Leading the Future of Health Care Assignment Paper
Medical errors continue to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), medical errors kill more people each year than HIV, homicide, and suicide combined. One of the most common types of medical errors is inadequate blood sugar control in diabetic patients. When blood sugar levels are not controlled, this can lead to serious health consequences, including death. Diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease that affects over 422 million people worldwide (Roumeliotis et al., 2019). It is characterized by high levels of blood glucose (sugar) in the body, which is caused by either the inability of the body to produce or use insulin properly, or by the destruction of cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. This paper will discuss a proposed change to deal with medical errors of type 2 diabetes and compare how the proposed change has been applied in United Kingdom, Canada and United States (US). Leading the Future of Health Care Assignment Paper
Executive Summary
The Proposed change
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus worldwide has been increasing due to the ageing population and the increasing prevalence of obesity. The global economic burden of T2DM is estimated to be $1 trillion per year (Elliott et al., 2020). Research indicates that the major causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with T2DM are related to the development of macrovascular disease (CVD) and nephropathy as well as medical errors (Alqenae et al., 2020). In addition, patients with T2DM often experience a range of other physical and psychological problems. Therefore, it is important to develop clear prescriptions that would not confuse healthcare providers when caring for patients with diabetes. The proposed change to deal with T2DM is to reduce the burden and improve the quality of life for patients with T2DM by medical errors during treatment of patients. Leading the Future of Health Care Assignment Paper
Desired Outcome
The desired outcome of the proposed change is reducing the burden and improving the quality of life for patients with T2DM by increasing the accuracy of medical prescriptions and caring for the patients. The success of this program will be measured through decreased ED visits, decreased readmissions, decreased LOS, decreased mortality and morbidity rates, and patient satisfaction. By reducing the number of healthcare visits, medications, and complications associated with T2DM, this change will improve the overall health of patients. T2DM is diagnosed using blood levels of 6.4% or more of glucose in the blood (Bukhari et al., 2021). Reducing the number of healthcare visits, medications, and complications associated with T2DM can improve the overall health of patients by reducing their risk of further health complications. By decreasing the number of visits to the doctor, for example, patients may be able to avoid taking multiple medications or visiting the hospital frequently. Additionally, by reducing the number of complications that occur during T2DM treatment, patients may be able to maintain better health overall.
Symptoms of T2DM include increased urination, increased appetite, fatigue, and confusion. The number of people with T2DM is increasing each year, and the number of people who die from T2DM is also increasing each year (Roumeliotis et al., 2019). The increasing number of deaths is due to medical errors that frequently occur and healthcare providers try to care for the patients. Many people with T2DM suffer from complications such as heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. Managing these symptoms and complications can be difficult, and reducing the errors made when providing care is an important goal. Leading the Future of Health Care Assignment Paper
Health Care System Comparative Analysis
In the last two decades, the prevalence of T2DM in Canada and United Kingdom have significantly increased. In UK, medical errors that T2DM patients face are addressed through the National Diabetes Audit. The audit collects data on diabetic patients’ experience with healthcare providers in order to improve quality of care (Elliott et al., 2018). One of the most common mistakes that healthcare providers make when caring for diabetic patients is not taking their blood sugar levels into account. This can lead to serious complications, such as heart attack or stroke.
In Canada, the government has introduced the Action Plan for Diabetes, which calls for a coordinated national approach to improve the care of diabetic patients. One of the key elements of this plan is improving communication between healthcare providers and patients. Proper communication and coordination have reduced many medical errors that are committed when caring for diabetic patients (Shojania & Dixon-Woods, 2017). For instance, one common error made when caring for diabetic patients is not recognizing that they have diabetes. This can lead to incorrect diagnosis and treatment, which can cause serious complications.
The Virginia Department of Health has implemented a comprehensive diabetes program to address the problem of medication errors and inadequate blood sugar control in diabetic patients in the state. This program includes initiatives to educate healthcare providers on the importance of following diabetes care guidelines, developing protocols for monitoring blood sugar levels, and ensuring that patients have access to the right medications (Galvani, et al., 2020). The program also includes initiatives to improve the quality of care delivered to diabetic patients, such as developing quality assurance programs for diabetes clinics and hospitals, and providing funding for diabetes research. The Virginia Diabetes Program is a model for addressing the problem of change with medication errors and inadequate blood sugar control in diabetic patients and is likely to improve the quality of care delivered to these patients (Galvani et al., 2020). The Virginia Diabetes Program was developed in response to concerns about the high incidence of medication errors and inadequate blood sugar control in diabetic patients. The program has been successful in addressing these concerns and is likely to improve the quality of care delivered to diabetic patients in the state. Leading the Future of Health Care Assignment Paper
Rationale For the Proposed Change
There is need to reduce the burden of medical errors because it is a major global problem. It accounts for more than 300 million cases and causes serious complications, including heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, and even death. The quality of life of T2DM patients is also poor, with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Therefore, any medical error done would be detrimental to them.
