INTRODUCTION
Patients and the health sector pay for diagnostic errors. Diagnostic errors threaten patient safety and positive patient outcomes. Therefore, healthcare stakeholders prevent diagnostic errors. Diagnostic errors originate from the outcome of the diagnostic process. Failure to communicate accurately and timely about a patient’s health problem compromises the treatment. Diagnostic errors result in unnecessary treatment, extended hospital stays, and high healthcare costs. Healthcare organizations work with competent nurses and regulators to handle diagnostic errors.
ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS
Misdiagnosis results in unnecessary treatments. Patients and the health sector pay for unwanted treatment because of diagnostic errors. The US economy spends $750 billion each year to handle diagnostic errors and other inefficiencies (Harris, 2023). Inaccurate explanations of patients’ health problems misinform consecutive treatment activities. Therefore, other healthcare workers need to give the right prescription and treatment assistance to their patients using the correct information. Patients and the US health sector pay for healthcare costs for unnecessary treatments. Unfortunately, patients such from the effects of diagnostic mistakes. Unnecessary treatments from misdiagnosis generate extra health complications that may escalate to death. Some errors are life-threatening. Thus, reverting the condition requires heavy financial expenditure from the patient. Sadly, other patients cannot afford high healthcare costs. Unnecessary treatments contribute to the increasing healthcare expenditures.
Diagnostic errors increase hospitalization duration and healthcare costs. Patients stay longer in healthcare facilities, spending more on the wrong treatment. Diagnostic errors generate new health complications (Allen, 2013). Some of these emerging health problems may require close medication attention. As a result, victims of diagnostic mistakes may extend their hospital stay until they recover. Healthcare organizations spend a lot of financial resources caring for patients with long hospital durations. Besides, patients incur extra expenditure on additional time. Diagnostic errors cause congestion in healthcare facilities because of prolonged treatments. Congestion in hospitals compromises effective service delivery. Healthcare resources are also depleted when handling patients with longer hospitalization timelines. The health sector uses huge budgets to fund additional healthcare needs when patients stay longer in hospitals due to the effects of medication errors.
SOLUTIONS
Training and education prevent diagnostic errors. Healthcare workers gain the right knowledge about the diagnosis. Training programs allow nurses to update their competence levels. High competence reduces the chances of diagnostic errors (Hautz et al., 2019). Hence, training all healthcare workers helps in sustaining patient safety. Nonetheless, other healthcare facilities prefer hiring competent nurses as a cost-effective alternative to prevent safety risks. Investing in training and education has a long-term impact than spending on addressing diagnostic errors. Training provides knowledge that prevents misdiagnosis. Also, training and education improve diagnosis routines. Qualified nurses make the right choices in diagnosis. In addition, competent nurses promptly explain patients’ health problems to facilitate effective treatment. Trained nurses guarantee patient safety and positive patient outcomes.
Simplifying the reporting of diagnostic errors can reduce diagnostic errors and their side effects. A simple procedure allows healthcare workers to identify and report diagnostic mistakes at infancy stages. Reporting errors is vital in the prevention. Besides, reporting errors holds healthcare providers accountable. Therefore, most staff members may prioritize providing secure services to avoid being reported. Reporting also provides crucial information that can transform positive patient outcomes. Healthcare organizations may implement organizational change that aims at eliminating the identified causes of diagnostic mistakes. Handling the causes of diagnostic errors improves organizational performance. Minimal bureaucracy in reporting errors creates a suitable environment for healthcare workers. The perfect relationship between healthcare workers and their leaders simplifies the error-reporting process. A suitable environment allows healthcare workers to solve other medication errors without forwarding them to the leadership.
Increasing accountability enables nurses to guarantee patient safety and reduce costs. Accountable nurses understand their role in achieving patient safety. Therefore, these healthcare workers make informed decisions. Accountability allows nurses to take charge of their actions (Lt, 2000). Thus, these healthcare workers limit the chances of engaging in medication errors. Also, responsible nurses understand that prolonged patient hospitalization increases healthcare costs. Many patients cannot pay high healthcare costs. Hence, competent nurses reduce unnecessary tests and treatments that incur high healthcare costs. The strategy allows patients to acquire quality healthcare services at pocket-friendly fees. Accountability in healthcare settings permits healthcare workers to report medication concerns without fearing the consequences of their actions. Also, healthcare facilities exercise responsibility by accepting medication errors and developing interventions. Nurses are experts with a significant impact on healthcare. Therefore, these healthcare workers can use their knowledge and skills to establish accountability in their operations.
THE ROLE OF NURSES AND DIFFERENT MEDICAL STAKEHOLDERS
Nurses have knowledge and experience that can help to prevent and handle diagnostic errors. Therefore, healthcare organizations entrust nurses to prevent medication errors. Nurses play a vital role in diagnosis. Due to that, these healthcare workers take ownership of the outcome of the diagnosis process. Nurses understand the causes of diagnostic errors because they are involved in a diagnosis (Lovatt et al., 2022). For this reason, nurses inform error prevention and response. Teamwork allows nurses to monitor each other when diagnosing their patients. As a result, team members can detect mistakes in and timely solve. Nurses working alone may take time to identify diagnostic mistakes. Regrettably, some mistakes may be detected after their escalation. Many healthcare organizations depend on their nurses to solve medication errors before the condition worsens. Nurses can also advise their leaders on the best error prevention and response strategies. Nurses’ active role in diagnosis made them essential in preventing medication errors and associated economic implications.
Regulators take an active role in addressing medication errors. The presence of policies on patient safety signifies regulatory organizations’ commitment to reduce health mistakes. Professional nursing organizations partner with other healthcare professionals to provide ethical codes that guide diagnosis. American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is an example of a healthcare stakeholder working to guarantee patient safety. Regulators also punish healthcare workers and providers found guilty of diagnostic errors. Therefore, many nurses strive to deliver the best services free from mistakes. Most regulators consider patient safety when executing their mandates. The good relationship between healthcare organizations and regulators has resulted in patient safety. Regulators hold healthcare workers and providers accountable for any activity that threatens patient safety. Thus, healthcare organizations uphold safety policies to avoid penalties.
CONCLUSION
Diagnostic errors increase healthcare expenditure. Patients and the healthcare sector pay for unnecessary treatment and prolonged hospitalization caused by misdiagnosis. Many healthcare organizations have competent healthcare workers to prevent diagnostic errors. Alternatively, training programs can benefit inexperienced and experienced nurses. Simplifying error reporting is also a remedy for medication errors. Nurses become accountable when they participate in keeping patients safe. Increasing accountability enables nurses to check their diagnosis activities to avoid errors. Professional nursing agencies help nurses to solve diagnostic errors.
References
Allen, M. (2013). How many die from medical mistakes in US hospitals? Scientific American, pp. 9–20.
Harris, E. (2023). Misdiagnosis Might Harm up to 800,000 US Patients Annually. JAMA. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.13135
Lovatt, S., Wong, C. W., Schwarz, K., Borovac, J. A., Lo, T., Gunning, M., … & Kwok, C. S. (2022). Misdiagnosis of aortic dissection: A systematic review of the literature. The American journal of emergency medicine, 53, 16–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2021.11.047
Lt, K. (2000). To err is human: building a safer health system. Institute of Medicine, Committee on Quality of Health Care in America.
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