Introduction
Patient outcomes are the key indicators used in determining how effective, cost-efficient, and high-quality healthcare is. They are employed for the provision of a quantitative basis for clinical decision-making, measurement of care’s impact on patients, and identification of the areas for improvement. Although the importance of the concept of patient outcomes cannot be overestimated, as noted by Pantaleon (2019), there is not enough attention paid to all of its aspects in the nursing field. For one, this paper argues that two of the lesser-explored topics – medication administration mindfulness and proper end-of-life care educational tools – can significantly contribute to improved patient outcomes.
Medication Administration Mindfulness and Proper End-Of-Life Care Educational Tools
This is a fact that, during a typical shift at a hospital, nurses dedicate a lot of time to the management of medications. The complexity of this management tends to increase with drug risk level, patient acuity, and specific nurse’s patient tasks. With this complexity taken into account, it is not surprising that, as reported by Durham (2020), there is one medication inaccuracy per day on average. Many of these inaccuracies go unnoticed even by nurses themselves, and most cause no harm; however, some do. Durham (2020) believes that one of the strategies to prepare nurses for the unexpected and ensure they achieve reliable results is mindfulness. Mindfulness strategies help one bear in mind the possibility of an error, learn, improve, and report on near-missteps so these can be analyzed and prevented in the future.
The practice of mindfulness provides a nurse with a state of awareness that enables them to move to a conscious and thoughtful approach regarding decision-making in the clinical setting and error suppression. In terms of patient outcomes, medication inaccuracy reduction leads to improved state of health, which, considering the range of consequences, means a decrease in the likelihood of new condition, injury or even death. Moreover, enhanced medication administration reduces the chance of patients’ repeated hospitalization, which, in turn, leads to decreased costs of care. In addition to that, errors in taking prescribed medicine at home are predictably lower when there are no errors made in administration.
Another noteworthy topic is patient outcomes regarding educational pamphlets for families and caregivers of terminally ill patients. Patients and their relatives are often informed by hospice care specialists about the need to have a hospice comfort kit in case of an emergency and various educational pamphlets. However, National Institute on Aging (2021) notes that many do not understand what these kits and pamphlets are and what purpose they exactly serve. The fact is that, when it comes to educational pamphlets, these equip families and care providers with knowledge on how to make a life of terminally ill patients at least somewhat easier.
End-of-life care education documents can become great icebreakers for serious conversations with patients and their loved ones, help steer these conversations in the right direction, and serve as booklets to take home. According to National Institute on Aging (2021), these are most useful as exam room tools, but can be used in waiting rooms as well. First of all, such pamphlets give advice on how to provide physical comfort and alleviate the pain that dying patients often experience. Moreover, it is essential for a dying person’s well-being that their mental and emotional needs are met, and pamphlets inform on how exactly to manage them. Most often, it includes simply being present and providing one physical contact. In addition to that, educational pamphlets teach to take into account dying people’s spiritual needs. Many attempts to find meaning in their life and make peace with the circumstances, and it is important to help them with it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, proper medication administration and the employment of educational pamphlets for end-of-life care are two of the practices that can help with improved patient outcomes. Mindfulness when administering drugs reduces error probability and, therefore, enhances patient health outcomes, and educational pamphlets help families and caregivers make the life of a dying person easier. Further exploration of how patient outcomes can be developed is necessary for the quality of care to continue to progress.
References
Durham, M. L. (2020). Mindfulness for medication safety.American Nurse. Web.
National Institute on Aging. (2021). Providing care and comfort at the end of life. Web.
Pantaleon, L. (2019). Why measuring outcomes is important in health care. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 33(2), 356-362. Web.