Download NR 520 Module 6 Assignment; Drivers of Health and more Assignments Health sciences in PDF only on Docsity! 1 Chamberlain College of Nursing NR520: Applied Theoretical Foundations, Scientific Inquiry, and Decision Making Drivers of Health-Related Policy Essay 2 Introduction Health-related policies are designed to support and protect the health and safety of an employee in the workplace and create a company culture of health. Health-related policies cover many aspects of health care. Some improve communication, prevent disease and illness, decrease human error and improve patient outcomes and safety. Patient safety is top priority in any facility. The use of electronic medication administration systems reduces the number of medication errors by verifying the “five rights” of medication administration every time a medication or vaccine is administered. Barcode medication administration systems operate on e-Mar systems and unifies all patient information in the patient’s chart where it becomes easily accessible to involved in the care of the patient. This paper will explain the purpose of health- related policies, how they impact the safety and quality of care a patient received and how the policies affect the practice of an advanced practice nurse. Policy Background and Purpose Barcode scanning systems reduce the chances of human error and electronically verify all patient data. Every time a medication barcode is scanned, a nurse is exercising the five rights of medication administration. The five rights of medication administration system is used to verify that a nurse is interacting with the right patient, administering the right dose of the right medication at the right time by the right route (Jessurun et al., 2021). This conformation is done by one simple scan of a medication barcode, vaccine barcode or a patient’s identification wrist band. Approximately 7,000 deaths occur in the form of errors that include ordering dispensing, administering or documentation. The use of a barcode medication administration system positively impacts the workflow for nurses by verifying patient information, increasing efficiency and improving workflows in facilities. 5 beneficial to healthcare organization systems and patients (Rigamonti & Rigamonti, 2021). These policies protect patients from accidents caused by human error or poor communication. According to Healthy People 2030, evidenced based practice promote patient health and prevent disease. Policies can protect clinicians, nurses and other healthcare staff from liability during or after procedures and help avoid potential lawsuits. Other policies are in place for protection of the patient. Policies are meant to be guidelines for practice and handling situations and are customized for each facility and department (Mulac et al., 2021). Since healthcare is always changing, the policies and procedures should be reviewed and updated regularly to reflect the most up to date standards of practice. Nurses should be up to date on the most recent and current polices and procedures. Conclusion and Recommendations At the conclusion of this paper, the importance of health-related policies in healthcare is obvious. Policies protect both healthcare workers and patients from things likes medication errors to privacy breaches and maintaining confidentiality. Policies in healthcare hold clinicians and nurses accountable for the care they provide and set a standard of care across an organization to ensure patient care is equal across the organization. . Barcode scanning not only verifies information for a nurse, it also can expedite the admittance process in addition to making medication administration faster. A recommendation I have is for facilities to hold meetings to discuss the importance of scanning compliance. Nurse managers should monitor these numbers to ensure that nurses are scanning patient medications and not bypassing the safety feature. Reduction of errors improves cost effective treatment within healthcare. The implementation of barcode scanning system requires redesigning the workflow for nurses who are often the most impacted healthcare workers. Barcode medication administration systems increase collaboration 6 and communication among clinicians, nursing staff, pharmacists and other members of healthcare. 7 References Effect of automated unit dose dispensing with barcode scanning on medication administration errors: an uncontrolled before-and-after study. Academic.oup.com. (n.d.). https://academic.oup.com/intqhc/article/33/4/mzab142/6400413 Mulac, A., Mathiesen, L., Taxis, K., & Granås, A. G. (2021, December 1). Barcode Medication Administration technology use in hospital practice: A mixed-methods observational study of policy deviations. BMJ Quality & Safety. https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/30/12/1021.abstract Rigamonti, D., & Rigamonti, K. H. (2021, February 7). Achieving and maintaining safety in healthcare requires unwavering institutional and individual commitments. Cureus. https:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7870115/ Arabi, A., Rafii, F., Cheraghi, M. A., & Ghiyasvandian, S. (2019, May). Nurses’ policy influence: A concept analysis. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research. https:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4061635 Health policy - american nurses association (ANA). ANA. (2017, October 14). https:// www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/health-policy/
