ANSWER
Root-Cause Analysis and Plan for Safety Enhancement
Your Name
Capella University School of Nursing and Health Sciences NURS4020: Enhancing Patient Safety and Care Quality
Name of the Instructor
Month and Year
Root-Cause Analysis and Plan for Safety Enhancement
Overview
One of the most common safety issues in healthcare is medication errors, which can result in patient injury, higher medical expenses, and a loss of patient trust. A pharmaceutical error involving a high-alert medicine given in a crowded hospital ward is examined in this investigation. With the use of organizational resources, the investigation seeks to pinpoint the error’s underlying causes and offer evidence-based mitigation techniques to prevent such incidents in the future.
Examining the Root Cause
The incident entailed giving insulin to a patient who had been prescribed another drug in error. When the patient’s blood glucose levels fell dangerously low and necessitated immediate medical attention, the error was discovered. The incident caused stress for the staff members involved and affected the patient by extending their hospital stay.
Results of the analysis:
What was meant to happen? At the appointed time, the patient was to receive the non-insulin medication that was prescribed to them.
Actions not taken: Perceived time restrictions led the nurse to circumvent the barcode medication administration (BCMA) system.
Environmental factors: The error was caused by high patient-to-nurse ratios and frequent disruptions during drug preparation.
Human error: Not following the double-check procedure for drugs that should be taken with extreme caution.
Factors affecting communication: The patient’s vital medication requirements were not brought to light during shift handoffs due to inadequate communication.
Primary Causes:
BCMA technology is not being used effectively.
heavy effort and disruptions.
inadequate compliance with safety regulations.
Utilizing Evidence-Based Practices
Top Techniques:
Research indicates that disruptions during the preparation of medications can raise the likelihood of mistakes by as much as 60% (Flynn et al., 2016). Errors are decreased when “no-interruption zones” (NIZ) are used when administering medications.
In order to guarantee accuracy, The Joint Commission (2021) stresses following the five rights of drug administration and using BCMA technology consistently.
Programs for education and training help nurses recognize and avoid mistakes related to high-alert drugs (Institute for Safe Medication Practices, 2019).
Plan for Improvement Using Best Practices and Evidence-Based Approaches
Procedures and Actions:
Create No-Interruption Zones: To reduce disruptions, place visible and tactile warnings in places where medications are prepared.
Strengthen Compliance with BCMA Procedures: To guarantee that barcode scanning is done correctly for all prescriptions, hold required training sessions.
Put Double-Check Policies into Practice: Encourage the use of a buddy system in which two nurses check high-alert drugs before giving them out.
Staffing Changes: To reduce workload and tiredness during peak shifts, promote improved nurse-patient ratios.
Objectives and Results:
Within six months, cut the number of drug errors in half.
Increase adherence to 95% of BCMA technology.
Boost employee confidence and satisfaction in administering medications.
Timetable:
Month 1: Establish no-interrruption zones and start staff training.
Months 2–3: Track the application of BCMA adherence and double-check policies.
Month 4: Perform a preliminary assessment and make any necessary strategy adjustments.
Current Organizational Assets
Resources to Make Use of:
Technology: To track compliance and spot patterns, make use of the BCMA’s current systems and electronic health records.
Staff: Assign quality improvement specialists to monitor progress and clinical educators to lead training sessions.
Policies: Add double-checks for high-alert medications to the present medication delivery procedures.
Extra Materials Required:
Staff training resources.
Set aside money for physical alterations and signs to establish no-interrruption zones.
In conclusion
When the underlying reasons are found and addressed using evidence-based practices, medication errors can be avoided. Patient safety and staff confidence can be improved by establishing no-interrruption zones, enforcing BCMA procedures, and putting double-check rules into place. The successful execution of the suggested improvement strategy depends on utilizing organizational resources and encouraging a culture of safety.
Citations
Flynn, F., Hutchinson, D. E., Colon-Emeric, C., Evanish, J. Q., & Fernald, J. M. (2016). involving employees in safety and quality. 42(3), 133–139, The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.
