The healthcare system is meant to provide high-quality medical services for society but has some gaps. The National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) initiative assists organizations in terms of patient safety and presents several goals that indicate certain problems in healthcare (The Joint Commission, 2022). For instance, the third goal suggests some issues related to using medications, which are crucial in the treatment process and can be quite costly, affecting patients’ well-being (The Joint Commission, 2022). One way to address the medication-related gap is by reviewing the matter from the perspective of the Triple Aim (TA) framework, which is aimed at optimizing health system performance (Bachynsky, 2020). TA serves as the means to assess deficits in the delivery of medical services by concentrating on population health, the experience of care, and cost (Bachynsky, 2020). Together, TA and NPSG can present a systematized approach towards ensuring the safety of patients.
In particular, the framework can guide one of the NPSGs’ goals. For example, the third goal that implies the need to advance the usage of medication can be achieved by implementing TA (The Joint Commission, 2022). Firstly, TA focuses on patients’ health, and the NPSGs recommend labeling all medications and containers and taking measures to reduce patient harm (Bachynsky, 2020; The Joint Commission, 2022). As a result, such actions could lead to fewer errors, and the goal would meet one of the key elements within TA. Secondly, NPSGs can contribute to the experience of care specified by the framework by maintaining and communicating appropriate and accurate medication information (Bachynsky, 2020; The Joint Commission, 2022). Lastly, if healthcare professionals would strive to accomplish the NPSGs’ goal of medication safety, it may minimize misuse of drugs and possibly offer a less costly treatment by prescribing patients the most relevant medicaments (Bachynsky, 2020). Finally, as my major is in healthcare administration, I am interested in improving the delivery of medical services, and the quality of care can be advanced by assuring patient safety through achieving the NPSGs.
As I understand, the gap that you have addressed is related to a lack of coordination when transitioning patients from the hospital to their place of residence, such as homes or rehabilitation centers. I think that your discussion of the issue from the perspectives of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) and the Triple Aim Framework was quite sufficient and detailed. It seems that the initiative is oriented towards preventing readmissions, so it is difficult to offer other ways for the HRRP to improve healthcare. However, I assume that by implementing the HRRP, medical facilities can potentially achieve goals concerning long-lasting results in securing health. Moreover, the initiative could benefit the healthcare system by saving time and resources that are typically spent on readmissions but would not if patients received more opportunities for successful recoveries.
Furthermore, the HRRP is similar to the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) that I have discussed in my initial post. For example, as the HRRP is used to assess insufficient coordination that leads to mistakes that can endanger patients, the NPSGs indicate the need to improve communication for patient safety (The Joint Commission, 2022). Although the two initiatives have varying approaches, they appear to share one pursuit of ensuring satisfactory patient outcomes. The post seems to have covered all necessary strategies from hospitalization to post-discharge. Nevertheless, I would like to suggest that it may also be helpful to implement additional training for caregivers on instructing people from various backgrounds to ensure that all patients comprehend the necessary information.
References
Bachynsky, N. (2020). Implications for policy: The triple aim, quadruple aim, and interprofessional collaboration. Nursing Forum, 55 (1), 54-64. Web.
The Joint Commission. (2022). National Patient Safety Goals [PowerPoint slides]. Web.