Preparation In this assessment, you’ll assess the effect of the health problem you’ve defined on the quality of care, patient safety, and costs to the system and individual. Plan to spend at least 2 direct practicum hours working with the same patient, family, or group. During this time, you may also choose to consult with subject matter and industry experts. To prepare for the assessment:

Assessing the Problem- Quality, Safety, and Cost Considerations

Alzheimer’s disease is an incurable disease that impacts the quality of care and patient safety. Healthcare providers should offer patient-centered care to address the unique needs of each patient. Patient-centeredness improves the quality of care and patient outcomes. This paper discusses the impact of Alzheimer’s disease on cost, safety, and healthcare quality.

Part 1

The Impact of Alzheimer’s Disease on the Quality of Care

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has a significant impact on the healthcare system. The disease progresses from mild to severe AD, which impedes patients’ ability to complete their activities of daily living. Additionally, AD impairs a person’s thought process and leads to memory loss. Also, patients are predisposed to conditions such as aspiration pneumonia. The health impacts of AD necessitate the provision of quality care (ALZ.org, n.d.). To accomplish this, a patient-centered approach should be adopted. Patient-centeredness acknowledges the unique needs of each person living with AD (ALZ.org, n.d.). This approach ensures that patients with mild, moderate, or severe AD receive individualized care. Patient-centeredness requires care coordination that involves an interdisciplinary approach. Notably, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and dieticians should collaborate to achieve holistic care and patient-centeredness.

Impact on Patient Safety

AD impacts patient safety by affecting patients’ physical, emotional, and social well-being. For instance, patients with severe AD experience extrapyramidal dysfunction that impedes their mobility (Mok et al., 2020). This predisposes the patients to environmental hazards such as a high risk of falls and injuries. Furthermore, prolonged immobilization increases the risk of conditions such as aspiration pneumonia (Mok et al., 2020). Limited mobility and diminished motor function impede patients’ ability to accomplish their daily living activities. Subsequently, this increases the risk of malnutrition and medication errors (Galvin et al., 2021). Also, patients’ social lives are affected because they depend on others for activities such as bathing and toileting (Galvin et al., 2021). Early onset and poorly managed AD have poor prognoses and are associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. CDC.gov (2020) reports that AD ranks fifth among the major etiologies of deaths in patients aged above sixty-five years.

Impact on Cost

CDC.gov (2020) reported that by 2020, more than 5.8 million people were living with AD. The high prevalence of AD impacts the direct and indirect costs of managing the disease. According to CDC.gov (2020), more than $210 billion is spent on the annual management of additionally, AD. ALZ.org (n.d.) reports that in 2022, the annual cost of managing AD was about $320 billion. Further, CDC.gov (2020) projects that the prevalence of AD will triple by 2060. As such, the costs of managing the disease are anticipated to increase. For instance, CDC.gov (2020) estimates that by 2040, the annual costs of managing AD will exceed $500 billion.

The Impact of Organizational and Government Policies

The American Nurses Association (ANA) is an organization whose standards of practice impact the quality of care provided to AD patients. ANA’s standards of nursing practice have three thematic areas. The first theme addresses professional standards. This provision guides nurses’ actions during patient assessment and diagnosis, development and execution of care plans, and during patient follow-up (MO.gov, n.d.). Accurate diagnosis, care of patients, and patient follow-up increase the quality of care. By so doing, patient outcomes and safety are optimized. Optimized patent outcomes are associated with reduced hospitalizations hence lower healthcare costs. The second theme addresses performance standards. This delineates nurses’ role in patient care, quality assurance, and interdisciplinary collaboration (MO.gov, n.d.). These standards enable nurses to uphold patient-centeredness to improve the quality of care. The third theme addresses practice guidelines (MO.gov, n.d.). These guidelines provide a standardized procedure in patient care. Practice guidelines are evidence-based procedures that create harmony in healthcare delivery. As a result, they improve the quality of healthcare services.

Moreover, various governmental policies impact my scope of practice. Firstly, the National Alzheimer’s Project Act aims to minimize the impact of AD on healthcare costs (HHS.gov, n.d.). To accomplish this, the Act champions the appropriate allocation of resources to facilitate AD-related res