Reduction in Hospitals’ Readmission Rates Essay

Journal 1

My practicum experience was at New Jersey Medical Center. During the experience, I observed that the facility recorded increased rates of hospital readmissions. According to Gupta et al. (2019), returning to the hospital within thirty days after discharge is costly and avoidable. Hospital readmissions are indicators of quality in a healthcare system. After extensive observation, I noticed that most of the reasons behind increased hospitalizations were preventable. Among them was a confusion of patients on the next steps and prescribed medicines, miscommunication by the hospital officials during the discharge process, and failure of patients to perform self-care and follow up after discharge. Reduction in Hospitals’ Readmission Rates Essay.  Mainly, hospitalized seniors in the facility were at a higher risk of readmissions.

Health care personnel at the organizations often did not practice within evidence-based principles and appropriate theories during their interaction with patients. For instance, some nurses forgot to follow the five rights of medication administration when administering drugs with patients. Proposed by the World Health Organization, the five rights of drug administration are right dosage, right patient, right time, right medication, and right route of administration (Smeulers et al., 2015). Failure of nurses to follow these guidelines increased the incidence of medical errors, which partly contributed to increased hospital readmissions.

Additionally, nurses at New Jersey Medical Center did not apply appropriate nursing theories during the discharge process. Research suggests that patient education during the discharge process is incredibly crucial (Krook et al. 2020). Inadequate discharge planning and unplanned hospital readmissions are closely linked. During the discharge process, patients should be instructed on aspects such as medication administration, self-care, and follow up to prevent the likelihood of readmissions. Specifically, Dorothea Orem’s theory of self-care is incredibly useful during the discharge process as it guides patients on self-care behaviours to foster recovery and prevent readmissions. Reduction in Hospitals’ Readmission Rates Essay.

The issue of increased hospital readmissions in the facility was handled in a manner that is consistent with nursing theories and evidence-based guidelines. The facility had recorded increased readmissions, especially for congestive heart failure patients. To address this issue, the hospital instituted a multipronged strategy encompassing early identification of patients at high risk, education and coordination which assisted the medical centre in reducing readmissions for congestive heart failure patients by approximately 30 per cent. Patient education centred on lifestyle modifications to reduce the likelihood of readmissions. Outreach by patient navigators also played a fundamental role as the navigators communicated with patients throughout their hospital stay and guided them on staying healthy after discharge. Notably, New Jersey Medical Center worked in collaboration with post-acute healthcare providers to coordinate care as patients transition out of hospital settings. Coordinating care across the continuum has helped the organization significantly reduce the surging numbers of hospital readmissions.

New Jersey Medical Center can approach the issue of increased readmissions directly by engaging the patients. Often, patients or caregivers may receive confusing recommendations, medication regimens, and unclear guidelines. Failure to engage patients in the discharge process contributes to their inability in buying the significance of self-care or lack of adequate knowledge and skills to do so. In addition to this, the facility can implement a subsystem of offering transportation services to help the organization cut down costs associated with readmissions. Reduction in Hospitals’ Readmission Rates Essay. The hospital can partner with Lyft, Uber, and other ridesharing companies to provide rides to patients. The above strategy will be highly useful in reducing the rates of hospital readmissions.  

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References

Gupta, S., Zengul, F. D., Davlyatov, G. K., & Weech-Maldonado, R. (2019). Reduction in hospitals’ readmission rates: Role of hospital-based skilled nursing facilities. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 56, 004695801881799. https://doi.org/10.1177/0046958018817994

Krook, M., Iwarzon, M., & Siouta, E. (2020). The discharge process—From a patient’s perspective. SAGE Open Nursing, 6, 237796081990070. https://doi.org/10.1177/2377960819900707

Smeulers, M., Verweij, L., Maaskant, J. M., De Boer, M., Krediet, C. T., Nieveen van Dijkum, E. J., & Vermeulen, H. (2015). Quality indicators for safe medication preparation and administration: A systematic review. PLOS ONE, 10(4), e0122695. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0122695 . Reduction in Hospitals’ Readmission Rates Essay.

• Analyze a problem, issue, or situation that you have observed during your Practicum Experience. Hospital readmissions in Jersey City Medical Center, NJ
• Using a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources of evidence, consider what you have observed within the context of your specialty using appropriate concepts, principles, and theories. Give special attention to observed events that vary from the scholarly literature, if any exist.

• Determine how the problem, situation, or issue was handled in a manner that is consistent and/or a manner that is inconsistent with the theory, concepts, and principles detailed in the evidence.

• Given the various evidence-based approaches that can be used when handling the observed problem, situation, or issue, think about a plan for approaching the matter differently. Reduction in Hospitals’ Readmission Rates Essay.