patient web portal safety and quality in nursing

What is a patient portal?

Patient portals are owned and administered by health care institutions (such as hospitals). As part of a patient portal, institutions may offer patients (typically web-based) access to selected clinical data that is governed by the respective institutions as part of the patients’ EHR.

What is the patient safety and quality online program?

The patient safety and quality online program will provide you with an advanced education focused on healthcare systems and processes that contribute to risk reduction, evidence-based practice, knowledge of the healthcare environment, leadership, accountability, professionalism and business skills.

How does patient portal implementation improve quality of patient care?

Patient Portal Implementation Improves Quality of Patient Care and Strengthens Preventive Care Spring 2011 Dover, Delaware About Dover Family Physicians Dover Family Physicians adopted an electronic health record (EHR) system in 2008 with a goal of improving the quality of patient care and especially strengthening preventive care services.

Do patients and caregivers use portals to communicate with healthcare staff?

Patients and caregivers expressed interest in using portals to communicate with health care staff [6,24,30,36] but not many actually used this feature [30,44]

How do patient portals improve patient safety?

Engaging patients in the delivery of health care has the potential to improve health outcomes and patient satisfaction. Patient portals may enhance patient engagement by enabling patients to access their electronic medical records (EMRs) and facilitating secure patient-provider communication.

Why is patient portal important in healthcare?

A patient portal is a website for your personal health care. The online tool helps you to keep track of your health care provider visits, test results, billing, prescriptions, and so on. You can also e-mail your provider questions through the portal. Many providers now offer patient portals.

What is patient safety and quality in healthcare?

Quality has been defined by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) as “doing the right thing at the right time for the right person and having the best possible result.” Patient safety is simply defined by the World Health Organization as “the prevention of errors and adverse effects to patients ...

How do patient portals affect nursing?

Patient portals facilitate patient engagement in healthcare decisions, improve communication, and streamline care. Less than one-third of patients access patient portals to view their medical data. Nurses can improve patient portal use by explaining the benefits and providing education.

What do you look for in a patient portal?

A robust patient portal should include the following features:Clinical summaries.Secure (HIPAA-compliant) messaging.Online bill pay.New patient registration.Ability to update demographic information.Prescription renewals and contact lens ordering.Appointment requests.Appointment reminders.More items...

How do patient portals contribute to patient centered care?

Further, portals help providers educate their patients and prepare them for future care encounters. When patients have access to their health data, they are better informed, and have the potential to generate deep and meaningful conversations regarding patient wellness during doctor's appointments.

Why is quality and safety important in nursing?

It aims to prevent and reduce risks, errors and harm that occur to patients during provision of health care. A cornerstone of the discipline is continuous improvement based on learning from errors and adverse events. Patient safety is fundamental to delivering quality essential health services.

How do you provide safe and quality nursing care?

5 Patient-Centered Strategies to Improve Patient SafetyAllow patients access to EHR data, clinician notes. ... Care for hospital environment. ... Create a safe patient experience. ... Create simple and timely appointment scheduling. ... Encourage family and caregiver engagement.

How do nurses promote patient safety and improve quality at your workplace?

Educating patients on their post-discharge care is a simple, yet effective, example of how nurses can improve patient safety. By working with patients to ensure they have a thorough understanding of their medical condition and self-care routine before they are discharged, nurses help facilitate a smooth recovery.

What are the disadvantages of patient portals?

Even though they should improve communication, there are also disadvantages to patient portals....Table of ContentsGetting Patients to Opt-In.Security Concerns.User Confusion.Alienation and Health Disparities.Extra Work for the Provider.Conclusion.

What are the security issues associated with engaging patients through an online patient portal?

Sharing credentials can lead to multiple data security and privacy problems, including revealing more information than the patient intended, and to health care practitioner confusion and mistakes if they do not know with whom they are communicating.

Why do patient portals fail?

