Impact on Quality of Care
The level of patient care is significantly impacted by diabetes mellitus. People with diabetes need to be monitored more frequently and need to change their diet and lifestyle. Serious consequences from poorly managed diabetes can include blindness, renal failure, heart disease, and amputations. Diabetes patients require comprehensive care that takes into account their needs on social, emotional, and physical levels.
According to the Israel case study conducted by Dreiher et al. (2020), diabetic patients had limited choices in the number of healthcare providers who could offer them treatment. Due to the insufficient information, it is claimed that publicizing quality of care metrics will lead to consumers making distorted judgments of performance, as these indicators do not give holistic measurements of excellent quality healthcare. The expense of healthcare may rise as a result, and patient treatment may become of worse quality. Diabetes is an illness that many individuals find difficult to control, and their treatment frequently falls short of best practice recommendations.
Impact on Patient Safety
The presence of diabetes mellitus also has a substantial impact on the patient’s security. Individuals who have diabetes are at a higher risk for several adverse outcomes, some of which include hypoglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar hyperglycemic condition, and hyperglycemia. These disorders can result in trips to the hospital, admittance to critical care units, and even death in some cases. Patients who have diabetes require many drugs frequently, many of which have the potential to interact with one another as well as with other health issues (Dreiher et al., 2020). As a result, these patients are at an elevated risk of making medication mistakes.
Patients with diabetes have been demonstrated to have a higher chance of experiencing adverse outcomes in several studies. For instance, diabetic individuals have a higher risk factor for adverse events than patients who do not have diabetes (Cannon et al., 2020). Similarly, it has been shown that people who have diabetes have a greater risk of getting hospitalized and dying than those who do not have diabetes. This is the case when compared to people who have not had diabetes (Heidemann et al., 2019).
These findings align with my observations in nursing practice. Therefore, I am not surprised by them. Patients who have diabetes are at a greater risk of experiencing adverse events, and those providing nursing care must be vigilant in their efforts to avoid and reduce the severity of these hazards.
Impact on Costs
Diabetes mellitus has a significant impact on costs. Diabetes significantly impacts expenses, both for the healthcare system and the individual. People who have diabetes are required to make more frequent trips to the doctor, take more prescriptions, undergo more laboratory testing, and be hospitalized than individuals who do not have diabetes.
According to Ritchie (2020), in addressing the two types of diabetes, the CDC developed a program in 2010 to assist people in reducing their weight. However, the programs failed drastically as they could not be followed by the majority of the parents who have diabetes. Additionally, the services may come at a high price, and patients are frequently expected to bear the financial burden of these charges (Ritchie, 2020). These results are consistent with my experiences in nursing, so they come as no surprise.
Exploring the Role of Nursing Standards and Policies
The effects of diabetes on the quality of care provided, patient safety, and the costs incurred by both the system and the individual are addressed, in large part, by the nursing practice guidelines established by state boards of nursing and the policies established by organizations or the government. The American Nurses Association’s (ANA) Code of Ethics requires nurses to adhere to the highest standards of care, ensuring patient safety, promoting patients’ rights, and delivering high-quality treatment. Consequently, nurses’ activities in addressing diabetes care quality, patient safety, costs, and individual needs are guided by the American Nurses Association (ANA) nursing standards.
The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals, which focus on reducing medical errors in patient care, illustrate an organizational policy. Providing correct medication reconciliation and identifying patient safety hazards are among the objectives. These guidelines have been shown to reduce the frequency of medication errors and improve patient outcomes in the treatment of diabetes (“Quality management and patient safety,” n.d.).
Additionally, the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) model, which encourages primary care clinicians to provide high-quality treatment to patients with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, has been introduced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“Addressing & improving behavioral health,” n.d.). According to research, the CPC+ approach has increased patient care quality and decreased system and individual expenditures (Singh et al., 2020). By establishing a framework for delivering high-quality care, reducing errors, and enhancing patient outcomes, these standards and guidelines provide a direction for nurses’ actions. To ensure that my diabetic patients receive the best care possible, as a nurse, I will ensure I am aware of these standards and regulations and implement them into my practice.
When considering the quality of care, patient safety, and the cost to both the system and the individual, the nursing scope of practice can be significantly influenced by laws and regulations at the local, state, and federal levels. For instance, nurse practitioners may practice independently and without physician supervision in certain areas where they have full practice authority. Such measures may result in increased access to care, lower healthcare expenses, and higher-quality diabetic care (Men et al., 2020). Conversely, regulations that limit the scope of nursing practice may hinder the provision of high-quality care and compromise patient outcomes. For instance, some jurisdictions mandate that nurse practitioners work under physician supervision, which may cause care to be delayed or result in patients with diabetes having less access to care.
