Database Plan
Health care providers collect massive data daily about health, wellness, illnesses, and patients’ behaviors, among other essential elements. Access to this data enables health care providers to provide efficient, quality, and personalized care. Data is also instrumental in facilitating care coordination and ensuring that health outcomes meet patient needs. However, outcomes depend on how health care organizations and providers manage data. As a result, databases are crucial as information management systems for efficient and coordinated practice. A database can focus on a specific issue, combined issues, or an entire system. This paper discusses the use of a database in CAUTI management. It explains the problem and the need for a database, conceptual data model, entities, and identifiers. Other vital components include relationships between entities and questions planned for the database.
The Problem and the Need for a Database
Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) are among the leading hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) affecting patients’ health profoundly. According to Zaha et al. (2019), HAIs, such as CAUTI, complicate patients’ health, lead to extended hospitalizations, and increase the financial burden associated with treating and managing diseases. Addressing this challenge prompts health care providers to adopt best practices, including proper catheter insertion, interprofessional collaboration, and removal of catheters timely and medically recommended. Process monitoring is also essential to ensure that appropriate interventions are made as situations necessitate.
Like other critical health care processes, effective CAUTI management requires a database as an information-management system. As Leahy et al. (2020) noted, health care databases contain an organized collection of structured data, typically electronic, to facilitate easy access, control, and update. A database management system (DBMS) enables health care providers to optimize and manage information storage and retrieval from databases. Mostly in critical care units, nurses and other health care providers need accurate and up-to-date data on procedures applied in CAUTIs’ control. Information regarding unit compliance rate with proper urinary tract infection, catheter insertion, assessment, and documentation on foley care should be readily available. Such data would be a reliable reflection point on the safety and quality of care patients with CAUTI receive and whether further interventions are necessary as far as CAUTI management is concerned.
Conceptual Data Model for the Planned Database
A conceptual data model identifies entities and their relationships. From a health outlook, a conceptual model enables health care providers to understand and reflect on performance from a data perspective (Danese et al., 2019). The same case applies to the conceptual model on CAUTI management. It illustrates the critical components of the planned database, with a central focus on entities and relationships. The model further shows the variables that give the entities meaning such that health care professionals can understand and apply health information effectively based on what is contained in the database.
Entities Planned for the Database
In data management and database administration, entities represent people, objects, places, or things. Given this, entities in health care databases are usually health care providers, processes, illnesses, and relationships, among other elements whose data can be collected and stored. The data can be qualitative or quantitative. Since the planned database is about CAUTI and management practices, mainly catheter insertion and removal, the patient will be a central entity in the database. The other important entity is CAUTI as the reference condition. Nurses can also be included as entities due to their central role in data collection and CAUTI management.
The rationale for Each Entity
Health care delivery cannot be considered complete without patients. Indeed, they are the primary reason why health care organizations exist. Health care plans, resources’ commitment, and evidence-based interventions to improve health outcomes focus on patients. Also, a significant proportion of the data collected and stored in the database will be on the patients and their statuses. Effective management of patient data will be pivotal in improving the care received and facilitating CAUTI
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