NURS FPX 4035 Assessment 1 Enhancing Quality and Safety

NURS FPX 4035 Assessment 1 Enhancing Quality and Safety

Student name

Capella University

NURS-FPX4035 Enhancing Patient Safety and Quality of Care

Professor’s Name

Submission Date

Enhancing Quality and Safety

The efficacy, effectiveness, efficiency, and safety goals in clinical practice must depend on the diagnosis being implemented, whether the diagnosis is accurate or inaccurate. It can lead to the loss of health and the patient or the high cost of treatment in case of incorrect, delayed, and late diagnosis (Toker et al., 2020). This paper reviews the complexity of the diagnostic errors in healthcare and mentions the main role performed by nurses in the sphere of providing patient safety.

Nurses are making efforts to minimize the cases of diagnostic error by working with other doctors, lab technicians, patients, and other care team members. This inculcates the consciousness that good diagnosis can make the most of the healthcare system and build trust in communities. The requirement of nursing interventions in the diagnostic error prevention and patient health-protecting process is underlined in this assignment.

• Scenario

Mr. James Brown, a 60-year-old patient, reported to the Greenwood General Hospital with complaints of shortness of breath and chest pains. It was believed that he was indigestible and was handled on such an assumption (Nurse Leader, personal communication, May 30, 2025). His health worsened, and as further research was conducted, it turned out that his problem was actually a myocardial infarction, which was given an incorrect diagnosis that had serious consequences.

Failure to adequately diagnose Mr. Brown aggravated his condition and exposed him to the possibility of developing serious complications (Nurse Leader, personal communication, May 30, 2025). This experience brings about the necessity of a timely and correct diagnosis to provide safe and effective healthcare.

Factors Leading to Patient Safety Risk in a Healthcare Setting

Evidence-Based Practice Solutions to Improve Patient Safety and Reduce Costs

One of the effective methods of improving patient safety and making sure that the healthcare costs are dealt with in an efficient manner is by making sure that clinical practice is safe and well-organized. The use of technological solutions, including diagnostic support systems and electronic health records, is one of them (Sutton et al., 2020). The technologies would have reduced dependence on paper-based records and the risk of human error, as in the case of Mr. James Brown, who was also misdiagnosed. Unlike in the manual entries, these systems will automatically detect inconsistencies and notify providers of tests that are not taken or conflicting results.

One can utilize it to integrate the information on the symptoms, diagnostic tests, and medical history to make a better-informed decision (Awad et al., 2021). The similarity of the procedures used during the diagnostic testing and post-testing procedures will be standardized to allow healthcare practitioners to offer the right and timely treatment of a similar condition that Mr. Brown experienced. Through these digital and procedural solutions, diagnostic gaps will be detected earlier, leading to customer satisfaction with health care and health care services as a trustworthy one (Singh et al., 2020).

The presence of diagnostic errors should also be addressed by developing powerful policies and evidence-based practices that should mediate all areas of diagnosis and assessment of the patient. These protocols must be equipped with tools like diagnostic checklists, detailed instructions on how to order tests, read and interpret test results, and second opinion procedures (Al-Khafaji et al., 2022).

Furthermore, it is essential to make sure that the test outcomes are brought up with the patients as well as care teams in a timely fashion and that the staffing is continuously informed about the latest methods of diagnostic testing and technologies (Awad et al., 2021). This kind of systematic treatment does not just increase the degree of accuracy when it comes to diagnosis; it also affects the development of an improved and more reliable system of healthcare.

Nurses, doctors, and support personnel should be persuaded to report mistakes in diagnosis without the fear of being dismissed. This would contribute to establishing an environment of active and open measures in the hospital (Soori, 2024).

The open and blameless culture would have worked in the instance of Mr. Brown with the mistake in diagnosis, spotting the error beforehand and correction it, which would have benefited him with the case. Such a high degree of transparency should be encouraged to allow medical staff to learn about errors collectively, identify the reasons, and implement preventive strategies (Mohd, 2024). This type of strategy can be used to strengthen patient safety and trust in the organization, as well as facilitate the ongoing professional development of providers.

Role of Nurses in Increasing Patient Safety and Reducing Cost

Nurses play a very important role in patient safety, particularly in areas conjoined with diagnostic accuracy. Being partners in the diagnostic procedure, they can gather information about patients and keep it up to date, including the history of the medical conditions of the patient, which helps to diagnose the disease early and efficiently (Gleason et al., 2021). By giving precise and up-to-date information, nurses make it possible to identify possible health issues early, when they could be disastrous. They are also required to increase clear communication between the patients and other health professionals, and this is extremely important to the process of diagnosis, so as not to delay or miss out on care.

As an important aspect of preventing the emergence of diagnostic errors, nurses can be considered the key and the number of tests and procedures required to work with a patient are carried out in a timely and effective manner (Melnyk et al., 2021). Vigorously inspecting the diagnostic test requests, nurses assist in defining their suitability and applicability, thus improving the accuracy of the diagnostic process and ensuring improved patient outcomes (Smith et al., 2022). The use of standardized procedures and the proper functioning of diagnostic tools directly help nurses to reduce the number of diagnostic errors and enhance healthcare delivery.

