Description

Discussion: The Patient Perspective

The patient or patient advocate is often the first person to detect or suspect a problem with the care or treatment that the patient is receiving. In addition, he or she may have useful information about the onset of symptoms, previous medical history, or other details important for the healthcare provider to know. A patient who is active in his or her care improves the quality of that care and can protect his or her own safety.

In this Discussion, you will use scholarly resources to help you to formulate questions that patients (or patient advocates) might use to protect himself or herself. You will also discuss the concept of near miss and its importance for healthcare safety.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review the Learning Resources.
• Review the “Speak Up” materials and other Learning Resources. Speak Up videos are part of your required Learning Resources that were produced by The Joint Commission.
• Locate two scholarly resources from the Walden Library about the role of patients in protecting their own safety.
• Revisit the case study that you identified in Week 1.

BY DAY 4

Post a comprehensive explanation of the following:

Provide a brief description of the case study that you chose in Week 1. 

• Using the “Speak Up” materials (located in this week’s learning resources) and the two scholarly resourcesthat you have identified, suggest questions that the patient (or patient advocate) could have asked that might have prevented or minimized the harm that the patient suffered. 
• Explain how the suggested questions by the patient (or patient advocate) might have influenced the outcome.
• Identify any possible barriers discouraging the patient or patient advocate from questioning the provider (barriers may include cultural, generational, or other issues).
• Discuss what is a near miss and the importance as a healthcare employee to report such incidents. 
• Explain how tracking near miss information may improve quality and patient safety