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Issue Analysis and Leadership Action Plan Sample Paper

Issue Analysis and Leadership Action Plan Sample Paper

Introduction

Improvement in the quality of health is a major concern for healthcare facilities and governments. To provide quality healthcare, healthcare facilities focus on improving service delivery, reducing healthcare costs, and enhancing patient outcomes. To achieve these objectives, healthcare organizations must put in place proper leadership structures, skilled staff, and appropriate tools to create a robust healthcare system. The leadership structure and composition of any health facility are among the key factors that determine how effective the system is. For instance, staff satisfaction and patient outcomes are heavily dependent on effective leadership. Patient outcome is one of the key indicators used for measuring the quality of healthcare. Thus, effective leadership, collaboration, and organizational culture in the healthcare sector are critical for patient satisfaction. Patient experiences are direct to proportionate to the level of staff satisfaction. Quality Improvement is critical in curtailing medical errors.

IHI Triple Aim

Healthcare facilities face a major burden from medical errors. One way of addressing this issue is by adopting the Triple Aim concept. This approach integrates the needs of healthcare workers as well as improving quality outcomes for patients. Improving healthcare and patient satisfaction are both critical in attaining the desired health outcomes (Rathert et al., 2018). Other outcomes such as health care policies, functional leadership structures, and a conducive working environment play a pivotal role in ensuring effective service delivery and satisfaction.

Author Patricia Yoder-Wise in her book Leading and Managing in Nursing (2019) asserts that health caregivers especially nurses, play a crucial role in the success of the healthcare system. The book advocates for the adoption of the Triple Aim concept as a method of curbing medical errors (Yoder-wise et al., 2019). According to the author, critical factors in curtailing medical errors include improving access to healthcare, provision of quality services, affordable healthcare services, and considering the work-life of the healthcare providers. To provide satisfactory health care services, it is necessary to adopt an organized structure to govern the operations.

In today’s Healthcare sector, there is an adoption of a strategic management process that helps in coping with the existing dynamics in the sector. Ginter et al (2018) states that embracing strategic management provides effective leadership in the health care sector. Besides, strategic management bring an aspect of safety culture in the article “Keeping Patients Safe in the Healthcare Organization” (Ginter et al., 2018). The structuration theory advocate for the involvement of both the caregivers and the leaders within an organization. The caregivers through the available communication channels share their organizational values with the patient to develop a safety culture system. The structures aim to provide the organizations with a governing guide for the leaders, staff, and patients.

Leadership

In every organization, there are leadership structures outlined to govern their operations. These structures are a result of identified leadership styles that have been proven effective over the years. The coursebook gives an outline of various leadership theories that can be used to effectively manage healthcare facilities. The first is trait theory that focuses on an individual character to distinguish their strength and weaknesses as a leader (Kingsley & Patel, 2017). The second is situation theory that is characterized by trust relationships, the nature of the task, and power influence. The strategy entails having a particular set of expectations and a reward system to motivate staff.

The adoption of this concept is dependent on job performance. Thirdly, the transformational theory is focused on meeting the needs of members to keep them highly motivated. This concept allows leaders to be role models in being optimistic and encouraging member’s creativity (Cope & Murray, 2017). The strategy intends to boost staff morale and promote development since they are confident of having a supportive leadership structure. The above theories seek to embrace systems that can promote the creativity of the staff, increase productivity and performance, and provide a conducive working environment in efforts to attain a high level of members’ satisfaction and improved health care provision.

Patient outcome is among the key measuring index of the quality of any health care facility. However, satisfactory patient outcomes cannot be achieved without considering the well-being of caregivers. These two factors are directly dependent on each other in that a motivated and satisfied care provider is equivalent to a more satisfying patient outcome (Kingsley & Patel, 2017). The leadership factor is key to the growth of any organization. Therefore, there is a necessity to invest in leadership skills at all levels of the organization since knowledge and skills in leadership influence the level of staff satisfaction and commitment to the organization. The type of leadership Styles in an organization directly affect satisfaction levels with both the patients and the staff. From the analysis of the above leadership theories, transformational leadership theory has proven to embrace satisfactory relationships among patients, staff, and leaders. Adoption of an appropriate leadership style is crucial in achieving satisfactory and delivering quality patient outcomes in the health sector.

Culture

Culture is a set of beliefs, norms, practices, and traits of religious, social, and social group. For healthcare organizations, culture is critical because it affects patient outcomes and the delivery of quality health. A just culture in the healthcare industry is critical because it promotes safe behaviors by healthcare workers leading to improved quality care. Health experts assert that a positive culture helps to weed out medical errors by alleviating/human errors. Human errors occur when people do what they should not do. Risky behaviors in the healthcare industry lead to costly mistakes. Similarly, irresponsible behavior by healthcare workers is a big risk to patients and healthcare facilities. Studies conducted in the U.S. reveal that teamwork and improved safety culture help healthcare systems reduce errors that lead to patient harm. Safety culture in healthcare system is the product of attitudes, patterns of behavior, perceptions, values, and beliefs. These parameters determine the quality of health provided to patients in healthcare settings.

Collaboration

One of the critical outcomes expected from healthcare facilities is Interprofessional collaboration. Interprofessional collaboration has emerged as a critical tool in the provision of enhanced quality healthcare for patients. Healthcare system works on collaborative system that allows different healthcare professionals to work collaboratively. These collaborations help to improve the quality of care provided to patients leading to a reduction in medical errors. For example, a nurse work collaboratively with other healthcare professionals the platform to diagnose and create an effective treatment plan (Randhawa, & Ahuja, 2017). Through established patient systems, physicians use the systems to create an effective treatment plan for the patient while a researcher can use the patient system from the platform with the aim of conducting further research on complex cases to provide a solution.

