EBP, or evidence-based practice, is a methodical strategy for making healthcare decisions incorporating the best available evidence, clinical knowledge, and patient values and preferences (Jolley, 2020). It displays the application of scientific ideas to improve healthcare productivity and offer high-quality services. The EBP process primarily concerns healthcare techniques that enhance patient outcomes, increase healthcare provider satisfaction, lower healthcare costs, and reduce errors in all facets of medical environments.
The Quadruple Aim builds upon the previous Triple Aim, highlighting four important facets of healthcare improvement: improving patient experience, population health, reducing costs, and enhancing the work life of healthcare providers. It aims to offer consistent and adequate healthcare delivery to everybody regardless of their background or status, with the intention of lowering healthcare costs while raising standards of care. There is a strong link between EBP and the Quadruple Aim. Achieving the Quadruple Aim is largely tied to the effective implementation of EBP in healthcare. For instance, EBP ensures that the care provided is based on the most recent research and tried-and-true methods. When patients receive care that aligns with evidence, they are more likely to have favourable patient experiences (Crabtree et al., 2016).
EBP is also essential for addressing population health as a whole. It makes it possible for healthcare organizations to locate evidence-based treatments and preventative practices that can significantly improve the general public’s health. Additionally, EBP directly affects healthcare costs. It assists decision-makers in effectively allocating resources by pointing out the most cost-effective interventions. Finally, there is a strong link between EBP and the work-life of healthcare providers. EBP encourages a culture of lifelong learning and development among medical practitioners (Kim et al., 2016). When healthcare professionals have access to the most recent research and employ it, their clinical judgement is increased. This confidence not only improves patient care but also reduces the stress associated with making uninformed decisions. This emphasizes that maintaining high-quality patient care requires the use of evidence-based medical practices. Therefore, healthcare researchers must establish a culture that supports EBP, its application, and its implementation.
However, the uninspiring trends in the adoption of EBP could hamper the success of the Quadruple Aim. Issues such as limited knowledge and skills, heavy nurse workloads, and inappropriate attitudes have made the EBP implementation to be inconsistent. These uninspiring performances point to a potential failure in realizing the Quadruple Aim because factors including patient experience, population health, costs, and healthcare providers’ work-life depend on the precision of EBP implementation.
The elements of the Quadruple Aim, including patient experience, population health, costs, and work-life of healthcare providers, are typically assessed through data collection and analysis processes. EBP plays a critical role in shaping these elements because any efforts to improve patient experiences, enhance population health, and control costs rely on the accurate analysis of data grounded in EBP (Sikka et al., 2015). The same is true for improving population health and cost because both must be reviewed in light of the relevant medical data in the area where EBP is based.
The fourth element of the Quadruple Aim, the work-life of healthcare providers, is considered a strong pillar on which the program should be based. Researchers have found that achieving population health, a better patient experience, and cost reduction is challenging without improving the well-being of healthcare providers. The success of this fourth element can be measured through health workforce engagement and safety factors, which depend highly on the implementation of EBP.
In conclusion, the Quadruple Aim’s four components continue to impact how healthcare is delivered; thus evaluating these factors is crucial to creating a system that prioritizes patients’ needs. The poor attitude manifested in the adoption and implementation of the EBP impacts the Quadruple Aim’s success. The Quadruple Aim will continue to be difficult to achieve as long as EBP does not coincide with its execution.
References
Crabtree, E., Brennan, E., Davis, A., & Coyle, A. (2016). Improving Patient Care Through Nursing Engagement in Evidence‐Based Practice. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, 13(2), 172-175.
Jolley, J. (2020a). Evidence-based practice. Introducing Research and Evidence-Based Practice for Nursing and Healthcare Professionals, 63–88. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429329456-4
Kim, S. C., Stichler, J. F., Ecoff, L., Brown, C. E., Gallo, A. M., & Davidson, J. E. (2016).Predictors of Evidence‐Based Practice Implementation, Job Satisfaction, and Group Cohesion among Regional Fellowship Program Participants. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, 13(5), 340-348.
Sikka, R., Morath, J. M., & Leape, L. (2015). The Quadruple Aim: Care, health, cost and meaning in work. BMJ Quality & Safety, 24, 608–610. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004160
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