Proposed Strategies to Improve Care, Safety, and Expenditure
To address the patient, family, or population problem associated with diabetes mellitus, it is crucial to suggest solutions to promote patient safety, minimize costs to the system and the person, and improve the quality of treatment. Utilizing evidence-based treatment protocols and standards for diabetes management, which have been shown to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs, is a cost-effective option. For instance, recommendations for managing diabetes have been created by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), which emphasize dietary changes, glycemic control, and lowering cardiovascular risk. (2023).
It has been demonstrated that implementing these recommendations in clinical settings will enhance glycemic control, reduce the risk of complications, and lower medical expenses. Another tactic is to enhance communication and cooperation among medical staff, patients, and their families. Multidisciplinary care teams can be utilized to deliver optimal care, thereby promoting proper patient health. These programs can provide patients with information, self-management support, and routine monitoring to help them manage their diabetes and prevent complications.
Healthcare practitioners can utilize various data sources, including clinical quality measurements, patient satisfaction surveys, and financial data, to find pertinent and readily accessible benchmark data sources on service quality, patient safety, and costs to the system and the person. For instance, the HbA1c tests, eye examinations, and foot exams offered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are just a few of the quality metrics connected to diabetes treatment that are available. These metrics can be used to evaluate the level of care provided by various healthcare organizations and identify areas for improvement (Cannon et al., 2020).
Financial data can be used to pinpoint areas where costs can be reduced without compromising the quality of treatment, and patient satisfaction surveys can provide insightful feedback on the level of care delivered. Care coordination can reduce the likelihood of prescription errors and adverse drug reactions, thereby enhancing patient safety and lowering healthcare costs.
Diabetes has a significant impact on the level of care provided, patient safety, and the expenditures incurred by the system and the individual. Yet, organizational policies, governmental laws, and nursing practice standards established by state boards of nursing all play a significant part in resolving these concerns. To effectively manage diabetes mellitus in an individual, family, or community, it is crucial to offer practical strategies that enhance treatment quality, ensure patient safety, and reduce patient and healthcare costs. Effective measures that can lead to better patient outcomes and reduced healthcare costs include implementing evidence-based care protocols, enhancing care coordination and teamwork, and utilizing benchmark data to monitor and improve care quality and costs.
References
Addressing & improving behavioral health. (n.d.). Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services | CMS. Web.
American Diabetes Association. (2023). Statistics about diabetes. Web.
Cannon, C. P., Perkovic, V., Agarwal, R., Baldassarre, J., Bakris, G., Charytan, D. M.,… & Mahaffey, K. W. (2020). Evaluating the effects of canagliflozin on cardiovascular and renal events in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease according to baseline HbA1c, including those with HbA1c< 7% results from the CREDENCE trial. Circulation, 141(5), 407-410. Web.
Dreiher, D., Blagorazumnaya, O., Balicer, R., & Dreiher, J. (2020). National initiatives to promote quality of care and patient safety: achievements to date and challenges ahead. Israel Journal of Health Policy Research, 9, 1-16. Web.
Heidemann, C., Paprott, R., StĂĽhmann, L. M., Baumert, J., MĂĽhlenbruch, K., Hansen, S.,… & Scheidt-Nave, C. (2019). Perceived diabetes risk and related determinants in individuals with high actual diabetes risk: results from a nationwide population-based survey. BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care, 7(1), e000680.
Men, P., Qu, S., Song, Z., Liu, Y., Li, C., & Zhai, S. (2020). Lixisenatide for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients Inadequately Controlled on Oral Antidiabetic Drugs: A Mixed-Treatment Comparison Meta-analysis and Cost–Utility Analysis. Diabetes Therapy, 11, 1745-1755. Web.
Quality management and patient safety. (n.d.). A Global Leader for Health Care Quality and Patient Safety | Joint Commission International. Web.
Ritchie, N. D. (2020). Solving the puzzle to lasting impact of the National Diabetes Prevention Program. Diabetes Care, 43(9), 1994-1996. Web.
Singh, P., Orzol, S., Peikes, D., Oh, E. G., & Dale, S. (2020). Participation in the comprehensive primary care plus initiative. The Annals of Family Medicine, 18(4), 309-317. Web.