Medical errors associated with clinical tests are directly related to the factor of patient safety, and the ways to improve tests’ quality are important to be studied in detail.Quality Indicators of Patient Safety Critical Essay

The authors of the article “A Trend Analysis of Quality Indicators of Patient Safety in the Clinical Laboratory over 21 Months” focused on evaluating the quality indicators used during the pre- and post-analytical phases in laboratories in order to decrease errors and improve the quality of test results (Agarwal et al. 300).

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The research published in 2012 can be discussed as significant to contribute to choosing quality indicators in order to improve testing in the clinical and laboratory settings.

Focusing on the problem statement, it is important to note that Agarwal and the group of researchers chose the urgent problem. Thus, the researchers noted that during the pre- and post-analytical phases of testing sessions, the rate of errors is about 93% (Agarwal et al. 300).

As a result, it was significant to select the quality indicators that were appropriate to indicate the quality of both pre- and post-analytical phases.

Quality Indicators of Patient Safety Critical Essay

The researchers chose incorrect identification, incomplete forms, and sample-rejection rate for the pre-analytical phase as well as urgent sample reporting and critical-values reporting for the post-analytical phase (Agarwal et al. 301).

Concentrating on these indicators, the researchers were able to examine changes in the quality rates. Therefore, the choice of indicators can be discussed as relevant.Quality Indicators of Patient Safety Critical Essay

The selection of the methodology can also be discussed as efficient because to conduct the 21-month long study, the researchers focused on the prospective analysis of results during separate pre- and post-analytical phases.

It was important to study the tests in the laboratory of Institute of Human Behavior and Allied Sciences in Delhi during the period of January 2010-September 2011. Thus, during this period, 75 675 blood samples were received for testing (Agarwal et al. 301).

From this point, to receive the full picture, the prospective analysis was supported with the trend analysis, and researchers also focused on the implementation of three patient-safety strategies as well training sessions for the personnel in order to examine the approaches to improve testing in laboratories.

Focusing on the data analysis and discussion of the results, it is important to determine such strengths as the use of both statistical and trend analysis methods to conclude about the collected information. The researchers found that 91.2% of errors were detected during the pre-analytical phase (Agarwal et al. 302).

According to the quality indicators, the most typical errors were associated with incomplete forms and sample rejection.

However, the most important result is that the identification of quality indicators and staff training helped improve the quality of testing in the laboratory because of the effective patient safety strategies and additional training sessions.Quality Indicators of Patient Safety Critical Essay

The trend analysis was effective to show how the rate of errors declined within the set period of time.

The findings of the research demonstrate that it is efficient for laboratories to focus on monitoring the quality of testing regarding the five determined indicators because they represent the most typical errors in laboratory tests.

The research results can be used while improving the monitoring systems for laboratories because to advance the quality of testing, it is necessary to refer to indicators identified by Agarwal and the group of researchers.

Thus, the authors’ notes regarding the correlation between the use of quality indicators in laboratories, decreases in medical errors, and improvement of patient safety can be discussed as valid.

Works Cited

Agarwal, Rachna, Sujata Chaturvedi, Neelam Chhillar, Ishita Pant, Smita Kaushik, and Chandra Bhushan Tripathi. “A Trend Analysis of Quality Indicators of Patient Safety in the Clinical Laboratory Over 21 Months”. Lab Medicine 43.6 (2012): 300-306. Print.Quality Indicators of Patient Safety Critical Essay

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

Quality Indicators of Patient Safety

Introduction

Patient safety is a priority for hospitals, but it can often be difficult to measure. This is especially true when you consider the many ways in which patient safety can be compromised: from medication errors to adverse drug events. The good news is that there are a number of ways health care providers can ensure their facilities are addressing these issues effectively and consistently across all aspects of patient care.

National Quality Forum (NQF)

The National Quality Forum (NQF) is a nonprofit organization that develops consensus-based clinical quality measures. It develops measures for the following topics: asthma, diabetes, heart failure, heart attack and stroke, pneumonia, hip and knee replacement, joint replacement.

• NQF has developed an asthma care quality measure that can be used to track how well health care providers are doing in treating patients with asthma.

• One goal of this measure is to identify gaps in care between what patients need and what they receive from their doctors or other providers.

Maternal and Infant Health

The Maternal and Infant Health Initiative is a new initiative that aims to improve patient safety in hospitals. This initiative has been implemented in many different countries, including the United States and Canada.

The Maternal and Infant Health Initiative can be used by healthcare providers to help reduce errors during procedures such as Cesarean sections, hysterectomies and surgeries. It also helps make sure that patients are treated quickly after they’ve been injured so their injuries don’t get worse before they’re able to receive treatment from trained professionals.

Adverse Drug Events in Hospitalized Patients

Adverse Drug Events in Hospitalized Patients

• Adverse drug events (ADEs) are preventable medical errors that result in injury or death to patients.

• ADEs are a leading cause of preventable death in the United States and can be caused by:

• Misuse of a prescribed medication; 2) Medication error; 3) Ineffective treatment plan implementation; 4) Failure to follow guidelines for safe use of medications, including dose adjustments based on weight and other factors known to affect metabolism or elimination rates; 5) Unsafe administration practices such as reuse of injection needles or syringes between patients; 6) Use outside recommended indications/dosages without consulting with a physician as needed (e.g., when taking more than one medication at once); 7) Failure to recognize symptoms associated with dangerous side effects (e.g., chest pain), insufficient diagnostic testing for serious conditions like sepsis).

Medication Reconciliation Post-Discharge

Medication reconciliation is the process of ensuring that patients are taking the right medications. It can be done at discharge or prior to discharge, but it’s important to check that patients are taking the right medications to avoid adverse drug events (ADEs).

Medication reconciliation should be completed with each patient in order to prevent ADEs and make sure they receive their medication as prescribed.

Conclusion

We hope you’ve found these indicators helpful as you work on improving patient safety in your organization. If you have any questions about how to apply this information in practice, please reach out!