NURS FPX 4020 Assessment 3 Improvement Plan In-Service Presentation

The patient identification error at Harmony Valley Hospital resulted in severe complications, such as an extended hospital stay for a patient who mistakenly received the wrong treatment. To this effect, it is important to develop and execute a comprehensive improvement plan to tackle these challenges as illustrated by the following: Having patient identification at least twice using two different identifiers in the two-step verification process greatly reduces the possibility of patient misidentification (Kelly, 2023). Joint Commission also states that hospitals adopting a two-step verification process will have reduced incidences of patient identification errors by 30% (Joint Commission, 2023 Kelly). By so doing, the hospital aims to achieve a safer and more dependable environment in treating all patients.

Purpose and Goals

Harmony Valley Hospital will integrate several key strategies into its patient identification protocols to improve safety outcomes. Patient identification will be done at least twice using two different identifiers, including the patient’s name and date of birth, as the hospital will introduce two-factor authentication. This process is aimed at minimizing misidentification to the extent of 95%, according to Nigam et al. (2022). Improvements will also be made to the EHR to incorporate a strong patient identification system to identify other patients with similar names and also special verification measures for risky drugs. NURS FPX 4020 Assessment 3 Healthcare staff education will be complemented, and all human resources in the healthcare industry will be educated on the new measures and be able to implement them to improve patients’ safety (Sullivan et al., 2024). These changes are based on evidence derived from existing empirical literature that enhances the system’s reliability in the hospital with the ultimate vision of reducing patients’ adverse consequences.

Need and Process to Improve Safety Outcomes

In-service sessions will be conducted to educate all healthcare staff on the new patient identification protocols and system enhancements. Through these sessions, the healthcare organizations’ teams will attain the necessary training regarding the new two-step verification and changes in the features of the electronic health records to improve practice implementation (Nigam et al., 2022). The sessions will also promote different intricacies of the new systems and correctly identify patients to avoid mistakes. For instance, a safety focus of the hospital here is to achieve improved awareness and understanding of this new practice among employees to enhance compliance and safety culture within the organization. 

NURS FPX 4020 Assessment 3 Active Participation 

Active participation and commitment from all staff members are vital for the successful implementation of the improvement plan at Harmony Valley Hospital. The use of the two-step verification process takes place where the nurse is most involved with the patient, during interactions and medication administration. These new protocols are incorporated into the baseline processes of those in the physical healthcare setting to retain standards and affirmations of patient identification (Kulju et al., 2020). Administrators manage the implementation process of the enhanced electronic health record system where trained human resource is provided. The IT department also maintains the technical side of the new system, which is always solved in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, healthcare staff resistance is prevalent due to the erosion of time and patient acuity (Holcomb et al., 2021). By combining team performance and commitment, the hospital promotes a safer healthcare organization and achieves lower risks of patient identification errors.