Conversely, most portals greet patients with inadequate functionality, confusing formatting, and hard to understand health data. Patients often lose interest in these portals, unsure of how to take advantage of any of their promised offerings.

What are nursing sensitive measures?

These included patient-centered outcomes considered to be markers of nursing care quality (such as falls and pressure ulcers) and system-related measures including nursing skill mix, nursing care hours, measures of the quality of the nursing practice environment (which includes staffing ratios), and nursing turnover . These measures are intended to illustrate both the quality of nursing care and the degree to which an institution’s working environment supports nurses in their patient safety efforts. Nurse-sensitive indicators are a metric for the degree to which acute care hospitals provide quality, patient safety, and promote a safe and professional work environment. Nurse-sensitive measures continue to set the standard for quality and safety in care in the acute scare setting. As of 2021, there are 39-nurse sensitive measures.

What is the association between nurse staffing ratios and patient safety?

Several seminal studies linked in this sentence have demonstrated the association between nurse staffing ratios and patient safety, documenting an increased risk of patient safety events, morbidity , and even mortality as the number of patients per nurse increases. The strength of these data has led several states, beginning with California in 2004, to establish legislatively mandated minimum staffing ratios. According to the American Nurses Association, only 14 states have passed nurse staffing legislation as of March 2021 and most states do not specify registered-nurse (RN)-to-patient ratios, which vary by state and are also setting-dependent.

What is the nurse to patient ratio?

The nurse-to-patient ratio is only one aspect of the relationship between the nursing workload and patient safety. Overall nursing workload is likely linked to patient outcomes as well. A PSNet Classic 2011 study showed that increased patient turnover was also associated with increased mortality risk, even when overall nurse staffing was considered adequate. Determining adequate nurse staffing is a very complex process that changes on a shift-by-shift basis. It requires close coordination between management and nursing and is based on patient acuity and turnover, availability of support staff and skill mix, and settings of care. The process of establishing nurse staffing on a unit-by-unit and shift-by-shift basis is discussed in detail in this WebM&M commentary.

Why do nurses leave the profession?

Nurses who commit errors are also at risk of becoming second victims of the error, a well -documented phenomenon that is associated with an increased risk of self-reported error and leaving the nursing profession. In their daily work, nurses are frequently exposed to disruptive or unprofessional behavior by physicians and other health care personnel, and such exposure has been demonstrated to be a key factor in nursing burnout and in nurses leaving their jobs or leaving the profession entirely.

What are the factors that affect the quality of a nurse's work?

Adequate nurse staffing depends on several factors such as lack of training, administrative demands, distractions, and interruptions that can impact nurse’s work.5

What is missed nursing care?

Missed nursing care is a phenomenon of omission that occurs when the right action is delayed, is partially completed, or cannot be performed at all. In one British study, missed nursing care episodes were strongly associated with a higher number of patients per nurse. Missed nursing care errors have been identified as common and universal and secondary to systemic factors that bring undesirable consequences for both patients and nursing professionals. Omission of care has been linked to both job dissatisfaction and absenteeism for nurses, as well as to medication errors, infections, falls, pressure injuries, readmissions, and failure to rescue.10 In addition, If bullying is present within the workplace, more nurses are likely to self-report missed nursing care.11

Why are nurses important?

Nurses play a critically important role in ensuring patient safety while providing care directly to patients. While physicians make diagnostic and treatment decisions, they may only spend 30 to 45 minutes a day with even a critically ill hospitalized patient, which limits their ability to see changes in a patient’s condition over time. Nurses are a constant presence at the bedside and regularly interact with physicians, pharmacists, families, and all other members of the health care team and are crucial to timely coordination and communication of the patient’s condition to the team. From a patient safety perspective, a nurse’s role includes monitoring patients for clinical deterioration, detecting errors and near misses, understanding care processes and weaknesses inherent in some systems, identifying and communicating changes in patient condition, and performing countless other tasks to ensure patients receive high-quality care.

