors, advanced mattresses, and cushions effectively disperse pressure, minimizing the likelihood of ulcer development. Telehealth systems provide virtual consultations with wound care professionals, guaranteeing access to skilled treatment without needing physical transfers. Remote monitoring technologies enable the surveillance of patients’ skin states and notify nurses of first indications of pressure ulcers, facilitating timely care.
Utilizing pressure ulcer rate as a metric for quality assessment, in conjunction with these technologies, results in significant improvements in patient safety, contentment, and overall results. Utilizing EBP guidelines and technology effectively decreases the occurrence of pressure ulcers, facilitating prompt identification and management (Ting & Garnett, 2021). Patient satisfaction rises due to improved comfort with modern mattresses and frequent repositioning. Providing patients and their families information on avoiding pressure ulcers promotes active involvement and contentment with the healthcare process. Enhancing patient satisfaction involves improving comfort and treatment. Additionally, educating patients and their families about pressure ulcer avoidance empowers them. Timely therapies may effectively halt the development of ulcers and minimize the need for intrusive treatments.
Conclusion
Overall, the NDNQI plays a crucial role in maintaining high standards of medical care and ensuring patient satisfaction. The primary focus is minimizing medication errors and mortality rates while improving patient health outcomes. The interdisciplinary team, consisting of healthcare professionals from various fields, collaborates to gather and analyze quality indicator data. This data is then utilized to enhance patient safety, improve care outcomes, and optimize organizational performance. Pressure ulcer rates are utilized to analyze evidence-based practice guidelines and identify trends. Integrating patient care technologies, including EHRs, pressure-relieving devices, wearable sensors, and telehealth platforms, has improved patient safety, satisfaction, and outcomes.
References
Oner, B., Zengul, F. D., Oner, N., Ivankova, N. V., Karadag, A., & Patrician, P. A. (2020). Nursing‐sensitive indicators for nursing care: A systematic review (1997–2017). Nursing Open, 8(3), 1005–1022. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.654
Ting, J. J., & Garnett, A. (2021). E-Health decision support technologies in the prevention and management of pressure ulcers. CIN Computers Informatics Nursing, 39(12), 955–973. https://doi.org/10.1097/cin.0000000000000780
Viana, R., Rego, N., & Crispim, J. (2024). Quality and performance indicators for wound management towards value-based healthcare. Procedia Computer Science, 239, 1974–1981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2024.06.382
Von Gerich, H., Moen, H., & Peltonen, L. (2022). Identifying nursing sensitive indicators from electronic health records in acute cardiac care―Towards intelligent automated assessment of care quality. Journal of Nursing Management, 30(8), 3726–3735. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13802
