Name
Capella University
NURS-FPX8045
Prof. Name
October, 2024
Differentiate a QI/PI Project from a Research Study
The QI and PI projects focus on improving some aspects of healthcare delivery through systematic interventions concerning the identified problems within a given organization, while research studies try to develop new knowledge or confirm existing theories by conducting controlled investigations (Ballengee et al., 2022). QI/PI projects typically involve data collection and analysis, for example about the rollout of a new protocol in a hospital that would help reduce errors relating to drugs administrated, as part of an attempt to achieve measurable improvements in patient care and efficiency of operational processes. On the contrary, research studies might be focused on broader questions, like whether interventions to reduce medication error are effective across sites and whether different strategies used were effective; randomized control trials can be used to come out to inferences that would be reliable enough in settings beyond the study site. Thus, the two styles are important in advancing healthcare quality but serve two quite different purposes, methods, and uses.
Specific Problem and Example of QI/PI Project
One of the more specific problems many healthcare organizations experience is having a high rate of HAIs, which significantly affects patient safety and elevates healthcare costs (Dreiher et al., 2020). Thus, a QI/PI project can respond to such a problem by enhancing hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers. The project can start by directly observing and collecting data to establish the current compliance rate in hand hygiene practices. It is now possible to perform more targeted interventions such as education and training on the importance of hand hygiene, placement of more hand sanitizer dispensers in strategic locations, and reminders or prompts in clinical areas to remind users of this habit. Continuous monitoring of compliance rates would be done through constant observation and feedback, allowing the project team to monitor improvements over time and to make necessary adjustments to allow for the sustainability of hand hygiene practices within the organization.
Another QI/PI project example would be a reduction in patient wait times for an outpatient clinic, which could again be one common issue affecting patient satisfaction and more generally the efficiency of service delivery. The project would start with the scrutiny of patient flow, for example, identifying bottlenecks in the process, such as checking in the line or prolonging the examination period. Through the PDSA cycle, the team of the project would utilize changes like streamlining the scheduling system, thereby tainting it to improve the patients’ volume, training staff on proper check-in procedures, as well as setting the time limit for each appointment (Stricker, 2023). After the implementation of these interventions, data would be gathered on patient wait times and satisfaction surveys to ensure the effectiveness of the interventions. The knowledge gained from this QI/PI project would focus on ways to help improve the experience of patients but also give a structure for clinic operations to continually be developed for improvement.
Appropriate Structure of MEAL Plan
M (Main Idea): Hospital-acquired infections are and have remained very high, with large numbers of patients having to wait for quite a long period serious challenge for healthcare organizations with huge implications for both safety and satisfaction regarding patient care (Sunkwa-Mills et al., 2020).
E (Evidence): A QI/PI project might be to improve hand hygiene compliance among healthcare staff about the issue of HAIs (Selvia et al., 2021). This project may first be initiated by tracking the current hand hygiene practices in direct observation and data collection. Thereafter, actual interventions can be implemented, such as education and training programs about hand hygiene importance, installing hand sanitizer dispensers in strategic locations, and reminders and prompts in clinical settings. Continuous monitoring of compliance rates would also be needed through continuous observation and feedback. Coinciding with this, another QI/PI project could be to prevent long hours of waiting for patients in outpatient clinics by analyzing the flow of patients in depth. Such bottlenecks as waiting in line for some time or examination that lasted for some considerable time would be identified. For instance, the project team may use the PDSA cycle to introduce changes like optimizing the scheduling system and training staff to ensure efficient check-in procedures as well as ensuring that time limits are put in place for every appointment. Data on patient wait times along with satisfaction surveys would be collected to test the effectiveness of the interventions after introducing the above changes.
A (Analysis): The implementation of the interventions in the two projects will allow for the measurement of improvement over time and make necessary adjustments to ensure sustainability in hand hygiene practices and efficiency in clinic operations. Improving compliance with hand hygiene protocols will significantly reduce the HAI incidence rates with a resulting improvement in the patient outcomes. Simultaneously, it will analyze the data collected from the outpatient clinic initiative (Sagar et al., 2023). This way, the team will understand the changes happening in the wait times and satisfactory levels of patients, hence providing constant operational improvement in the clinics.