What is the definition of quality and safety in nursing?

Quality and safety in nursing is defined in the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are designed to be developed in pre-licensure programs for nursing. The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) project explores certain challenges in the preparation of future nurses to assure that the quality and safety of healthcare practices are continuing to improve.

Why is quality important in nursing?

The Importance of Quality and Safety. Ensuring the quality and safety of a patient and the healthcare practices being performed are two of the most crucial aspects of nursing. As any form of healthcare and nursing should be practiced with accuracy and precision, keeping patients safe and protected with quality care is the number one aspect ...

Why is it important to be a nurse?

Ensuring that quality and safety in nursing is well taught and developed in nursing programs is crucial to the success of a nurse in the workplace. Working in healthcare is a great way to help others and contribute positively to your community. By continuously improving the quality and safety of these practices, nurses are given the ability to better serve their healthcare community.

Why are patient portals important?

While the evidence is currently immature, patient portals have demonstrated benefit by enabling the discovery of medical errors, improving adherence to medications, and providing patient-provider communication, etc. High-quality studies are needed to fully understand, improve, and evaluate their impact.

How does a patient portal improve patient engagement?

Patient portals may enhance patient engagement by enabling patients to access their electronic medical records (EMRs) and facilitating secure patient-provider communication.

What are the inputs and outputs of a patient portal?

The inputs are the material (eg, hardware and software) and nonmaterial (eg, leadership) components that facilitate or impair the establishment or use of the portal. Processes include the interactions of the users with the portal. Outputs comprise the results of the implementation or the use of the portal. Through the analysis, we identified 14 themes within these three categories, shown in Textbox 1.

How does patient involvement improve quality of care?

Promoting patient involvement in health care delivery may lead to improved quality and safety of care [14,15] by enabling patients to spot and report errors in EMRs, for example [6]. Some patients recognize the role of patient portals in their health care, reporting satisfaction with the ability to communicate with their health care teams and perform tasks such as requesting prescription refills conveniently [3,16]. Portal use may reduce in-person visits, visits to emergency departments, and patient-provider telephone conversations [3,8-10,12,16]. Despite the potential of portals, already used in the ambulatory setting for some time, implementation in the inpatient setting has only recently gathered momentum [17-19]. The inpatient setting presents additional challenges for implementing patient portals [18,20]. Clinical conditions leading to hospitalization are often acute and the amount of medical information generated during this time can be extensive, which may overwhelm patients [20] and challenge information technology to rapidly display this information.

What are barriers in portals?

Barriers: factors that hinder widespread adoption or portal use

What is portal design?

Portal design: umbrella term for all design-related aspects of the portal including portal interface, content, features, and functions

What databases are used to search for articles published between 2005 and 2017?

The PubMed, CINAHL, and Embase databases were searched for articles published between 2005 and 2017 using keywords related to patient engagement, electronic health records, patient portals, and their associated subject headings in each database: the full search terms for each database are provided in Multimedia Appendix 1.

What is the MSN in health care?

Our MSN in Health Care Quality and Patient Safety program covers research, collaboration, communication, data analysis, project management and much more. Along with honing important nursing leadership skills – such as clinical and organizational decision-making – students will focus on critical thinking, evidence-based research and diagnostic reasoning. You will examine how to improve health care systems and patient outcomes from all aspects.

What is practicum in health care?

This practicum course is the final synthesis of theoretical foundations of health care quality and patient safety and their application across health care settings. Emphasis is placed on issue identification, assessment and prioritization, project management, implementation, and evaluation. Learners also explore the application of communication methods, emotional intelligence, high reliability principles, and conflict resolution. Practicum/field experience hours: 150. Fingerprint clearance required. Prerequisite: Successful completion of all previous coursework in the program.

What is a masters in nursing?