Also, nurses play a crucial role in patient education on their conditions, which will act as a preventive to misdiagnosis (Gleason et al., 2021). By providing elaborate feedback concerning symptoms and clinical discovery, nurses enable patients to identify discrepancies in their treatment, prompting them to recognize the need to reconsider their treatment in time. As an example, when a patient such as Mr. Brown complains of constant shortness of breath despite having treated heart failure, a nurse will be able to initiate additional evaluation, which may avert overlooking the diagnosis of another condition, such as pulmonary embolism.

Moreover, nurses work with physicians, lab technicians and radiologists to initiate strategies that would help decrease the number of diagnostic errors, including the creation of streamlined communication procedures and follow-up checklists on tests (AlThubaity, 2023). Such interdisciplinary initiatives not only help in creating safer diagnostic settings but also enable cost-effective care. As an illustration, early detection of diagnostic inconsistency might lead to the reduction of unnecessary repeat tests, complications, decrease in hospital stays, and unnecessary treatments, all of which will result in the relevant cost reductions for patients and healthcare systems.

Continuous quality improvement is also an initiative undertaken by nurses. They assist in designing interventions that fix the systemic weaknesses by utilizing the data on missed or delayed diagnoses (Endalamaw et al., 2024). As an example, nurse-led diagnostic safety rounds or an electronic alert system to point out unfinished work on diagnosing can be used to make the workflow smoother. In the end, these interventions help to increase patient experiences, psychological load related to a long period of uncertainty, and clinical outcomes (Endalamaw et al., 2024). They, in turn, save useful healthcare resources by reducing readmission rates, preventing malpractice suits and reducing waste due to inefficient diagnosis.      

• Coordination of Nurses with Stakeholders for Safety Enhancement                                    

Diagnostic errors are errors that happen in determining the illness or condition of a patient (AlThubaity, 2023). Nurses can play a significant role in the case of Mr. James Brown, as it is the providers who will make sure to coordinate with other healthcare stakeholders to prevent and address such errors and ensure that patient safety and quality of healthcare are not undermined. Nurses, in cooperation with physicians, reconsider their methods of diagnosis, assess the alteration of the state of Mr. Brown and reach considerable clinical discoveries that can impact his diagnosis. They also communicate with other professionals, like the radiographers and laboratory technicians, in order to enable the right carrying out of diagnostic tests and better communication of results.

In cooperation with physicians, the nurses jointly analyze the diagnostic outcomes and make reasonable changes to the therapy plan of Mr. Brown. Such collaboration will make sure that the clinical approach is still sensitive to the changing state of the patient and that the diagnostic results are interpreted and utilized properly (Grossman, 2022). One more crucial task that nurses can perform with Mr. Brown and his family is to educate them by explaining the role of diagnostic tests, helping them interpret their results, and clarifying the necessity of additional tests. This patient-centred care will develop trust, transparency and empower the patient and their families to participate in shared decision-making.

In addition to collaborating with physicians, nurses also communicate extensively with other stakeholders, such as the allied health professionals, hospital administrators, diagnostic imaging technologists, and safety and quality improvement teams. This interdisciplinary teamwork is helping to share the diagnostic data in time and have a comprehensive picture of the patient care needs, and minimize the chances of late or missed diagnosis (Alsubaie et al., 2024). As an example, interprofessional meetings with radiology or laboratory personnel can be arranged on a regular basis to quickly clarify test abnormalities or process issues and assist in making more accurate and efficient diagnoses.

Hospital administrators are also key factors that contribute because they approve and provide resources to quality improvement programs. By working with these stakeholders, nurses assist in planning and introducing system-level interventions, including more extensive electronic health records, standardized reporting guidelines, and a diagnostic tracking system, to encourage diagnostic accuracy (Almadani et al., 2025). Being included in quality improvement programs also allows nurses to impact the organizational policies and promote ongoing education, compliance with evidence-based practices, and implementation of new diagnostic technologies (Gleason et al., 2021). In the end, the strategies enhance the quality of healthcare services, create trust in the organization, and attain lasting patient outcomes.

Conclusion

Diagnostic errors pose a significant risk to patient safety, influence the rates of healthcare expenditures, and undermine the level of trust towards the healthcare system. The example of Mr. James Brown testifies to the necessity to cope with this problem. To prevent these errors, nurses are the key to avoiding wrongful information by documenting the appropriate one and helping other medical personnel.

They allow improving patient outcomes and diagnosing them more accurately by adhering to the established structure and integrating the use of technological devices. Promoting the culture of open communication, cooperation, and lifelong learning can also reduce the number of diagnostic errors, enhance the quality of care, and increase patient satisfaction levels, on average.

Ace your NURS FPX 4035 Assessment 1 Enhancing Quality and Safety. Get expert guidance now from Tutors Academy and boost your success today!