The main objective of health care is to provide quality care to patients for favorable patient outcomes. Over the years, professionals in the health care sector have been striving to ensure that patients access quality health care services at affordable costs. To this end, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), in its twenty-five-year quest to advance and sustain better outcomes in health and health care, came up with the triple aim framework in 2007. Under the triple aim framework, the IHI believes that health care settings and facilities should come up with new designs aimed at tackling three pertinent aspects of health care for the overall improvement of patient care. One of the three areas of concern under the triple aim framework is the improvement of the patient experience, which encompasses the aspects of patient care quality and satisfaction. The other two areas of concern in the triple aim approach are the reduction of per capita cost of health care and improving the health of populations. The principles set out in the triple aim framework are valuable in ensuring that patients in acute care or long-term care settings get the requisite patient care that is of high quality and affordable, leading to favorable outcomes and overall satisfaction.
Application of Triple Aim Principles
For patients in acute or long-term care, nursing professionals have an essential role in ensuring that the service rendered to these patients is of high quality and that the patients and their families are satisfied with the patient care services provided. With this in mind, I believe that as a nurse, patient safety, improvement of patient experience, and improved quality of care are the principles of Triple Aim that fall within my scope owing to my clinical expertise and interpersonal skills.
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First, considering that nurses are in continuous contact with patients in acute and long-term care settings, I believe that the presence of comprehensive and coordinated strategies in line with the Triple Aim principles would increase patients’ satisfaction. For instance, errors and inefficiencies in the handling of patients in the long-term and acute health care settings usually arise during the processes of transitioning patients through the different levels of care as a result of poor communication and coordination (Meier et al., 2019). With this consideration, I believe that nurses have a critical role in ensuring that patient transitions are seamless and thereby improving the quality of care and overall patient satisfaction.
Patients in acute and long-term care settings should be comfortable during their stay. With this in mind, I believe that the levels of patient satisfaction, in this case, can be heightened by offering a personalized patient experience. In practice, improving patient experience in such scenarios will incorporate nurses’ efforts in addressing some of the non-clinical needs of each patient (Meier et al., 2019). The non-clinical needs, in this case, include room temperature adjustment, visits from members of the clergy, pet therapy, and availing them with mobile devices, tablets, or laptops, among other non-emergency services. In totality, the forenamed will serve to improve patient satisfaction and precipitate automatically in favorable outcomes.
Patient education, in my view, is another essential aspect that nurses can engage in to improve patient satisfaction levels as well as enhance patient safety. It is important to note that some patients in long-term care usually opt to be cared for by their family members in the comfort of their homes. In line with this, it is, therefore, imperative that nursing professionals offer both the patients and their primary caregivers enough information, instructions, and educational materials on how to manage the patients’ conditions (Meier et al., 2019). In my view, the adoption of a patient-centered approach by nursing professionals will not only serve to heighten the safety of the patients' in-home care but also work to improve the quality of care they receive in these settings. Additionally, as a nursing professional tending patients in-home care settings, it will be crucial for me to perform frequent checkups on patients.
As the director of nursing or the healthcare administrator, my contribution to patient safety, patient satisfaction, and the improvement of cost-effective quality care will be immense. First, I will strive to boost teamwork and the coordination of care among the nurses and all the other professionals in the health care facility. Primarily, the achievement of this objective will rely on the provision of a framework for the nursing staff members under my supervision to communicate and share information as well as responsibilities geared at improving the quality of service to patients (Asif et al., 2019). Additionally, owing to my position, it will be my responsibility to ensure that the nursing staff members under my supervision are actively involved in the decision-making process through enhanced collaboration.
The integration of effective patient communication tactics is another aspect that I will engage in as a nursing director. My objective, in this case, will be geared at fostering an environment where patients can receive optimal quality care and consequently enhance their experience and satisfaction levels. In line with this, I will endeavor to ensure that nurses under my supervision create positive rapport with patents assigned to them, a critical aspect in the creation of trust in the patient-nurse relationship. Primarily, the establishment of a positive rapport between nurses and their patients will provide a boon as patients will willingly open up to their caregivers (Asif et al., 2019). This is an essential aspect as it sheds light on some of the underlying causes for their conditions precipitating in improved care through the initiation of appropriate interventions.
