Posted: August 8th, 2024

The connection between EBP and Quadruple Aim Essay

The connection between EBP and Quadruple Aim

Evidence based practice is the use of best scientific evidence, integrated with clinical EXPERIENCE and incorporating patient values and preference in the practice of professional nursing care. This approach ensures that healthcare decisions are grounded in both scientific rigor and patient-centered considerations. Evidence based practice has continued to gain ground in management, the formation of public policies, education and nursing practice since its formal introduction in 1990s. As one of the most effective problem-solving approaches in EBP, it is often described as a method for patient care that involves considering the best available research and guidelines associated with specific clinical situations. This systematic approach helps healthcare providers make informed decisions tailored to individual patient needs. The integration of EBP into various healthcare domains has led to significant improvements in patient outcomes and overall healthcare quality, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement among healthcare professionals.

The main aim of EBP is to ensure that patients are provided with high quality and safe health care services for high chances of success. EBP embraces an interprofessional model where shared decision making is greatly emphasized. This collaborative approach promotes a holistic view of patient care, considering various professional perspectives. According to Crabtree (2016), nurses have widely embraced a positive attitude towards EBP. This positive reception has led to increased implementation of evidence-based practices across healthcare settings, resulting in improved patient outcomes and increased job satisfaction among nursing staff. The widespread adoption of EBP has also contributed to the development of a more critical and analytical mindset among healthcare professionals, encouraging continuous learning and adaptation to new research findings.

The quadruple aim has four major goals: improving patient experience, population health, the work life of health care providers and reducing health care associated costs (Kim et al., 2016). These interconnected goals form a comprehensive framework for healthcare improvement. Quadruple aim purposes to achieve the aforementioned goals through the redesigning of healthcare facilities. However, a major setback is achieving these goals in the wider health sector, improving population health while at the same time containing or reducing healthcare related costs, which require high levels of efficiency and effectiveness. This challenge necessitates innovative approaches and strategic planning to balance quality care with cost-effectiveness. Healthcare organizations are increasingly exploring technology-driven solutions and process optimizations to address this complex issue, aiming to create sustainable healthcare systems that benefit both patients and providers.

IMPACT OF EBP ON QUADRUPLE AIM

EBP has a direct impact on the work life of health care providers since, to receive high quality and safe healthcare services, staff need to be very productive. Another impact is that errors in decision making become less frequent. This reduction in errors leads to improved patient safety and increased provider confidence. Also, nursing care is more efficient when ineffective practices are replaced with evidence-based alternatives. This efficiency not only improves patient outcomes but also reduces workplace stress for healthcare providers. The implementation of EBP has shown to increase job satisfaction among healthcare professionals, as they feel more empowered in their decision-making processes and see tangible improvements in patient care as a result of their evidence-based interventions.

EBP has helped reach the quadruple aim in the four measures as described below:

Patient experience.

All strategies used in EBP permit health care providers to translate the findings of research into clinical practice. This translation process ensures that patients receive care based on the most current and reliable evidence available. By utilizing efficient searching skills of literature and formally applying the rules that guide the evidence to evaluate the findings of research, nurses and other healthcare providers can efficiently apply existent scientific knowledge to clinical practices based on individual patient needs. As a result, this improves the quality of healthcare services that patients receive. In recent times, most health care institutions are embracing EBP to solve clinical issues that directly impact patient care, and this is what has led to improved patient experience. The implementation of EBP has also contributed to increased patient engagement and satisfaction, as patients feel more involved in their care decisions and better informed about their treatment options.

Population health.

EBP purposes to educate the population on individual health determinants, the benefits and limitations of specific treatments, and cultural and healthcare practices. This educational aspect of EBP empowers individuals to make informed decisions about their health. Those integrating EBP in various population settings also purpose to ensure equitable distribution of resources to achieve specific aims (Sakallaris et al., 2016). Population can be classified based on its needs as identified by socioeconomic status, the support received from families, and individual health status. This promotes equity and efficiency in the allocation and distribution of resources for health promotions. All EBP involved in care have been specifically designed to address individual patient needs as opposed to shaping healthcare patterns based on subgroups. This personalized approach to healthcare has shown promising results in improving overall population health outcomes, particularly in managing chronic diseases and promoting preventive care measures.

Cost.

A major challenge for most healthcare facilities is directly related to the reduction of per capita cost of health as it needs all health care expenditures to be captured, measures of actual cost and indexing the cost to the health care market. This comprehensive approach to cost management requires sophisticated data analysis and financial planning. According to Sakallaris et al. (2016), the most common method used to measure the actual cost is discounts and pricing. Therefore, for most healthcare institutions, it is a huge challenge to provide safe and quality healthcare services at lower healthcare costs. When an institution embraces the use of latest technology to improve efficiency and most recent treatment methods as revealed through EBP, the quality of care as well as the cost automatically increases. However, the long-term benefits of EBP often outweigh the initial costs, leading to more efficient resource utilization and improved patient outcomes, which can ultimately result in cost savings for healthcare systems.

The work life of healthcare providers.

The key component of a conducive healthcare environment should support interprofessional collaboration. This collaborative approach fosters a positive work culture and enhances professional growth. Interprofessional collaboration has been evidenced to improve patient health outcomes and the satisfaction of healthcare providers. It also reduces providers’ burnout and turnover rates, which promote staff productivity. The three major components of such an environment include the structural and policy elements and actively engaging the workforce in shared decision making. By involving healthcare providers in the decision-making process, organizations can tap into their expertise and improve overall job satisfaction. The implementation of EBP has shown to increase professional autonomy and job satisfaction among healthcare providers, leading to improved retention rates and a more stable workforce.

References

Crabtree, E., Brennan, E., Davis, A., & Coyle, A. (2016). Improving patient care through nursing engagement in evidence-based practice. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 13(2), 172-175. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12126

Kim, L. Y., Rose, D. E., Soban, L. M., Stockdale, S. E., Meredith, L. S., Edwards, S. T., Helfrich, C. D., & Rubenstein, L. V. (2016). Primary care tasks associated with provider burnout: Findings from a Veterans Health Administration survey. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 31(1), 50-56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-015-3480-5

Sikka, R., Morath, J. M., & Leape, L. (2015). The Quadruple Aim: Care, health, cost and meaning in work. BMJ Quality & Safety, 24(10), 608-610. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004160

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