Reduced medical errors have a positive impact on the quality of care for patients, improves patient safety, and helps to improve overall patient care. For hospitals, reduced medical errors mean improved reputation, good customer relations, and reduced cost of operations. For example, medical errors cost hospitals millions of dollars every year, money that would be used on other critical ventures. Nursing informatics allows healthcare facilities to increase the level of quality provision as well as cutting down the costs of operations.

Medication Errors and Action Plan

Medication error is a public health concern that burdens the healthcare industry with unnecessary costs. Incidences of medical errors in America have doubled over the last few years causing the industry billions of dollars in damages and related costs. Errors related to dispensing, prescribing, administering, and monitoring are the most common forms of medical errors in healthcare facilities. To reduce medical errors individual healthcare facilities working in collaboration with relevant government agencies have created pharmacovigilance activities to curb medical errors (Tariq et al., 2020).

These pharmacovigilance activities cover all factors critical in risk management through the implementation of specific measures that minimize medical errors such as effective leadership. Many modern healthcare organizations no longer view leadership as merely a function of authority. Instead, many advanced organizations view leadership as an act of social good where everyone benefits from leadership. To prevent medical errors, healthcare organizations formulate SMART goals that lead to streamlining medical operations. Effective leadership and management are critical for the delivery of quality health services. The skills, behaviors, and outlook of leaders are essential for the effective management of healthcare facilities.

Leadership Action Plan

            As the healthcare system continues to transform, nurses find themselves in situations of changing roles. Owing to the changing health care environment in the country, nurses have to evolve with the changes and must learn the factors influencing such changes. One of the issues which nurses must deal with under the current health care environment is increased quality of care for patients (Loan, et al, 2017). In this regard, nurses must acquire new skills or enhance their skills especially on wellness and care of populations. This, according to Patel and Rushefsky (2019), is because the new reforms lay emphasis on patient-centered care, and quality improvements. For the nursing fraternity, changes will be necessary not only at the individual level but also at the organization level. In terms of wellness, nurses have to shift their focus from illnesses to prioritizing on preventive measures, as well as paying attention on general wellness and education on health.

Improvements in the quality in the healthcare industry promote Interprofessional quality outcomes. Healthcare leadership have come up with Quality Improvement-QI mechanisms to reduce medical errors. QI also entails using evidence-based interventions and changing the existing models to make them more relevant. The second case study involved the Application of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement Models for QI in public health by South Carolina (Rathert et al., 2018). Outcomes from this experience include a recommendation to provide appropriate staff training on the program to ensure they have the needed skills for implementing the program. The experience also stated that staff members require sufficient authority to function independently and make decisions personal decisions whenever there is no substantial evidence to guide them. QI is critical in reducing medical errors.

Quality improvements could be systematically used to improve preparedness and the capacity of healthcare workers to improve service-a parameter useful in improving the overall public health performance (Mannion, & Davies, 2018). Many public health facilities have been struggling with emergency preparedness that has affected their ability to provide quality care. However, implementing this program can help improve the provision and management of emergencies. For example, dealing with emergency cases such as pandemic influenza requires that health facilities perform core functions such as disease surveillance, case investigation, and conducting public education to mobilize and increase community awareness.

The driving forces behind the new healthcare reforms in the United States include concerns for quality and costs. Unlike in the past, today, health outcomes have become an important matter in the country’s health care (Tariq et al., 2017) Demographic changes in chronic diseases and aging population are some of the compelling factors that have necessitated changes in the healthcare sector in America. In turn, the reforms have come with far-reaching consequences to providers, consumers, and the government. For consumers, being able to afford medical care is one of the biggest gains from the reforms. For providers, government funding through policies have given them new sources of income which in turn they use to improve quality of health care.

Conclusion

Medication errors are a big public health concern that adversely impacts key stakeholders such as pharmaceuticals, patients, regulators, insurance companies, and patients. Achieving improved healthcare is critical in attaining the desired health outcomes. Besides other factors such as effective health care policies, functional leadership structures, and a convenient working environment play a great role in ensuring effective service delivery and patient satisfaction.

To attain the desired outcomes, there is a need to invest in caregivers with the necessary skills to help them minimize medical related errors. The acquired skills play a great role in promoting leadership among the staff and advocating for quality service provision to the patients. In addition to skills, also the relationship between the type of leadership structure and the satisfaction of both staff and patients cannot be ignored. The above-discussed leadership theories seek to embrace systems that can promote the creativity of the staff, increase productivity and performance, and provide a favorable working environment in efforts to attain a high level of members’ satisfaction and improved health care provision.

References

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  • Ginter, P. M., Duncan, W. J., & Swayne, L. E. (2018). The strategic management of health care organizations. John Wiley & Sons.
  • Loan, L. A., Parnell, T. A., Stichler, J. F., Boyle, D. K., Allen, P., VanFosson, C. A., & Barton, A. J. (2018). Call for action: Nurses must play a critical role to enhance health literacy. Nursing Outlook, 66(1), 97-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2017.11.003
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  • Randel, A. E., Galvin, B. M., Shore, L. M., Ehrhart, K. H., Chung, B. G., Dean, M. A., & Kedharnath, U. (2018). Inclusive leadership: Realizing positive outcomes through belongingness and being valued for uniqueness. Human Resource Management Review, 28(2), 190-203. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/j.hrmr.2017.07.002
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