The lack of adequate staffing is one of the significant problems in health care. In practice, most nurses put in extra hours and shifts to provide patient care, resulting in burnout and reduced productivity. Burnout is a critical aspect to consider as an overworked workforce is prone to medical errors and work inefficiently, with detrimental effects on the quality of care provided to patients. Therefore, as a nursing director, I will strive to ensure that there are enough nurses in the health care facility (Asif et al., 2019). In such a scenario, I will cultivate a higher patient satisfaction rating and prompt a reduction in errors. Consequently, the measures will lead to an improvement in the quality of patient care and safety.
Heightened patient satisfaction and safety is also enhanced by the atmosphere present in a health care facility. Consequently, as a nursing director, it will be my duty to ensure that the atmosphere at the facility is appropriate for the delivery of safe and optimum care for the patients. Essentially, one of the approaches that I will initiate to create a conducive environment is by ensuring that the facility is kept clean. Through high standards of cleanliness, I will improve not only the levels of patient satisfaction, but also their safety. It is important to note that a clean environment within the health care facility will reduce incidences of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) among patients, thereby improving their safety and outcomes. A conducive health care environment is also characterized as one where noise, harsh lighting, and unnecessary quick-paced movements are conspicuously absent. In line with this, I will ensure that I provide an environment in which patients will be in a position to rest and relax during their treatment without being disturbed unnecessarily.
In health care settings, medical errors present a challenge to the provision of safe and quality care to patients. Over the years, it has proven difficult to establish the underlying causative factors of medical errors owing to changes in their nature and how they pop up. However, as a nursing director, there is a myriad of initiatives that I can implement in an attempt to minimize the occurrence of these errors and consequently improve patient care and safety.
First, it is crucial to note that one of the significant contributors to the occurrence of medical error is miscommunication between different professionals in healthcare facilities ( Samundeeswari & Muthamilselvi, 2018). According to the Joint Commission, most fatalities and injuries caused by medical errors can be attributed to miscommunication. Accordingly, I will adopt a handoff communication structure that will include the use of checklists and other tools that will serve to eliminate communication errors during handoff. Another initiative that I will adapt in my attempt to reduce medical errors is the incorporation of pharmacists in the active care process for the patients. Through the integration of pharmacists, both doctors and nurses will be in a position to obtain direct information on the drugs that might adversely affect a patient, thereby reducing the occurrence of errors during prescription and administration of medications. Moreover, pharmacists will also be in a position to identify situations leading to medication errors of administration ( Samundeeswari & Muthamilselvi, 2018). All these measures will enhance the health outcomes and, in turn, the satisfaction levels among patients.
Patient information mix-up is one of the causes of medical errors. This situation is usually exacerbated in scenarios where patients move from one facility to another. However, today, most facilities use electronic health records (EHR) systems. Therefore, as a nursing director, I will collaborate with my peers from other health care facilities, EHR vendors, and relevant authorities to ensure that we obtain EHR systems that are more interoperable . This will be a milestone in reducing medical errors associated with patient transfers.
Another intervention to prevent medical errors is the avoidance or reduction of HAIs ( Samundeeswari & Muthamilselvi, 2018). As stated earlier, in my role as a nursing director, I will be required to ensure that cleanliness within the health care facility is observed to avert patients from being exposed to dangerous complications during their stay. Additionally, I will ensure that all nursing staff members follow the laid down hand washing protocols and that they practice high levels of personal hygiene within the facility.
Conclusion
The triple aim approach provides an avenue through which patients can receive care that is affordable and satisfactory. Besides, the application of triple aim principles makes it possible for patients to receive patient care at affordable costs. The use of triple aim principles is critical for nursing professionals working in acute and long-term care settings. There are numerous activities and actions that nurses working in long-term and acute settings can initiate to enhance patient safety and satisfaction. In any health care facility, nursing directors have an essential role in ensuring that patient satisfaction and experience are improved. Nursing directors can integrate triple aim principles in health care by providing the right frameworks. As part of patient satisfaction, nursing directors should ensure that there is a reduction in medical errors and associated adverse effects. They should foster appropriate communication channels to limit miscommunication. Lastly, they must promote teamwork and collaboration.
References
Asif, M., Jameel, A., Sahito, N., Hwang, J., Hussain, A., & Manzoor, F. (2019). Can leadership enhance patient satisfaction? Assessing the role of administrative and medical quality. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , 16 (17), 3212. https:// doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16173212.
Meier, A., Erickson, J. I., Snow, N., & Kline, M. (2019). Nurse and patient satisfaction. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration , 49 (11), 520-522. https://doi.org/ 10.1097/NNA.0000000000000814
Samundeeswari, A., & Muthamilselvi, G. (2018). Nurses knowledge on prevention of medication error. Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Research , 6 (3), 269-274. https://doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v6i3.45
