Sentinel Event Alert, Essay Example

Disruptive along with intimidating behaviors have consequences of fostering medical errors in a health care setting. Such behavior has also been associated poor satisfaction among the patients as well as adverse outcomes that can otherwise be prevented (Rosenstein  & O’Daniel, 2005). This consequently escalates the cost of care and prompts the qualified clinicians, managers as well as administrators to look for alternative working positions in a workplace environment that they associate with professionalism. Team work, collaborative environment at the workplace and effective communication plays a crucial role in upholding the safety as well as quality of care for the patients. Assurance of quality and promotion of a culture of safety for the patients requires that the problems that are associated with behavior be addressed effectively by the management in health care organizations to evade a situation of threatening the output of healthcare team.

In health care organization, Sentinel Event Alert (SEA) 40 is achieved through implementation of code of conduct that defines acceptable, disruptive and inappropriate behaviors and the contribution of leaders in creating and implementing a process for managing disruptive and inappropriate behaviors.

The application of Health information technology, also called health IT is a fast advance technology which is associated with a new wave of challenges for the organizations that are mandated with the provision of health care (Weber, 2004). Consequently, Sentinel Event Alert (SEA) 40 has found its application in this regard in terms augmenting the level of safety in the process of implementation of health information coupled with the converging technologies. This facilitates increasing the panorama of health IT with particular emphasis on socio-technical factors which have significant implication of its safe application (Hickson, et al., 2002). The alerts associated with Sentinel Event Alert (SEA) 40 gives some suggestions concerning the actions center with regard to the safety culture, improvement of processes as well as leadership and its effectively implementation has contributed significantly in reduction of complaints and improve patient safety. This is achieved through positively improving patient care, treatment as well as services in addition to preventing repeated occurrences, focusing attention on understanding the causes and on changing systems and processes to reduce possibility of future occurrences, augmenting knowledge concerning sentinel events, their causes as well as prevention strategies  and maintenance

References

Hickson GB, et al., (2002). Patient complaints and malpractice risk. Journal of the American Medical Association, 287:2951-7.

Rosenstein, AH & O’Daniel, M., (2005). Disruptive behavior and clinical outcomes: Perceptions of nurses and physicians. American Journal of Nursing, 105,1,54-64

Weber, D. O., (2004). Poll results: Doctors’ disruptive behavior disturbs physician leaders. Physician Executive, 30(5):6-14.