Designed for nurses seeking to improve their knowledge and skills in the area of health care quality and patient safety, this Master of Science in Nursing program covers a variety of valuable coursework. You’ll focus on nationally recognized expectations and metrics for quality, examine different approaches to support quality improvement measures and learn about technologies that support clinical decision-making for patient safety. Throughout this specialized master’s degree program, you will: 1 Explore the quality improvement process and examine the most commonly used models and tools for improving health care quality 2 Evaluate methods to track, assess, analyze and review data relating to patient safety issues 3 Examine project management models and approaches in health care settings 4 Gain skills to identify various stakeholders and roles, set goals and expectations, plan stakeholder engagement and identify ways to mitigate obstacles in health care project management 5 Learn about the elements of change management, how to identify criteria for success in change areas and how to plan phases and goals for implementation 6 Learn how to implement health care quality and safety initiatives

What is online nursing?

Online programs often offer self-paced learning, meaning nurses can listen to lectures or complete coursework when it's convenient to them. For nurses who work nights, weekends, or holidays, flexible class schedules allow students to complete their degrees without impacting work or family obligations.

What is the MSN in patient safety?

The curriculum for an MSN in Patient Safety & Quality program prepares students for evaluating and improving best practices for patient safety and healthcare quality. Course work often includes research methodology, legal issues and privacy rights, risk assessment and regulatory compliance.

How much does it cost to get an MSN in patient safety and quality?

As mentioned above, the cost of an MSN in Patient Safety & Quality program varies widely from school to school. In addition to tuition fees, other costs associated with an MSN degree generally include mandatory university fees, materials and supplies including textbooks, graduation fees, room and board, and transportation and commuting costs. As an example of program costs, the online MSN in Patient Safety & Quality program at Southern New Hampshire University is currently $1,881 per course, or $627 per credit hour. Additional program costs include $40 application fee, $150 graduation fee and course materials which vary based on course.

What is a flexible schedule for nursing?

Flexible Schedule: For nurses working full- or part-time while taking MSN courses, a flexible class schedule is critical. Online programs often offer self-paced learning, meaning nurses can listen to lectures or complete coursework when it's convenient to them. For nurses who work nights, weekends, or holidays, flexible class schedules allow students to complete their degrees without impacting work or family obligations.

What is a patient safety officer?

Patient Safety Officer: Patient safety officers create healthcare policies and procedures that ensure patients receive quality treatment in a safe and effective manner. A management position, the patient safety officer ensures their team always priorities patient safety and strives to improve patient outcomes.

What is an accredited nursing program?

Program Accreditation: A properly accredited nursing program will provide a quality education and prepare nurses for the next phase of their careers. Ensure that every program you consider is accredited by either the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). Online vs.

What are the costs of a MSN?

As mentioned above, the cost of an MSN in Patient Safety & Quality program varies widely from school to school. In addition to tuition fees, other costs associated with an MSN degree generally include mandatory university fees, materials and supplies including textbooks, graduation fees, room and board, and transportation and commuting costs.

What is healthcare quality and safety track?

With the healthcare quality and safety track, you can develop the skills you need to change those numbers. You'll design, implement and evaluate healthcare quality improvement initiatives guided by critical thinking, data-driven decision making and evidence-based practices.

What is MSN in healthcare?

The Online MSN in Healthcare Safety and Quality is designed to help you build the skills you need to advocate for a culture of safety.

What does MSN stand for in nursing?

MSN stands for Master of Science in Nursing. An MSN is a graduate-level degree designed to help prepare registered nurses for success in an advanced healthcare role. Healthcare quality and safety is a discipline within nursing that focuses on improving care outcomes through process, policy, practice and culture on both a macro and micro level.

How many hours of clinical practicum are required for a healthcare quality and safety track?

In addition to the online coursework of the healthcare quality and safety track, you'll complete 135 clinical practicum hours under the guidance of a preceptor, providing an opportunity to apply theory to practice.

What is the minimum GPA required for a nursing license?

