Essay Example on Increase Patient Safety: Normalize Use of Interactive Patient Careboard

Introduction

The use of an interactive patient careboard (IPC) should be normalized to enhance patient safety. A study done by Baldugo (2018) highlights the decline of the use of interactive patient careboard by registered nurses and personal care providers since its inception. The decrease in the use of IPCs was paralleled with low scores on HCAHPS, which rate the quality of communication patients experience in the hospital (Baldugo, 2018). So, a low score indicated that patients had lower satisfaction on the kind of communication they had with the healthcare providers. Since the use of interactive patient careboard to improve patient safety was not a priority, it was speculated that using the IPC could improve the HCAHPS scores (Baldugo, 2018). An improvement of the HCAHP scores would translate to better communication between the patient and the caregivers, which directly translates to enhanced patient safety.

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In the project, Baldugo (2018) found out that only 8% of registered nurses used the IPC during their shift handing over in the medical-surgical unit. To intervene, Baldugo (2018) developed training measures that would ensure that the registered nurses and personal care providers received adequate knowledge on the correct usage of the IPC (Baldugo, 2018). The use of IPC by registered nurses surged to 69% after the training. He concluded that healthcare providers need to be trained again on the importance and correct use of the interactive patient careboard use.

Current Guidelines That Relate To the Solution

The current hospital clinical guidelines stipulate that nurses and other healthcare providers are supposed to provide the complete electronic medical record report of a patient to the provider taking up responsibility during shift handover. Presenting the report to the nurse assuming responsibility serves to guide them on the progress of care to avoid medical errors. Patient safety is compromised amid a medical error. Therefore accurate reports on the development of the care of a patient must be provided to the next healthcare provider to minimize errors and improve the safety of the patient.

Definition and Explanation of How the Intervention Will Result In Enhanced Patient Safety

Healthcare providers should be re-educated on the use of interactive patient careboard (IPC). The IPC is a technology designed to record and display the nature and details of care given to a patient and consequently enhance communication between the healthcare providers and the patients. The number of healthcare providers that interact with the patient can be overwhelming. IPC provides a means through which details on patient care can be easily observed and discussed. By training the correct use of IPC, the providers get hands-on experience on how to operate the IPC to enhance communication with other providers and the patient. Improved communication between the healthcare providers on the progress of patient care minimizes errors, thus guaranteeing patient safety.

References

Baldugo, P. Q. (2018). The Interactive Patient Careboard: A Technological Innovation to Improve Patient Safety.