L (Link): With the successful completion of these QI/PI projects, healthcare organizations will be able to develop a strong and effective culture of safety and continuous improvement, thereby enabling them to deliver patient care that is superior in quality, more satisfying to the patients, and with less healthcare associated with hospital-acquired infections and patient wait times (Ratna et al., 2021).
NURS FPX 8045 Assessment 3 Conclusion
To a large extent, it can be said that among the most important strategies in health care would be quality improvement and performance improvement projects. They pinpoint specific problems in an organization, namely, how many patients suffer from hospital-acquired infections and for how long patients have to wait to see doctors. This paper focuses on systematic approaches involving data collection, targeted interventions, and continuous monitoring for better patient safety and operation efficiency (Lee et al., 2020). Not being a true research study in the classical sense, QI/PI projects still play a role in helping continuously improve care. If this is a good strategy, then not only is a particular outcome improved, but healthcare problems are addressed proactively and result in better patient experiences and better organizational performance.
NURS FPX 8045 Assessment 3 References
Ballengee, L. A., Rushton, S., Lewinski, A. A., Hwang, S., Zullig, L. L., Ricks, K. A. B., Ramos, K., Brahmajothi, M. V., Moore, T. S., Blalock, D. V., Cantrell, S., Kosinski, A. S., Gordon, A., Ear, B., Williams Jr, J. W., Gierisch, J. M., & Goldstein, K. M. (2022). Effectiveness of quality improvement coaching on process outcomes in health care settings: a systematic review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-021-07217-2
Dreiher, D., Blagorazumnaya, O., Balicer, R., & Dreiher, J. (2020). National initiatives to promote quality of care and patient safety: achievements to date and challenges ahead. Israel Journal of Health Policy Research, 9(1). https://ijhpr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13584-020-00417-x
Lee, M., Lee, N. J., Seo, H. J., Jang, H., & Kim, S. M. (2020). Interventions to engage patients and families in patient safety: A systematic review. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 43(10), 972–983. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0193945920980770
Ratna, D., Kartikasari, D., & Herya, N. (2021). Impact of effective communication on the quality of excellent service and patient satisfaction in the outpatient department. KnE Life Sciences, 6(2). https://kneopen.com/KnE-Life/article/view/8883/
Stricker, L. G. (2023). Effectiveness of trauma nurse practitioner-led patient-centered discharge plan: a quality improvement project. Scholarworks.montana.edu. https://scholarworks.montana.edu/items/5419023d-cd53-4b8a-9f87-e86f9819fbd9
Sunkwa, G., Rawal, L., Enweronu, C., Aberese, M., Senah, K., & Tersbøl, B. P. (2020). Perspectives and practices of healthcare providers and caregivers on healthcare-associated infections in the neonatal intensive care units of two hospitals in Ghana. Health Policy and Planning, 35(1), i38–i50. https://academic.oup.com/heapol/article/35/Supplement_1/i38/5960436
Selvia, R., Susilaningsih, F. S., & Komariah, M. (2021). The level of compliance of healthcare workers in performing hand hygiene: A literature review. Journal of Nursing Care. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/THE-LEVEL-OF-COMPLIANCE-OF-HEALTHCARE-WORKERS-IN-A-Rahayu-Susilaningsih/c25672f20fde6232a099d8cb48639e71453e8404?p2df
Sagar, S. S. H., Almasfuh, A. A. M., Abbas, T. H. A., Mansour, M. F. H. A., Sager, J. S. H., & Bahri, T. S. M. A. (2023). Assessing the effectiveness of nursing practices in preventing hospital-acquired infections in ICU settings: A comprehensive review of government hospitals. Journal of Survey in Fisheries Sciences, 1300–1305. https://doi.org/10.53555/sfs.v10i2.2173