Safe Medication Practices Institute. (2019). Techniques for making sure high-alert drugs are used safely. taken from the website https://www.ismp.org
2021; The Joint Commission. national objectives for patient safety. taken from the Joint Commission’s website.
QUESTION
For this assessment, you can use a supplied template to conduct a root-cause analysis. The completed assessment will be a scholarly paper focusing on a quality or safety issue in a health care setting of your choice as well as a safety improvement plan.
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Introduction
As patient safety concerns continue to be addressed in the health care settings, nurses can play an active role in implementing safety improvement measures and plans. Often root-cause analyses are conducted and safety improvement plans are created to address sentinel or adverse events such as medication errors, patient falls, wrong-site surgery events, and hospital-acquired infections. Performing a root-cause analysis offers a systematic approach for identifying causes of problems, including process and system-check failures. Once the causes of failures have been determined, a safety improvement plan can be developed to prevent recurrences. The baccalaureate nurse’s role as a leader is to create safety improvement plans as well as disseminate vital information to staff nurses and other health care professionals to protect patients and improve outcomes.
As you prepare for this assessment, it would be an excellent choice to complete the Quality and Safety Improvement Plan Knowledge Base activity and to review the various assessment resources, all of which will help you build your knowledge of key concepts and terms related to quality and safety improvement. The terms and concepts will be helpful as you prepare your Root-Cause Analysis and Safety Improvement Plan. Activities are not graded and demonstrate course engagement.
Professional Context
Nursing practice is governed by health care policies and procedures as well as state and national regulations developed to prevent problems. It is critical for nurses to participate in gathering and analyzing data to determine causes of patient safety issues, in solving problems, and in implementing quality improvements.
Scenario
For this assessment, use the specific safety concern identified in your previous assessment as the subject of a root-cause analysis and safety improvement plan.
Instructions
The purpose of this assessment is to demonstrate your understanding of and ability to analyze a root cause of a specific safety concern in a health care setting. You will create a plan to improve the safety of patients related to the safety quality issue presented in your Assessment Supplement PDF in Assessment 1. Based on the results of your analysis, using the literature and professional best practices as well as the existing resources at your chosen health care setting, provide a rationale for your plan.
Use the Root-Cause Analysis and Improvement Plan [DOCX] Download Root-Cause Analysis and Improvement Plan [DOCX] template to help you to stay organized and concise. This will guide you step-by-step through the root cause analysis process.
Additionally, be sure that your plan addresses the following, which corresponds to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Please study the scoring guide carefully so you understand what is needed for a distinguished score.
· Analyze the root cause of a specific patient safety issue in an organization.
· Apply evidence-based and best-practice strategies to address the safety issue.
· Create a feasible, evidence-based safety improvement plan to address a specific patient safety issue.
· Identify organizational resources that could be leveraged to improve your plan.
· Communicate in writing that is clear, logical, and professional, with correct grammar and spelling, using current APA style.
Example Assessment: You may use the following to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like but keep in mind that your Assessment 2 will focus on the quality issue you selected in Assessment 1.
· Assessment 2 Example [PDF] Download Assessment 2 Example [PDF] .
Additional Requirements
· Length of submission: Use the provided Root-Cause Analysis and Improvement Plan template to create a 4–6 page root cause analysis and safety improvement plan pertaining to a specific patient safety issue.
· Number of references: Cite a minimum of 3 sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your findings and considerations. Resources should be no more than 5 years old.
· APA formatting: Format references and citations according to current APA style.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
· Competency 1: Analyze the elements of a successful quality improvement initiative.
· Apply evidence-based and best-practice strategies to address the safety issue.
· Create a feasible, evidence-based safety improvement plan to address a specific patient safety issue.
· Competency 2: Analyze factors that lead to patient safety risks.
· Analyze the root cause of a specific patient safety issue in an organization.
· Competency 3: Identify organizational interventions to promote patient safety.
· Identify organizational resources that could be leveraged to improve your plan.
· Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly, evidence-based strategies to communicate in a manner that supports safe and effective patient care.
· Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions; contains few errors in grammar or punctuation, word choice, and spelling.
· Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references exhibiting nearly flawless adherence to APA format.
TEMPLATE
Root-Cause Analysis and Safety Improvement Plan Your Name School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Capella University NURS4020: Improving Quality of Care and Patient Safety Instructor Name Month, Year
2 Root-Cause Analysis and Safety Improvement Plan Introduce a general summary of the issue or sentinel event that the root-cause analysis (RCA) will be exploring. Provide a brief context for the setting in which the event took place. Keep this short and general. Explain to the reader what will be discussed in the paper and this should mimic the scoring guide/the headings. Analysis of the Root Cause Describe the issue or sentinel event for which the RCA is being conducted. Provide a clear and concise description of the problem that instigated the RCA. Your description should include information such as: • What happened? • Who detected the problem/event? • Who did the problem/event affect? • How did it affect them? Provide an analysis of the event and relevant findings. Look to the media simulation, case study, professional experience, or another source of context that you used for the event you described. As you are conducting your analysis and focusing on one or more root causes for your issue or sentinel event, it may be useful to ask questions such as: • What was supposed to occur? o Were there any steps that were not taken or did not happen as intended? • What environmental factors (controllable and uncontrollable) had an influence? • What equipment or resource factors had an influence? • What human errors or factors may have contributed? • Which communication factors may have contributed?
3 These questions are just intended as a starting point. After analyzing the event, make sure you explicitly state one or more root causes that led to the issue or sentinel event. Application of Evidence-Based Strategies Identity best practices strategies to address the safety issue or sentinel event. • Describe what the literature states about the factors that lead to the safety issue. o For example, interruptions during medication administration increase the risk of medication errors by specifically stated data. o Explain how the strategies could be addressed in safety issues or sentinel events. Improvement Plan with Evidence-Based and Best-Practice Strategies Provide a description of a safety improvement plan that could realistically be implemented within the health care setting in which your chosen issue or sentinel event took place. This plan should contain: • Actions, new processes or policies, and/or professional development that will be undertaken to address one or more of the root causes. o Support these recommendations with references from the literature or professional best practices. • A description of the goals or desired outcomes of these actions. • A rough timeline of development and implementation for the plan. Existing Organizational Resources Identify existing organizational personnel and/or resources that would help improve the implementation or outcomes of the plan. o A brief note on resources that may need to be obtained for the success of the plan.
4 o Consider what existing resources may be leveraged to enhance the improvement plan? Conclusion
5 References Reference page should be double spaced throughout without extra spaces between entries. Each reference page entry should be formatted according to APA 7 guidelines with a hanging indent as is seen here.
EXAMPLE
Root-Cause Analysis and Improvement Plan Your Name School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Capella University NURS-FPX4020: Improving Quality of Care and Patient Safety Instructor Name Month, Year
2 Copyright ©2019 Capella University. Copy and distribution of this document are prohibited. Root-Cause Analysis and Improvement Plan According to Spath (2011), root-cause analysis is a methodical approach that aims to discover the causes of adverse events and near misses for the purpose of identifying preventive measures (as cited in Charles et al., 2016). A root-cause analysis of falls in geropsychiatric patients was conducted at an inpatient mental health unit. The paper describes and analyzes falls and discusses evidence-based strategies to reduce falls and determine a safety improvement plan based on the utilization of existing organizational resources to address these falls. Root-Cause Analysis of Falls in Geropsychiatric Inpatients According to Murphy, Xu, and Kochanek (2013), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that falls were a leading cause of unintentional injury death in adults aged 65 and above (as cited in Powell-Cope et al., 2014). Fall-related injuries that can lead to serious head trauma are common among older