Posted: March 28th, 2021

Assignment: Evidence-Based Practice and the Quadruple Aim

Assignment: Evidence-Based Practice and the Quadruple Aim
Healthcare organizations continually seek to optimize healthcare performance. For years, this approach was a three-pronged one known as the Triple Aim, with efforts focused on improved population health, enhanced patient experience, and lower healthcare costs.
More recently, this approach has evolved to a Quadruple Aim by including a focus on improving the work life of healthcare providers. Each of these measures are impacted by decisions made at the organizational level, and organizations have increasingly turned to EBP to inform and justify these decisions.
To Prepare:
Read the articles by Sikka, Morath, & Leape (2015); Crabtree, Brennan, Davis, & Coyle (2016); and Kim et al. (2016) provided in the Resources. https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/qhc/24/10/608.full.pdf
Reflect on how EBP might impact (or not impact) the Quadruple Aim in healthcare.
Consider the impact that EBP may have on factors impacting these quadruple aim elements, such as preventable medical errors or healthcare delivery.
To Complete:
Write a brief analysis (no longer than 2 pages) of the connection between EBP and the Quadruple Aim.
Your analysis should address how EBP might (or might not) help reach the Quadruple Aim, including each of the four measures of:
Patient experience
Population health
Costs
Work life of healthcare providers

Sample Assignment Paper

EBP and Quadruple Aim
Evidence-based practice is a technique that incorporates research evidence, clinical expertise and a patient’s preference in solving health care issues. This practice encourages nurses to provide individualized patient care. Quadruple aim, previously triple aim, brought about the inclusion of work-life of healthcare practitioners to the already existing three pillars. They include; patience experience, population health and cost of health care. While the first three aims provide a rationale for the existence of a health system, the fourth aim, becomes a foundational element for the other goals to be realised (Sikka et al, 2019). Evidence-based practice therefore has impacted positively the quadruple aim thus optimizing healthcare performance.
Patient experience is enhanced when utilizing evidence-based practice into care delivery and decisions made by healthcare providers. Evidence-based practice (EBP) strategies include AIDET, Hourly Rounding, and Bedside Shift Report, which incorporate updates of test results and explanations of events occurring during a patient’s visit (Skaggs et al, 2017). These evidence-based practice strategies have increased satisfaction ratings amongst the patients and improved their perception of health care.
Population health takes into consideration the health status of a group of people by understanding their health needs and therefore aligning to the appropriate improvement initiatives. The population in question may vary based on an individual’s perspective and goals. Social, environmental, cultural and physical factors, mainly referred to as the Social Determinants of Health, determine population health. Through evidence-based practice, practical yet community friendly methods are used to ensure quality health care
Patient satisfaction is usually associated with high healthcare costs. Although the link does exist, the bottom line is not only about money; it’s about providing a quality experience for patients and creating an environment that engages staff (Skaggs et al, 2017). Evidence based practice therefore, seeks to incorporate strategies that would replace medical procedures that consume a lot of resources yet ineffective while still maintaining quality healthcare.
Healthcare practitioners should and must be at their best state of mind, health and behaviour in order to give quality healthcare to patients. Nurses, like normal human beings, risk negative effects such as compassion fatigue, burnout and chronic stress if they don’t take time to replenish and rejuvenate. Given the pace and intensity of today’s healthcare organizations and the range of stresses facing workers, strengthening and increasing the resilience and wellbeing of healthcare workers is of critical importance (Adams et al, 2018). Evidence-based practice provide strategies that improve the working environment for healthcare workers.

References
Adams, J., Zimmerman, D., Cipriano, P., Pappas, S., &Batcheller, J. (2018). Improving the Work Life of Health Care Workers: Building on Nursing’s Experience [Image]. Retrieved from https://cdn-images-journals.azureedge.net/lww-medicalcare/PdfPageImage.00005650-201801000-00001.0.jpeg
Skaggs, M., Daniels, J., Hodge, A., & Decamp, V. (2017). Using the Evidence-Based Practice Service Nursing Bundle to Increase Patient Satisfaction. – PubMed – NCBI. Retrieved 8 February 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29167032
Sikka, R., Morath, JM., & Leape, L. (2015). The Quadruple Aim; Care, Health, Cost and Meaning in Work [Ebook] (1st ed., pp. 608, 609, 610). Retrieved from https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/qhc/24/10/608.full.pdf