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Lesson Plan: Application of CQI to Reduce Medication Errors

Since the issue of quality improvement attracted national attention with the release of the “Crossing the Quality Chasm” report in 2001; by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), various quality improvement processes have been adopted. One of those is the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). Notably, according to Wong et al. (2010), CQI is one of the structured organizational processes in health care that entails the health care personnel engaging in planning as well as the implementation of proactive steps geared towards the provision of quality health care outcomes. In specific, hospitals mostly used CQI to reduce costs, meet regulatory requirements, and ensure customer service and the quality of services they provide (Ballard, 2013). This lesson plan provides a discussion of the safety issue of medication errors and how it can be addressed using CQI.

Safety Issue and Surrounding Issues

            Hospitals seek to keep its patient safety through the adoption of mechanisms to ensure that patients stay as healthy as possible. One of the safety issues that has an opportunity for improvement is medication safety. In specific, in the United States, about 7,000-9,000 people die annually due to medication errors (Tariq & Scherbak, 2019). Moreover, hundreds of thousands of patients in the country do not often report adverse drug reactions as well as other complications related to medications. The total cost associated with medication-related errors is more than $40 billion annually (Tariq & Scherbak, 2019). In addition to the monetary costs of medication errors, such a safety issue is related to physical pain and suffering of the patients which diminishes their quality of life.

Cause of The Issue

            Medication errors arise from distractions, distortions, and illegible writings. In specific, due to the massive number of duties that the physicians have in a hospital, they are distracted as they often write the prescriptions in a hurry. As such, according to Tariq and Scherbak (2019), 75 percent of medication errors in the US have been attributed to distractions. Such hurries lead to the physicians scribbling drug orders without paying attention to the dose or the frequency. Distortions, on the other hand, arise from poor writing, the use of abbreviations, improper translation, and misunderstood symbols (Wong et al., 2010). Moreover, illegible writing by the nurses and the pharmacists has resulted in major medication mistakes. As such, it is vital to address this issue from the root cause to ensure the safety of the patients.

Application of CQI In Resolving Issue

            The issue of medication errors can be eliminated through the adoption of a continuous quality improvement philosophy consisting of a multidisciplinary team that will identify and correct the causes of medication errors (Tariq & Scherbak, 2019). In specific, when the various multidisciplinary team members are involved, a carefully analysis of the nature of medication distribution system and the identification of the system flaws will lead to the continuous improvement of the process (Ballard, 2013). One of the CQI frameworks that can be used to reduce the errors is STEEEP (safety, timeliness, effectiveness, efficiency, equity, and patient-centered). Put forward by the IOM, the STEEEP framework ensure that the various domains are addressed extensively with the most important ones being focused more.

Proposed Outcome

            With the implementing of the CQI framework of STEEEP, the proposed outcomes will be a reduction in medication errors and the positive impact of medication safety (Rinke et al., 2014). It is expected that with the implementation of the framework, there will be a reduction in the number of medication errors and an increment in the safety of the patients. Additionally, the reduction will lead to better patient outcomes. Moreover, the costs of hospitalization associated with medication errors are expected to be reduced (Tariq & Scherbak, 2019). Also, with improved patient safety, it is expected that the outcome of improved patient and staff satisfaction will be realized. The reputation of the hospital will also be improved with reduced medication errors and increased patient safety.

Evaluation Plan

            The effectiveness of the CQI framework will be assessed through a variety of key performance indicators (KPIs). One of those is the rate of medication errors after the implementation of the STEEEP framework. In specific, the rate of medication errors before the implementation will be compared to the rates before the implementation. Additionally, the rates of customer satisfaction before the CQI initiative will be compared with those after implementation (Ballard, 2013). Moreover, the hospitalization costs arising from medication errors before and after implementation of the STEEP framework will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan.

In conclusion, patient safety is one of the ultimate goals of any healthcare organization. As such, hospitals have adopted CQI plans and frameworks in the quest to ensure patient safety. One of the issues that can be resolved using CQI is that of medication errors. Notably, medication errors lead to physical and emotional pain to the patients and costs associated with increased hospital stay. However, using the STEEEP framework, it is expected that the rates of medication errors will reduce. Additionally, the rates of patient and staff satisfaction are expected to increase. Evaluating the plan’s effectiveness will involve assessing the KPIs of rates of medication errors, rates of patient satisfaction, and rates of rehospitalizations.