Responsibility Of Patient Safety - Essay Example

 Responsibility Of Patient Safety Patient’ safety is paramount even though it is a global challenge requiring knowledge and skills in several areas. The same way medicine knows more about the disease than health so does science on the causes of adverse events rather than how to avoid them altogether. In America between 44 00 and 98 00 patients lose their life as a result of medical errors. Thus the widespread emphasis on the need for improving health care designs as well as the systems and processes of patient safety (LeSage, Dyar Evans, 2011). As the result, several conceptual approaches, as well as methods of analyzing and preventing medical errors, are flooding the research field. A report in this area proposes six aims for improving health care systems: effective, safe, timely, patient-centered and equitable. The system approach states that humans are fallible thus an error is to be expected in their every work no matter how well the organization. Here errors are more of consequences rather than causes (Cohn and Brower, 2012). Their cause origins are not entirely from a workers part but rather from the recurrent error traps present in the organizational processes contributing to the mistakes. For instance patients in the intensive care unit require more attention. The machines can never go wrong for that will only mean death (LeSage, Dyar Evans, 2011). Machines failure to operate normally is not an impossible case therefore backup should be available just in case it of importance. Though machines in the health center can be working correctly, the conditions and environment in which they are operating can be the reason for the several errors in medication. For instance hygiene is important when health is in question; several infections such as tetanus can be subject to elimination. When patients with open wounds stay in rooms that get disinfection services what to expect is more infection rather than healing. Approximately 1.7 errors occur per ICU patient per day (JonWang, 2008). Though the human condition is irreversible, the conditions in which they work is subject to change giving close attention to system defenses. Most hazardous technologies have barriers as well as safeguards. The question to ask whenever a mistake occurs should not be who did what but instead why and how the system failed (LeSage, Dyar Evans, 2011). When the medical practitioners get proper payment, and their shifts made shorter, service delivery can be better. The supply of medical equipment and medications should also be available and at the disposal of the patients as well those who administer. A manual guide of how medication dosages work in several age sets accompanied by the particular disease they treat is valuable as well. Cases of wrong medication for the bad disease of even wrong dosage will not be subject to discussion at all (Cohn and Brower, 2012). Hospital and health institutions should have resilient systems for them to be able to bounce back to its initial ability. Machines that are of great importance to patient health survival should go through careful checking before and after a patient is put on it daily. Medical practitioners will ensure that the patients only use machines that are of good standard and condition as well. The steps to reduce risk concentration, as well as the reoccurrence of problems, can be directed towards the patient (JonWang, 2008). The patients should be taught to associate risks with incidences that precede their occurrences. Detecting these factors can act as warning signs that should trigger immediate actions from the personnel who are on standby every hour of the day to serve and reduce or even do away with the risk. When circumstances leading to these harmful incidences can be easily and efficiently identified chances of patients getting hurt significantly reduces (Cohn and Brower, 2012). Collecting data on the factors that contribute to the adverse events is essential when in a form of organizational factors can help in corrections of issues? Clinical care can be hard to deal with in many situations when medical institutions are team based and entirely reliant on technology (LeSage, Dyar Evans, 2011). A tool for managing unsafe acts has been researcher’s primary objective in a long time. We can handle errors in two ways; limiting the incidences leading to dangerous mistakes, a factor that cannot be wholly adequate. Propagating ways on how to evade injuries to patients in the course of their treatment, for instance, avoiding unnecessary delays is a good example. Secondly create systems that are better able to tolerate errors and at the same time contain the damaging effects (JonWang, 2008). Technology can do everything it is designed to do. The functioning of machines is incomparable in comparison to the operation of a human. Nurses, doctors, and other hospital attendants are human and, as a result, prone to making mistakes. Using machines to help these individuals more efficient in their duties, for instance, cases of late drug administration are subject to correction (LeSage, Dyar Evans, 2011). The technical team can set alarms and reminders at the nursing stations; this will ensure that patients get their drugs or injections on time. The system approach advocates for a comprehensive management program targeting several diverse areas, for instance, the team, the person or the institution as the whole. When an entire organization gets its sources of the problem then puts it’s under scrutiny to identify their sources and eventual correction their patients will be safe. (JonWang, 2008) Organizations have the ability to reconfigure themselves to fit their local circumstances entirely. Flexibility in the role change in cases of emergencies is the most helpful and reasonable way out. In conclusion, the responsibility of patient safety lies with everyone in the medical field but starts with the patient. Giving clear and realistic medical history whenever they visit a health institution will help the medical personnel serve them better (Cohn and Brower, 2012). Doctors and nurses on their part have the responsibility of ensuring their patients are safe no matter the cost. The two professions take vows to protect life, and that is what they should be doing while on duty as well as off duty (LeSage, Dyar Evans, 2011). References Cohn, S. M., & Brower, S. T. (2012). Surgery: Evidence-based practice. Shelton, Conn: People's Medical Publishing House--USA. JonWang, H. (2008). Safety factors and leading indicators in shipping organizations: Tanker and container operations.es and Bartlett Publishers. LeSage, P., Dyar, J. T., & Evans, B. E. (2011). Crew resource management: Principles and practice. Sudbury, Mass: Read More