Healthcare quality and safety Essay

This assignment will discuss The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) standard 3 (Preventing and controlling healthcare-associated infection). The assignment will provide an initial general discussion on quality and safety in the Australian healthcare system. This will be followed by a critical discussion of the 5 moments of hand hygiene and its relationship to standard 3. It will conclude with a discussion on how what process and outcome data can be collected and used in improving the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The assignment will discuss comprehensively how the application of the standard 3 in healthcare delivery can be achieved to improve patient outcomes and explore the process and information data that can be feasible in ensuring improvements can be attained.

The fragmentation of the healthcare system established gaps in the quality and safety of patient care and makes navigation of the healthcare system difficult for patients. The difficulties established in patients navigating the care systems expose patients to a poor quality of care as well as making it more difficult to supervise the quality of care provided. The quality and safety of healthcare services in Australian healthcare system is also affected by the diverse and different mix of services that are provided by private and public healthcare facilities. In addressing the quality and safety of healthcare provision and delivery, it is imperative that the healthcare organizations take lead in designing standards that govern quality and safety. The ACSQHC provides leadership in the development of frameworks that aim to ensure safety and quality of healthcare in Australia.

In attaining the standard 3 (preventing and controlling healthcare-associated infections), clinical interventions in nursing care provision have been instituted to ensure prevention of HAIs. The World Health Organization estimates that 15% of all hospitalized patients suffer from hospital-associated infections (Khan, Baig & Mehboob, 2017). In Australia, there is an estimated over 165,000 cases of HAIs making the HAIs among the most common health care complication in the Australian healthcare system. Hand hygiene is a critical aspect of the prevention of cross-infection and transfer of microbes from one patient to another. Through touch, health care providers may act as a conduit for microorganisms from one patient to another (Aziz, 2014). Monitoring and evaluation as well as prompt feedback on hand washing ought to be incorporated into the hand washing.

Healthcare workers and organizations ought to take up feedback on the correct and adherence of handwashing to ensure that care providers are constantly appraised on its use and adherence. Data collection is a key aspect on ensuring that hand washing is adhered to and provides a statistical guide on the adherence which can inform in the promotion of hand hygiene among healthcare workers. In Australia, The Hand Hygiene Compliance Application (HHCApp) is an important application that aids hospitals in reporting compliance to handwashing. Defines process and outcome data According to Donabedian, (1988), process refers to the actual interventions and efforts that are inputted by the healthcare provider in providing healthcare services to the patient (Donabedian, 1988). The outcome data collection can be obtained through client exit questionnaire, analysis of patient records and data to identify any incidents of HAIs during the period of admission and evaluation of healthcare providers documentation and incident reports.

Data analysis on the process and outcomes of the interventions is critical to advising on patient care and outcomes. Qualitative data analysis is effective in providing an analysis of the processes and outcomes (Watkins, 2017). Qualitative analysis is prudent in the case as it provides a narrative and can be applied to identify themes and areas of improvement, provide areas of discussion and intervention by the healthcare organization and the healthcare providers that can be addressed in improving the safety and quality of HAIs prevention through adhering to the 5 moments of hand hygiene (Lundeen & Padilla, 2013). Providing feedback on the findings is core and ought to be provided to the healthcare providers and allow for discussions.  British Journal Of Healthcare Management, 20(9), 428-434. doi: 10.

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