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Policy Proposal and Practice Guidelines for Quality Improvement
Learner’s Name
Capella University
NHSPFX 6004:
Instructor Name
October, 2024
, 2
Policy Proposal and Practice Guidelines for Quality Improvement
For quality improvements, healthcare organizations need to adopt suitable policy changes
related to local, state, or federal healthcare policies and laws. The implementation of such policy
changes requires healthcare leaders to sufficiently understand the need for these changes and
how to effectively integrate them into daily healthcare practice. While the Springfield Memorial
Hospital’s Great Catch Award program has been largely successful in promoting incident
reporting and influencing safety improvements, there is potential for further enhancement. While
the facility fares averagely at par with national benchmark indicators for safety events in the
context of common hospital-acquired infections, the hospital could do more to attain the safety
levels of its neighbors. The paper proposes policy and practice guidelines that can introduce
improvements that align with national safety regulations and benchmarks, enhance staff
engagement, and influence continuous organizational learning.
The Need for the Creation of Policy and Practice Guidelines
The development of new policy and practice guidelines is crucial to address the shortfalls
in meeting the benchmark metrics and best practices advocated by relevant healthcare authorities
like the Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Some of the best practices recommended include the development of incident reporting systems
that are blame-free, voluntary, and anonymous to address the obstacle of fear of negative
consequences (Hamed & Konstantinidis, 2021). In addition, it is crucial to align the incident
reporting and management system to relevant laws, such as the Patient Safety and Quality
Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA). Failing to align with existing benchmarks can deter patient
safety improvements through underreporting of safety events, limited learning from near misses,
and perpetuation of systemic safety risks. Moreover, failure to improve the safety programs can
Policy Proposal and Practice Guidelines for Quality Improvement
Learner’s Name
Capella University
NHSPFX 6004:
Instructor Name
October, 2024
, 2
Policy Proposal and Practice Guidelines for Quality Improvement
For quality improvements, healthcare organizations need to adopt suitable policy changes
related to local, state, or federal healthcare policies and laws. The implementation of such policy
changes requires healthcare leaders to sufficiently understand the need for these changes and
how to effectively integrate them into daily healthcare practice. While the Springfield Memorial
Hospital’s Great Catch Award program has been largely successful in promoting incident
reporting and influencing safety improvements, there is potential for further enhancement. While
the facility fares averagely at par with national benchmark indicators for safety events in the
context of common hospital-acquired infections, the hospital could do more to attain the safety
levels of its neighbors. The paper proposes policy and practice guidelines that can introduce
improvements that align with national safety regulations and benchmarks, enhance staff
engagement, and influence continuous organizational learning.
The Need for the Creation of Policy and Practice Guidelines
The development of new policy and practice guidelines is crucial to address the shortfalls
in meeting the benchmark metrics and best practices advocated by relevant healthcare authorities
like the Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Some of the best practices recommended include the development of incident reporting systems
that are blame-free, voluntary, and anonymous to address the obstacle of fear of negative
consequences (Hamed & Konstantinidis, 2021). In addition, it is crucial to align the incident
reporting and management system to relevant laws, such as the Patient Safety and Quality
Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA). Failing to align with existing benchmarks can deter patient
safety improvements through underreporting of safety events, limited learning from near misses,
and perpetuation of systemic safety risks. Moreover, failure to improve the safety programs can
