Quality improvement is essential in healthcare delivery systems to ensure that healthcare organizations implement interventions that guarantee high-quality and safe care. Nurse practitioners can utilize different methods to identify areas for improvement in healthcare practice or organizations (Hammersla et al., 2021). One method involves utilizing a chart that categorizes performance classes and compares them to the desired or expected level of performance. This approach allows for the identification of areas of underperformance in patient care delivery. An alternative method involves performing a quality analysis to assess the organization’s level of compliance with its expectations.
Healthcare providers can assess quality gaps by comparing the anticipated and perceived levels of service quality (Wright et al., 2022). A potential quality improvement practice gap in a nurse’s DNP project involves addressing medication-related adverse events, including harm, readmissions, and prolonged hospital stays (Durham et al., 2023). The existence of a quality gap can result in substandard care, compromised patient safety, and increased healthcare expenses for both individuals and healthcare institutions. The chosen quality gap aims to improve patient care quality and safety in a healthcare organization, thereby reducing healthcare costs related to medication-related adverse events.
Several tools are available for the detection and prevention of medication errors and their associated adverse medication-related events. Durham et al. (2019) suggest that incident reporting and computerized monitoring can be utilized to identify and mitigate medication errors and their corresponding adverse events. Incident reporting enables the identification of both active and latent failures, generating high-quality data that enables healthcare organizations to develop strategies for addressing the root causes of these failures. Computerized monitoring devices, like Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE), offer real-time data on prescribing falls, prescription errors, and dispensing errors. This enables healthcare providers to identify these errors promptly and take appropriate measures to mitigate their effects on patient safety.
References
Durham, M. L., Cotler, K., & Corbridge, S. J. (2019). Facilitating faculty knowledge of DNP quality improvement projects: Key elements to promote strong practice partnerships. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 31(11), 665–674. https://doi.org/10.1097/JXX.0000000000000308
Durham, M. L., Diegel-Vacek, L., Sparbel, K. J. H., Rugen, K. W., & Hershberger, P. E. (2023). Strategies for developing faculty confidence and competencies to mentor quality improvement DNP projects. Journal of Professional Nursing, 47, 56–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2023.04.001
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