Engineering Paradigm for Patient Safety, Essay Example

According to Russ, Fairbanks, Ben-Tzion, Militello, et al., the science of medicine is dedicated to human health and healing and especially today to preventing medical errors that bring harm to patients. Therefore, the human factor, being “a science at the intersection of psychology and engineering,” must be considered when creating and designing systems in relation to human performance and safety issues (2012).

In this respect, the human factor often interferes with providing high-quality and safe healthcare. Thus, systems that are utilized in the healthcare process must be designed with resiliency in mind related to unanticipated medical events and when required must be modified to provide complete care for patients (Russ, Fairbanks, Ben-Tzion, Militello, et al, 2012).

When it comes to systems management, the human factor plays a major role, particularly when dealing with an evidence-based practice (EBP). As noted by Karsh, Holden, Alper, and Or, the evidence-based practice environment must be founded upon a particular paradigm or set of rules and regulations that determine boundaries. This paradigm concerns patient safety and quality healthcare which can only be achieved when an Advanced Practice Nurse uses a supportive system that provides evidence-based procedures. The basic outcome of this paradigm is of course higher quality healthcare and a safer environment for patients that hopefully is free of medical errors, most of which occur as a result of human error (2006). Karsh, Holden, Alper, and Or also note that managing patient safety is complicated by the “subjective nature of identifying errors and injuries” by both nurses and patients (2006). Thus, systems designers must be made cognizant of the fact that patient care and safety depends to a great degree on what type of evidence-based parameters are built into a given system.

References

Karsh, B.T., Holden, R.J., Alper, S.J., and Or, C.K.L. (2006). A human factors engineering paradigm for patient safety: Designing to support the performance of the healthcare professional. Quality and Safety in Healthcare (15) Supp. 1, i59-i65. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2464866

Russ, A.L., Fairbanks, R.J., Ben-Tzion, K., Militello, L.G., et al. (2013). The science of human factors: Separating fact from fiction. BMJ Quality and Safety Journal. Retrieved from http://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/early/2013/06/20/bmjqs-2012-001450.full