NURS FPX 4040 focuses on the importance of accurate reporting and high-quality outcomes. These NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 4 Attempt 2 Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue indicators are vital to ensuring nurses’ actions are based on accurate information.
Patient Fall Indicators
Patient falls can result in physical injuries, extended hospital stays and even death. Nurses have a professional and ethical responsibility to ensure environments that are safe for patients, including limiting fall risk factors.
Nurses who work in units with high fall rates report feeling pressure to meet an institution's goal. Many nurses described intense pressure, in the form of frequent messages from nursing administration (both senior- and midlevel), to "get the number down."
Determine how you will count patient falls. If your hospital information system can provide you with a daily average census for the unit of interest, use this as the basis for calculating your fall rate. Otherwise, NURS FPX 4010 Assessment 4 Attempt 1 Interdisciplinary Plan Proposal will need to tally the number of occupied beds for each day of the month (e.g., April 1 through April 30). Then divide the number of falls by the number of occupied beds to find the fall rate per 1,000 occupied bed days.
Patient Safety Indicators
Patient safety indicators help nurses identify areas of concern and develop strategies to improve nursing processes. For example, if a nurse notices a high rate of patient falls in her organization, she may use this information to create best practices for preventing injuries from falling patients. Using the appropriate data collection methods, the nurse may also share the results with her coworkers during daily huddles or monthly meetings.
The quality assurance department is responsible for evaluating and collecting nursing-sensitive data from the hospital. The NURS FPX 4020 Assessment 1 Enhancing Quality and Safety use this information to verify the accuracy of each nursing-sensitive indicator and make recommendations for improving best practices. This includes ensuring that nurses follow proper organizational protocols and do not breach the privacy of patient information on social media platforms like Facebook. If a nurse breaches this protocol, they are required to immediately notify the privacy officer who takes swift action to remove the post. This protects the patient from potential harm and ensures that nurses comply with HIPAA regulations.
Electronic Health Records
The nursing profession requires nurses to document patient information using a variety of electronic systems. These systems help reduce paperwork and speed up communication between medical staff members. Nurses can also use the data from these systems to identify and track issues such as potential fall risks, adverse drug interactions or comorbidities.
The technology level of nursing informatics influences the ability to improve clinical workflows and patient care outcomes. Nursing programs have incorporated nursing informatics into NURS FPX 4030 Assessment 1 Locating Credible Databases and Research curriculum to prepare graduates for this role. A nurse with this speciality can integrate their clinical skills with the knowledge of information technology to create a valuable asset for a healthcare organization (Goodman, 2020).
Nurses must be cautious when posting patient-related content online. The consequences of such actions can include fines, loss of employment and possible legal action by patients or other healthcare professionals. A scenario in which a nurse posted an inappropriate picture of a child in a hospital gown led to law enforcement involvement and resulted in the termination of the nurse (Goodman, 2010). This breach also exposes the hospital to potential HIPAA violations.
Nursing Informatics
Despite being an invisible health hero to those outside the industry, nurses play an essential role in making healthcare systems work. Their job involves bridging the gap between clinical spheres and information systems, ensuring patient safety is always top priority.
This unique position allows nursing to create and implement standardized electronic communication processes that make it easier for healthcare professionals to share information with each other and communicate with patients. Nursing informatics also assists with coordinating patient shifts and transfers.
Many healthcare facilities and networks have benefitted from nursing informatics. For example, Carolinas Healthcare System recently implemented a three-year optimization initiative to streamline EHRs for emergency treatment. This project aimed to simplify access to technology, reduce documentation and eliminate duplicate records. This was especially crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic, when staffing shortages increased the demand for emergency care. Having access to updated and accurate data enables nurses to respond quickly and efficiently to their patients’ needs.