adults. Injury falls are serious and could lead to fractures, head injury, and intracranial bleed. According to the National Quality Forum (2011), injury falls in older adults are almost always preventable (as cited in Powell-Cope et al., 2014). Fall-related injuries prolong the stay of patients at the hospital and aggravate their health conditions (Powell-Cope et al., 2014). Considering the adverse implications of falls in such patients, a root-cause analysis was conducted on the 20 cases of falls reported over a period of one year at a geropsychiatric inpatient facility. The aim of the analysis was to understand the causes of falls in geropsychiatric patients at the unit. The analysis was conducted by a team of five experts including clinicians, supervisors, and quality improvement personnel. The cases reported had been registered by a team of nurses who collated the data related to the falls. All the falls were described as cases of slipping or tripping, and patients mostly sustained injuries involving pain, mild swelling, and abrasions, with only two of the cases involving minor
3 Copyright ©2019 Capella University. Copy and distribution of this document are prohibited. fractures. It was also observed that all the falls occurred near the beds of patients and during the evening or night shifts when nursing teams were more likely to be understaffed. Geropsychiatric patients are known to be susceptible to falls under the influence of drugs such as antidepressants and antipsychotics. Orthostatic hypotension (decrease in blood pressure within three minutes of standing), ataxia (lack of voluntary muscular control caused by injury to the central nervous system), and extrapyramidal slowing (impaired motor functions) due to the use of drugs such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, sedatives, hypnotics, alpha-blockers, and non-benzodiazepines are often found to be linked to these kinds of falls (Powell-Cope et al., 2014). The team of experts reviewed the reports of falls and noted that in over 50% of the cases, patients had been ambulating under the influence of drugs. It was also noted that 80% of the patients who fell while ambulating under the influence of drugs had been prescribed zolpidem. At least 40% of the falls could be attributed to generalized weakness, disorientation, and difficulty with mobility. Fall and injury risks are often complicated by behavioral circumstances such as anger, anxiety, hyperarousal, and the inability to call for help or to remember to call for help. Physical conditions that occur with substance abuse (such as malnourishment and dehydration) co-exist with psychiatric disability and cause further complications (Powell-Cope et al., 2014). Another factor that plays a role in patient safety is infrastructure in hospitals. This was particularly noteworthy as all the falls studied had occurred when patients ambulated near their beds. The use of beds with adjustable height, bed- and chair-exit alarms, and nonskid footwear are known to prevent fall-related injuries in psychiatric patients (Powell-Cope et al., 2014).
4 Copyright ©2019 Capella University. Copy and distribution of this document are prohibited. Application of Evidence-Based Strategies to Reduce Falls Considering that all the falls reported occurred near the patients’ beds, infrastructural changes such as the installation of bed- and chair-exit alarms are recommended. Falls from beds are common in patients with cognitive impairments. Installing electronic alarm systems was found to be a feasible and effective fall prevention strategy in such cases (Wong Shee, Phillips, Hill, & Dodd, 2014). Strategies such as team engagement and proactive planning to avoid falls can be implemented in inpatient geropsychiatric wards. Forming a quality and patient safety team can serve as an essential safety net and drive a proactive approach rather than a reactive one toward reducing sentinel events. Such a team could include existing staff in the unit that are selected based on their skills and experience. The primary focus of the team would be to identify, evaluate, measure, and improve processes and activities related to patient safety within the unit (Serino, 2015). Better management of medication must be implemented to reduce falls that occur under the influence of drugs. Administering melatonin instead of zolpidem reduces the level of sedation. Lower levels of sedation reduce the frequency of patients’ visits to the bathroom at night as well as the aftereffects of sedatives in the morning (Powell-Cope et al., 2014). Improvement Plan The improvement plan involves a two-pronged approach: improving staff effectiveness and coordination and implementing environmental modifications. The first part of the plan focuses on increasing the effectiveness of patient monitoring and staff coordination through intentional rounding, one-to-one observation of patients, and increased communication among staff. Intentional rounding is a system wherein the nursing staff conduct structured routine checks on patients at regular intervals. The duration of intervals is decided based on the needs of patients in the unit. Intentional rounding is known to be
