Part 1
Patient safety is integral in ensuring high-quality services are provided in a healthcare setting. In hospital settings, safety issues are likely at any level and time and, as such, require the preparation of the practitioners to ensure quality services are maintained with minimal safety issues. For instance, at the primary level of care, there is an increased risk of misdiagnosis and medication errors. Misdiagnosis can result in the wrong treatment and, in some cases, delay the care administration. Medication errors can result in wrong prescriptions, impacting the patient’s health due to the wrong dosage (Meyer, 2019). In some cases, the need for more specialists in the provision of primary healthcare derails the process of treatment and evaluation, which impacts the patients negatively.
At the secondary level, inadequate staffing impacts the provision of quality health services, creating room for stress and burnout in the available workforce. Besides, the lack of proper infection controls makes it easier for patients to contract an infection in the hospitals, while surgical errors can have devastating consequences for patients’ health. At the tertiary level, adverse issues may develop during complex procedures, especially during organ transplants, where the body may reject the organ or an infection may develop (Mosadeghrad, 2014). Such a level demands a high level of coordination, and its lack among the practitioners may lead to multiple assessments by providers resulting in a low satisfaction rate.
At all levels, ensuring that the care administered meets the required standards and that the safety issues are assessed adequately is imperative. This results in adverse outcomes as the patients are forced to overstay in hospitals due to a lack of adherence to safety procedures. In the process, they incur enormous healthcare costs; in the worst-case scenario, a patient may die (Meyer, 2019). Such issues can impact the provision of quality services as the public may lose trust in the capability of the healthcare system due to low patient satisfaction.
Part 2
Cause and effect diagrams and process flowcharts are essential in enhancing the project process as they facilitate identifying potential solutions to arising issues. Even though they are incorporated for distinct usage, they contribute significantly to the project enhancement process know-how. Specifically, the process flow charts provide sufficient process steps through graphical illustration as well as potential mitigation for arising issues. It details the outputs, inputs, and series of steps to be followed to ensure the completion of a project (Johnson & Sollecito, 2020). A precise analysis of the flowchart allows for enhanced comprehension of the root cause of issues and, in the process, potential measures to enhance the implementation.
Cause and effect diagrams are essential in identifying the underlying issues that can help devise solutions. This implies that it helps identify the root cause of a problem. The diagrams are structured to ensure the users are able to assess the causes of an issue and consequently identify the root cause. Understanding the cause allows the project team to incorporate various measures to implement a viable solution to alleviate the problems and ensure the successful delivery of the project (Johnson & Sollecito, 2020). The diagrams contribute to increasing knowledge by identifying the root cause of an issue. Further, it aids in categorizing the arising issues by providing sufficient information on the problem and measures through which a solution can be developed.
Process flowcharts allow the stakeholders to comprehend the process and identify improvement areas. It gives an analogy of various inefficiencies and processes for improvement. Both tools are essential as they can be utilized collectively by the project team to acquire insights into the entire process and implement measures to minimize potential drawbacks (Johnson & Sollecito, 2020). Further, they help in the implementation of the targeted solutions aimed at specific issues that have the potential to derail the process.
References
Johnson, J. K., & Sollecito, W. A. (2020). McLaughlin and Kaluzny’s Continuous quality improvement in health care (5th ed.). Burlington: Jones and Bartlett. ISBN: 9781284126594.
Meyer, S. (2019, September 13). Patient safety. World Health Organization (WHO). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/patient-safety.
Mosadeghrad, A. M. (2014). Factors influencing healthcare service quality. International journal of health policy and management, 3(2), 77.
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