Download Research Problem and Purpose StatementCapellaUniversity Part and more Lecture notes Accounting in PDF only on Docsity! Research Problem and Purpose Statement CapellaUniversity Part 1 Background and Evidence The hospital-acquired condition (HAC) I selected to research is a foreign object in the body post-surgery. A hospital operating room is often a high stress environment and requires precision and exactness. To ensure this, many checklists are established to make sure that all instruments, objects and towels are accounted for before and after surgery. Prior to beginning any procedure, the surgical team does a “time-out” to verify the patient, procedure and any health history concerns before and after the surgery. Although extreme measures are taken to ensure the safety of the patient on the operating table, human error remains a concern and can happen at any time. Surgical procedures are a common occurrence to properly treat many patients and elected surgical procedures help allow many patients to live better lives. There is an average of twenty- eight million surgeries performed each year in the United States (Pyrek, 2017). Out of the twenty-eight million surgeries, around five thousand reported foreign objects remaining post- surgical procedure (Pyrek, 2017). Many advancements have been made in surgical procedures and medical care in order to thwart events involving foreign objects, however retaining medical equipment and other feign bodies continues to pose an issue for patients receiving surgery (Fencl, 2016). The danger of leaving unintended objects inside a patient can result in infection and even lead to death. The patients who are faced with this obstacle often experience emotional strain in addition to any physical harm caused by the remaining object. The Joint Commission defines this instance as a “sentinel event” meaning the event is unexpected and leads to “death, physical or psychological harm of a patient” (Fenner, 2019). The Joint Commission is committed to significantly reducing these events by employing the “Universal Protocol” which was established in 2004. This set of rules creates a standardized step-by-step process for reducing the risk of surgeons performing a procedure on the wrong site, side or using the wrong equipment by requiring the use of “time-outs” (Kim et al., 2015). Every procedure that is performed within the operating room is verified by each team member to allow the opportunity to speak up against any obvious errors. The Joint Commission has received criticism regarding the effectiveness of their established protocol because mistakes are still happening. When dire mistakes like this take place, not only is The Joint Commission criticized but the reputation of the surgical facility are scrutinized. It is beneficial when hospitals and surgical facilities create transparency regarding surgical errors to their patients (Liber, 2018). Nevertheless, when these mistakes take place it is imperative to the reputation of the facility and patient’s safety that corrective actions take place. The effort put forth to correct these actions showcases the commitment to patient safety and the continued dedication to providing the best care (Birolini, Rasslan & Utiyama, 2016). Part 2 Problem Statement Every year in the United States there are around five thousand surgeries in which patients were reported to have retained surgical equipment inside their body post-surgery. Part 3 Purpose Statement The National Patient Safety Agency provides a protocol named the Five Steps to Safer Surgery which should be employed through all surgical centers to reduce retained surgical equipment instances. The Five Steps to Safer Surgery require a five-step protocol that require