5 Copyright ©2019 Capella University. Copy and distribution of this document are prohibited. particularly effective in reducing falls (Morgan et al., 2016). One-to-one observation is recommended for high-fall-risk patients. One-to-one observation of patients by moving them close to the nurse’s station aids effective monitoring and reduces the risk of falls. Sentinel events can be prevented by promoting interdisciplinary collaboration in health care. Good communication and collaboration between physicians, therapists, kinesio therapists, and occupational therapists are essential in monitoring patient activity (Powell-Cope et al., 2014). The second part of the improvement plan focuses on environmental modifications to existing infrastructure in the unit to reduce falls. Installing chair- and bed-exit alarms to alert staff when a patient attempts to leave the chair or bed has proven to be effective in reducing falls. These alarms can be attached to the patient directly or to the chair or bed the patient uses (Wong Shee et al., 2014). Other recommended environmental modifications include using creative display signage beside patients’ beds. This could be magnets next to the name of a fall-risk patient on a white board or the sign of a leaf on a patient’s bedroom door. Such displays alert staff and visitors of the risk involved with each patient. The use of nonslip strips on floors (especially in bathrooms) and the installation of geriatric-friendly sanitary ware such as handrails, assist bars, shower chairs, and raised toilet chairs enhance patient safety (Powell-Cope et al., 2014). The attending staff in the unit would have to be trained to facilitate and monitor the use of environmental modifications such as electronic alarms to ensure their successful implementation. It is crucial to identify and leverage existing organizational resources when implementing the improvement plan. The first part of the improvement plan involves utilizing the skills and expertise of existing staff members rather than hiring new members to assist in fall prevention. To improve monitoring of patients, the staff members are trained on intentional rounding techniques and one-to-one observation. The environmental interventions suggested in the second part of the plan involve the installation of additional components to
6 Copyright ©2019 Capella University. Copy and distribution of this document are prohibited. existing hospital fixtures such as chairs, beds, doors, and floors. Leveraging existing resources reduces the overall cost and effort involved in implementing the plan and ensures minimal disruption to ongoing patient routines and staff-led fall-prevention practices within the unit. Conclusion Falls are the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in geropsychiatric patients and are largely preventable. A root-cause analysis of falls in such patients was conducted at an inpatient mental health unit. Infrastructural gaps and ambulation under the influence of drugs were found to be primary factors that precipitated the falls reported in the unit. The paper discusses evidence-based strategies such as medication management, installation of electronic alarms, and formation of a quality and patient safety team that would help reduce falls. A two-pronged improvement plan was formed to systematically reduce falls in the unit. The plan involved improving staff effectiveness and coordination and implementing environmental modifications.
7 Copyright ©2019 Capella University. Copy and distribution of this document are prohibited. References Charles, R., Hood, B., Derosier, J. M., Gosbee, J. W., Li, Y., Caird, M. S., . . . Hake, M. E. (2016). How to perform a root cause analysis for workup and future prevention of medical errors: A review. Patient Safety in Surgery, 10. http://dx.doi.org.library.capella.edu/10.1186/s13037-016-0107-8 Morgan, L., Flynn, L., Robertson, E., New, S., Forde‐Johnston, C., & McCulloch, P. (2016). Intentional rounding: A staff‐led quality improvement intervention in the prevention of patient falls. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 26(1-2), 115–124. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13401 Powell-Cope, G., Quigley, P., Besterman-Dahan, K., Smith, M., Stewart, J., Melillo, C., … Friedman, Y. (2014). A qualitative understanding of patient falls in inpatient mental health units. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 20(5), 328–339. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078390314553269 Serino, M. F. (2015). Quality and patient safety teams in the perioperative setting. AORN Journal, 102(6), 617–628. https://doi- org.library.capella.edu/10.1016/j.aorn.2015.10.006 Wong Shee, A., Phillips, B., Hill, K., & Dodd, K. (2014). Feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of an electronic sensor bed/chair alarm in reducing falls in patients with cognitive impairment in a subacute ward. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 29(3), 253–262. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/NCQ.0000000000000054