A Quality Improvement Initiative for Patients with Venous Thrombosis - Essay Example

A Quality Improvement Initiative for Patients with Venous Thrombosis A Quality Improvement Initiative for Patients with Venous Thrombosis Executive summary Background The determination of the optimal duration of anticoagulant therapy is recent alternative strategy for long-term secondary prevention of VTE after discontinuation of traditional anticoagulation. Studies which have been conducted on the prevention of hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism have also provided recommendations which we can’t fail to highlight in this proposal due to their relevance. To begin with is simplifying forms ought to be filled by the patient. Researchers have observed that the simpler it is, the more convenient it is too (Society of Hospital Medicine., Maynard, G. A., Stein, J. M., & United States, 2008). Second, is ensuring a well-coordinated team which enhances the workflow. The absence of distractors which could sway their attention as well as consume their time unnecessarily should be avoided whatsoever. If designed properly, order sets can be made into good use by clinicians. The order set should easily be accessed to avoid inconveniences trying to attain a VTE risk assessment form (Society of Hospital Medicine., Maynard, G. A., Stein, J. M., & United States, 2008). Trying something for the first time faces the risks of having glitches on a higher probability. There is a need therefore for testing something new on a small-scale kind of an opportunity. This provides a prior experience which can be worth more in a much broader context. As a result, efficiency can be achieved. Although the service providers are not perfect, it has recommended that when handling such a complicated setting as process of protecting patients from hospital acquired VTE, to utilize the best action (Society of Hospital Medicine., Maynard, G. A., Stein, J. M., & United States, 2008). Failure to apply the best action could very easily lead to frustrations. Therefore the one to be used has to be the one which is most highly reliable. When proved to be indeed the best, the highly reliable strategy can be standardized into the process and turned into a habit. It should be done in a redundant manner. It has been observed that when practiced as a pattern of behaviour, it is more likely to get more efficient. The efficiency achieved from the habit can elicit innovation and improvements to even higher reliable strategies (Society of Hospital Medicine., Maynard, G. A., Stein, J. M., & United States, 2008). As much as protocol should be used whatsoever, when medical necessity arises, the provider can vary from it. This however should remain strictly for special unavoidable circumstances while dealing with a patient (Society of Hospital Medicine., Maynard, G. A., Stein, J. M., & United States, 2008). Overview The risk of developing a venous thrombus embolism (VTE) can be significantly reduced from 85% if better measures are put in place. Health care centers have realized the importance of quality improvement to their patients within the institution and outside, in the society. Therefore, they are taking great measures in improving the environment for nurses; the government, for example, has become more actively involved and more innovative in fostering quality improvement in health care. This has been seen through the improvement of salaries and coverage policies. Arguably, hospitals and physicians are not only providers of patient care, relievers of human suffering, and repairers of bodies but they are also providers of their financials needs. It is therefore clear that they too are in business generating income to meet their needs as they benefit their patients as from it. Financial incentives, consequently, have been observed to be pivotal in the pursuit of quality improvement. This is a recommendation that has been offered by numerous researchers in their publications on the problem of quality improvement. It is therefore advisable to pay more with better performance while keeping up with technological innovations that help in improving the quality of health care (National Institute for Health Care Management., & National Committee for Quality Health Care, 2003). In different studies, concerning technology, installation of fundamental technologies that have provided very improved output has been observed to play a major role in quality improvement. However, there are two very major impediments in this field as far as health quality improvement is concerned. First is the suboptimal investment in IT and a reimbursement system that fails to provide coverage for innovative technologies in a timely manner. In addition to the above mentioned are the deadly security threats and chronic technical problems which are persistently prevalent in IT. (National Institute for Health Care Management., & National Committee for Quality Health Care. (2003). Almost equal importance is the government’s generous input in the clinical research. This has helped in the improvement in the recognizing of VTE and selecting of appropriate testing (National Institute for Health Care Management., & National Committee for Quality Health Care, 2003). Cost This research is essentially very economical as the expected research budget has been reduced significantly due to reliance on secondary sources of information. Aims The project will aim at exploring the extent to which venous thrombosis patients are exposed to the risks of developing risk VTE and how this can be prevented through quality improvement. The project is aimed at seeking better health care and services delivery by practitioners to the patients and the general population. It pursues to ensure that effectiveness and efficiency are achieved. It is important to improve on the reduction of the recurrence of VTE. Nurses and patients are the people comprising the key audience of the research as their roles are intertwined in such a way that you cannot deal with one and completely ignore the other. The benefits of the quality improvement program include improved patient care as well as the improvement population health. Outcome Measures The outcome measure will be the VTE patients who did not have prior VTE prophylaxis while in the hospital. Evaluation This project will essentially rely on medical records and research articles as sources of information. In addition, information on the involvement of the nurses, as well as the role of the risk factors that encourage the development of VTE, will be mined from relevant journal articles, government reports, and reports from private organizations. The research is intended to be longitudinal and therefore data will be collected at different times for evaluation, comparison in terms of improvements caused by influencing factors variations, in order to justify the relevance of the research. Figures will be collected as a difference of the number of all patients who develop VTE who had already been screened for it upon admission. Conclusion Speakers have in numerous instances concurred with the observation that quality ratings which have been provided for health plans, hospitals, and other Medicare providers are a representation of an innovation that could lead to more informed choices by consumers and improved quality. This is also an incredible milestone which has been achieved by research. Thus applying optimum prophylaxis will play a significant role in the prevention of VTE. References Society of Hospital Medicine., Maynard, G. A., Stein, J. M., & United States. (2008).Preventing hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism: A guide for effective quality improvement. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. National Institute for Health Care Management., & National Committee for Quality Health Care. (2003). Accelerating quality improvement in health care: Strategies to speed the diffusion of evidence-based innovations : proceedings from a conference. Washington, DC: NIHCM Foundation. Read More