(If a student holds active licenses in more than one state/jurisdiction all licenses must be unencumbered.) Must have an earned bachelor’s degree from an accredited nursing program (ACEN, CCNE, and CNEA) with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.

What are the problems with healthcare delivery?

News & World Report, COVID-19 revealed problems with healthcare delivery across the country, from supply chain breakdowns to staff shortages and burnout. 3

What is the role of nurses in healthcare?

Nurses are one of many healthcare professionals that play a role in healthcare safety and quality.

What is a patient portal?

The patient portal is best known for its connection and communication capabilities. A quality solution should come with an easy-to-use messaging center where patients and providers can stay connected more than ever. Here, patients can ask important questions, bring up developments in their care, and form a connection with their provider. Without this tool, patients are put in a position where they have to address everything on their mind in a single visit with their provider, losing information between interactions and forgetting to address key details in their care. The patient portal makes it simple for the patient to stay completely connected with their provider, preventing important developments from slipping through the cracks.

How does a patient portal help?

Research shows that patient portals have a huge impact on the way a patient interacts with their provider as well as their overall care experience. Implementing a quality portal within your organization can help your patients stay connected, improve communication with their providers, and help them gain insight into their overall health.

Why is patient portal important?

Not only is the patient portal a convenient place for patients and providers to communicate, but it is also the place patients go to understand their personal health. Here, patients can review their care plan so that they can adhere to it more easily and gain instant access to test results in real-time. They can then review them with their providers and know exactly where they are in their progress. Increasing access to information is essential to achieving better patient outcomes.

Why is it important to get your patients involved in their care?

Getting your patients actively engaged in their care is essential to achieving a better health outcome. Unless a patient is independently involved in their medical care, it can be difficult to get them to adhere to their treatment plan and achieve quality results.

Why is it persuasive to use a portal?

They found that it is particularly persuasive when providers encourage patients to use the portal because patients trust providers and value their opinions. One provider says he reinforces a patient’s use of the portal by closing all messages with “Thanks for using the portal.”.

When did PHMG start patient portal?

PHMG launched the patient portal in early 2010. As a first step, the physician champion piloted the portal for about 6 months before it was implemented in one clinic at a time. According to the physician champion, implementation was “easier than expected because everyone was already comfortable with eClinicalWorks, ...

Why is PHMG monitoring?

Messaging is monitored periodically to ensure that communication with patients is succinct and user-friendly.

What are the challenges of the portal?

One major challenge with the portal is the multiple step registration process . Patients provide their e‐mail address at the front desk and are given a password to register from home. Some patients fail to complete the registration process after leaving the clinic. Remembering and managing passwords and managing family accounts are also challenging for patients. For example, a parent may log in for one child and then ask questions about a second child. For providers and staff, a challenge is that there is no way to know whether a Web‐enabled patient actually uses the portal and there are no read receipts to confirm that patients have read a message.

Why is Qualis important?

Qualis has also been an important resource for information about the meaningful use rules. "We felt strongly that from a quality standpoint we could not succeed without going to electronic health records. I felt very strongly we had to invest in it because it would positively affect every patient that we encounter.".

When did PHMG implement EHR?

In 2007 PHMG implemented an EHR system, eClinicalWorks, as part of a strategy to improve quality of care and facilitate coordination of care across its multiple clinic locations. In preparing for implementation, PHMG proceeded with:

What is a message in patients' own words?

Messages are in patients’ own words and not subject to others interpretation, biases, or attention to detail

Background

Nurse Staffing and Patient Safety

Nurses' Working Conditions and Patient Safety

"Missed" Nursing Care

Safety and Quality Rating Systems

• The National Quality Forum endorsed voluntary consensus standardsfor nursing-sensitive care in 2004. These included patient-centered outcomes considered to be markers of nursing care quality (such as falls and pressure ulcers) and system-related measures including nursing skill mix, nursing care hours, measures of the quality of the nursing practic...

See more on psnet.ahrq.gov

References