What was the quality issue, and what was a safety issue? It goes without saying that the two mentioned issues are of great importance in providing appropriate and timely health care delivery. However, it is also significant to distinguish between them. In particular, it should be emphasized that safety issues concern various life-threatening factors such as acute pain or risk of myocardial infarction (Sullivan and Martin 381). In their turn, quality issues reflect the level of medical organization and staff professionalism (Aiken et al. 2). These issues cannot lead to death.
Let us discuss all of the issues enumerated in the case. Severe substantial chest pain is a safety issue as it might cause subsequent complications and even demise. The fact of numerous delays also relates to safety issues due to insufficient and untimely health care delivery (Wachter 394). Furthermore, a cardiac catheterization lab was not prepared for the procedure of angioplasty. At that time, the patient might feel worse, and it might be too late to carry out the operation (Weingart et al. 1).
Thus, the above is a safety issue. Moreover, interchanging the two completely different medicines of metformin and metoprolol, a pharmacist made an unpardonable mistake. However, it is also the fault of doctor G and his difficult handwriting. In case the mistake was not detected, the patient might be in a much more complicated condition. It should also be stressed that such handwriting corresponds to the issue of quality. It might be better if physicians have a more clear style of writing, as it is crucial to patients’ well-being.
The case under discussion states that a cardiologist on call arrived an hour later. It is undoubtedly both a quality and safety issue as it shows both life threat to the patient and unprofessionalism of the cardiologist. Finally, the fact that the patient survives with a moderate amount of heart damage and mildly symptomatic failure represents a quality of health care delivery, yet the outcome might be better in case of timely manipulations that were discussed earlier.
Which is more difficult to learn about or to document? In recent years, the most pressing public health concerns related to quality and safety issues. However, as might be seen from the above situation, the detection of them is not an easy process. It requires a comprehensive approach and coordinated work of all the medical staff. As a rule, it is more difficult to learn about quality aspects as they are more implicit rather than those of security.
The purpose of safety control of medical activity is to ensure the rights of patients to obtain the required volume of medical care in accordance with health care standards, treatment protocols, and other legal documents (Leeper and Lukuire 448). In other words, security issues involve vital aspects necessary to preserve the patients’ life. At the same time, the objectives of quality control are the detection of defects in the organization in the diagnostic and treatment processes.
Quality also takes into account the development and implementation of optimal management decisions aimed at preventing the occurrence of any defects. In order to ensure both quality and safety measures, it might be beneficial to use electronic health record systems (Middleton et al. 3). This approach would contribute to timely and comprehensive health care delivery enhancing caregivers’ performance in the corresponding fields. It becomes evident from the above observations that quality issues are more complicated and difficult to detect than safety ones.
Works Cited
Aiken, Linda, Walter Sermeus, Koen Van Den Heede, Douglas Sloane, Reinhard Busse, and Ann Kutney-Lee. “Patient Safety, Satisfaction, and Quality of Hospital Care: Cross Sectional Surveys of Nurses and Patients in 12 Countries in Europe and the United States.” BMJ 344. 2 (2012): 1-14. Print.
Leeper, Barbara, and Rosemary Lukuire. Quality. New York, NY: Elsevier, 2014. Print.
Middleton, Blackford, Meryl Bloomrosen, Mark A. Dente, Bill Hashmat, Ross Koppel, and Jiajie Zhang. “Enhancing Patient Safety and Quality of Care by Improving the Usability of Electronic Health Record Systems: Recommendations from AMIA.” Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 20.1 (2013): 1-7. Print.
Sullivan, June M., and Renee H. Martin. Patient Safety Handbook. 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: Jones & Bartlett, 2013. Print.
Wachter, Robert M. Understanding Patient Safety. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Medical, 2008. Print.
Weingart, Saul, Junya Zhu, Laurel Chiappetta, Sherri Stuver, Eric Schneider, and Joel Weissman. “Hospitalized patients’ participation and its impact on quality of care and patient safety.” International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 23. 3 (2011): 269-277. Print.