Informatics and Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators

prepare an 2 – 4 pages
for new nurses on the importance of nursing-sensitive quality indicators.

Before you complete the detailed instructions in the courseroom, first review the Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators below and select the one you’re most interested in. Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators reflect the structure, process, and patient outcomes of nursing care.
Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators are developed by identifying potential indicators that reflect nursing care and are not represented by current indicators, performing a literature review, and determining the validity of the potential indicator in nursing practice.

After you select one of the Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators below, return to the courseroom
to review the detailed instructions and complete your assessment.

  • Patient Volume and Flow – Structure.
  • Patient Contacts – Structure.
  • Nursing Care Hours Per Patient Day – Structure.
  • Skill Mix – Structure.
  • Hospital-Acquired Pressure Ulcers – Outcome.

Next, imagine you are a member of a Quality Improvement Council at any type of health care system, whether acute, ambulatory, home health, managed care, et cetera. Your Council has identified that newly hired nurses would benefit from comprehensive training on the importance of nursing-sensitive quality indicators. The Council would like the training to address how this information is collected and disseminated across the organization. It would also like the training to describe the role nurses have in accurate reporting and high-quality results.
The Council indicates a recording is preferable to a written fact sheet due to the popularity of audio blogs. In this way, new hires can listen to the tutorial on their own time using their phone or other device.
As a result of this need, you offer to create an audio tutorial orienting new hires to these topics. You know that you will need a script to guide your audio recording. You also plan to incorporate into your script the insights you learned from conducting an interview with an authority on quality monitoring and the use of technology to collect and report quality indicator data.
You determine that you will cover the following topics in your paper :
Introduction: Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicator
• What is the National Database of Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators?
• What are nursing-sensitive quality indicators?
• Which particular quality indicator did you select to address in your tutorial?
• Why is this quality indicator important to monitor?
o Be sure to address the impact of this indicator on the quality of care and patient safety.

• Why do new nurses need to be familiar with this particular quality indicator when providing patient care?
Collection and Distribution of Quality Indicator Data
• According to your interview and other resources, how does your organization collect data on this quality indicator?
• How does the organization disseminate aggregate data?
• What role do nurses play in supporting accurate reporting and high-quality results?
o As an example, consider the importance of accurately entering data regarding nursing interventions.

Full Answer Section

     

standardized way to measure the quality of nursing care across healthcare settings. But how do they measure it? Here's where NSQIs come in!

NSQIs are specific criteria directly impacted by nursing interventions. They reflect the structure, process, and outcomes of your care.

Focus: Hospital-Acquired Pressure Ulcers (HAPUs)

For this tutorial, we'll focus on a specific NSQI: Hospital-Acquired Pressure Ulcers (HAPUs). Why is this important? HAPUs are preventable skin injuries that can cause significant pain, discomfort, and even death for patients. Reducing HAPUs improves patient outcomes, decreases healthcare costs, and reflects the quality of nursing care.

As a new nurse, you play a vital role in preventing HAPUs. Frequent skin assessments, proper positioning, and meticulous hygiene are just some of your key strategies. Monitoring and documenting these interventions accurately contributes to accurate reporting of the HAPU NSQI.

Data Collection and Distribution

Now, let's explore how our organization collects and uses NSQI data. (Insert here: Briefly explain how your specific healthcare organization collects data on HAPUs. This information might include details about electronic health records (EHR) systems, specific assessment tools used, or reporting procedures.)

Once collected, this data is anonymized and aggregated. This means individual patient information is removed, and the data is presented as a whole. This aggregate data is then disseminated (shared) within the organization through reports, dashboards, or staff meetings.

Your Role in Accurate Reporting

So, how do nurses contribute to accurate reporting and high-quality results? Your role is critical! By diligently documenting your assessments, interventions, and patient responses related to pressure injury prevention, you provide valuable data. Accurate documentation ensures the NSQI data reflects the true picture of our care and allows for effective quality improvement initiatives.

Conclusion: Champions for Quality

Understanding NSQIs like HAPUs empowers you as nurses to be champions for quality care. By providing high-quality care and accurate data, you directly contribute to improving patient safety and overall healthcare outcomes. Remember, even small actions have a big impact!

Additional Resources:

For further exploration, check out the American Nurses Association website for more information on NSQIs and the NDNQI database.

Thank you for listening!

Note:

This script provides a framework. Replace bracketed sections with details specific to your healthcare organization's data collection methods for HAPUs. You can also expand on specific interventions used for pressure injury prevention based on your organization's protocols.

Sample Answer

     

Audio Tutorial Script: Understanding Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators

Introduction: Welcome, New Nurses!

Hi everyone, and welcome to this audio tutorial! Today, we'll delve into the world of Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators (NSQIs). As new nurses, understanding these indicators is crucial for providing high-quality patient care and ensuring patient safety.

What are NSQIs?

First, let's talk about the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI). This database, established by the American Nurses Association, provides a