Patients’ safety is one of the most fundamental aspects in the field of medicine. It is the uttermost priority of every medical practitioner to ensure his/her patients are well catered for and are kept safe from any avoidable injuries when they are recuperating. It is for this reason that there is a Patient Safety Excellence Award which aims to recognize the efforts of several hospitals across the United States in ensuring Patients’ safety. This essay will look at The California Hospital Medical Centre which is one of the recipients of the Patient Safety Excellence Award two times in a row in the span of just one year; it will also state how patient safety ratings would influence my choice of hospital.
The most critical indicator for me when choosing which health center to seek medical treatment is the critical care offered by the hospital. The California Hospital Medical Centre has one of the highest ratings when it comes to this clinical quality criterion which surpasses the national level in some instances. The hospital has a lower mortality rate of 10.61% based on respiratory failure for example, and this would greatly influence my choice when seeking treatment for respiratory related ailments. (California Hospital Medical Center - Los Angeles, CA, 2017) . I would choose such a hospital since the probability of a negative outcome occurring is very low.
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In addition to this, the patients’ experience score would influence my choice of a hospital. I would prefer a hospital which scores highly in terms of the patients’ experience score since it reveals how patients view the hospital and how well they were treated. The California Hospital Medical Centre, in this case, scores fairly well and this reveals that the patients' welfare comes first. This also corresponds to a high safety score of the hospital in the avoidance of severe events and/or accidents.
There are several safety indicators that pertain to high-risk areas in hospitals that a risk manager must handle. The first indicator is infection rate. This is a serious indicator pertaining to the high-risk areas in the hospital which cannot be overlooked. This indicator is a suitable rationale for determining the safety of the patients in the hospital which is the main objective of the health institution. It is the aim of the hospital’s risk manager to try and minimize the spread of contagious infections to staff and other patients alike as well as visitors. This indicator will be measured by assessing the risk levels of the patients prior to their admission.
Hand hygiene is another safety indicator. Hand hygiene must be observed in five different circumstances namely; before touching/handling a patient, before conducting a medical procedure, after conducting a medical procedure, after touching/handling a patient and/or after touching the environment of the patient (Weimann & Weimann, 2017.) Hand hygiene is a suitable indicator since it will ensure the prevention of the spread of communicable diseases. This indicator will be measured by conducting regular hand hygiene audits by certified Hand Hygiene Auditors.
A medication safety and pressure injury is also another safety indicator that can be considered to be a high-risk one. Safety medication strategies should be enhanced during and after administration of drugs to patients. Pressure injuries, on the other hand, are considered to be one of the most serious causes of harm and discomfort to patients. This will be minimized by equipping the hospital with up to date equipment to prevent injuries from happening. The staff will also be trained to detect patient discomfort clues resulting from pressure applied to wounds.
All these indicators combined together cover all aspects of quality in the high-risk areas Infection rate indicator, for instance, will cover all aspects of quality in the high-risk area of spread of infections in the hospital by minimizing the spread of contagious infections to staff and other patients alike. Hand hygiene will cover aspects of quality by combating reinfection incidences and pressure injuries indicator will eventually curtail further patient injuries.
Conclusion
Observing patients’ safety is a necessity for any medical institution. Patients will obviously go for institutions which have high ratings/score on safety measures and patient treatment like The California Hospital Medical Centre since their well-being is guaranteed. The mentioned health indicators like hand hygiene and medication safety are also useful in ensuring that patients receive the best treatment.
References;
California Hospital Medical Center - Los Angeles, CA. (2017). Healthgrades.com . Retrieved 6 July 2017, from https://www.healthgrades.com/hospital-directory/california-ca-los-angeles/california-hospital-medical-center-hgstb2518d46050149
Weimann, E., & Weimann, P. (2017). High performance in hospital management . Berlin: Springer.