Financial and Health Implications
As of 2020, statistics on financial cost of managing diabetes showed that the total annual cost of managing diabetes due to medical errors is $245 billion, with a total economic impact of $27.4 trillion (Alqenae et al., 2020). This cost includes direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity. Medical errors have resulted in the loss of lives, limbs, and eyesight. Obesity is one of the most important risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes. Medical errors are more common in obese patients than in those who are not obese. Obesity increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by increasing the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and other metabolic problems. This increases the cost of caring for a diabetic patient. Due to the financial and health implications of medical errors when dealing with patients with T2DM, there is need to develop better methods for detecting and preventing these errors from occurring. Leading the Future of Health Care Assignment Paper
Making the changes would likely have positive effects on individuals and the community at large. The costs of managing diabetes would be reduced, and overall health would improve. There are also likely to be short- and long-term effects, with potential benefits including greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness in diabetes management.
Conclusion
A concerted effort is needed to reduce medical errors and their financial and health implications. To address this, there needs to be a concerted effort in educating and training programs to help the providers learn the procedures to follow when caring for these patients. More research is also needed to develop more effective and affordable education programs. For instance, to avoid with the incorrect use of insulin, there should be specific educational programs that cover the different types of insulin and how they are administered. Additionally, it is important to have protocols in place for when a diabetic patient goes into diabetic shock, as well as for when they experience a low blood sugar. Lastly, it is also necessary to have standardized and accurate tools to measure blood sugar levels in diabetics so that the correct treatment can be given in a timely manner.
Medical errors continue to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), medical errors kill more people each year than HIV, homicide, and suicide combined. One of the most common types of medical errors is inadequate blood sugar control in diabetic patients. When blood sugar levels are not controlled, this can lead to serious health consequences, including death. Diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease that affects over 422 million people worldwide (Roumeliotis et al., 2019). It is characterized by high levels of blood glucose (sugar) in the body, which is caused by either the inability of the body to produce or use insulin properly, or by the destruction of cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. This paper will discuss a proposed change to deal with medical errors of type 2 diabetes and compare how the proposed change has been applied in United Kingdom, Canada and United States (US). Leading the Future of Health Care Assignment Paper
Executive Summary
The Proposed change
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus worldwide has been increasing due to the ageing population and the increasing prevalence of obesity. The global economic burden of T2DM is estimated to be $1 trillion per year. Research indicates that the major causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with T2DM are related to the development of macrovascular disease (CVD) and nephropathy as well as medical errors (Alqenae et al., 2020). In addition, patients with T2DM often experience a range of other physical and psychological problems. Therefore, it is important to develop clear prescriptions that would not confuse healthcare providers when caring for patients with diabetes. The proposed change to deal with T2DM is to reduce the burden and improve the quality of life for patients with T2DM by medical errors during treatment of patients. Leading the Future of Health Care Assignment Paper
Desired Outcome
The desired outcome of the proposed change is reducing the burden and improving the quality of life for patients with T2DM by increasing the accuracy of medical prescriptions and caring for the patients. By reducing the number of healthcare visits, medications, and complications associated with T2DM, this change will improve the overall health of patients. T2DM is diagnosed using blood levels of 6.4% or more of glucose in the blood (Bukhari et al., 2021). Symptoms of T2DM include increased urination, increased appetite, fatigue, and confusion. The number of people with T2DM is increasing each year, and the number of people who die from T2DM is also increasing each year (Roumeliotis et al., 2019). The increasing number of deaths is due to medical errors that frequently occur and healthcare providers try to care for the patients. Many people with T2DM suffer from complications such as heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. Managing these symptoms and complications can be difficult, and reducing the errors made when providing care is an important goal.
Health Care System Comparative Analysis
In the last two decades, the prevalence of T2DM in Canada and United Kingdom have significantly increased. In UK, medical errors that T2DM patients face are addressed through the National Diabetes Audit. The audit collects data on diabetic patients’ experience with healthcare providers in order to improve quality of care (Elliott et al., 2018). One of the most common mistakes that healthcare providers make when caring for diabetic patients is not taking their blood sugar levels into account. This can lead to serious complications, such as heart attack or stroke. Leading the Future of Health Care Assignment Paper
In Canada, the government has introduced the Action Plan for Diabetes, which calls for a coordinated national approach to improve the care of diabetic patients. One of the key elements of this plan is improving communication between healthcare providers and patients. Proper communication and coordination have reduced many medical errors that are committed when caring for diabetic patients (Shojania & Dixon-Woods, 2017). For instance, one common error made when caring for diabetic patients is not recognizing that they have diabetes. This can lead to incorrect diagnosis and treatment, which can cause serious complications.
In the US, many healthcare organizations have set guidelines on how to handle the diabetic patients. This has reduced many medical errors that healthcare providers have been committing when dealing with these patients (Roumeliotis et al., 2019). One common medical error committed by healthcare providers when caring for diabetic patients is not using the right blood glucose monitoring devices or testing methods. This can result in incorrect diagnoses, delayed treatment, and even death. Leading the Future of Health Care Assignment Paper
Rationale For the Proposed Change
There is need to reduce the burden of medical errors because it is a major global problem. It accounts for more than 300 million cases and causes serious complications, including heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, and even death. The quality of life of T2DM patients is also poor, with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Therefore, any medical error done would be detrimental to them.
Financial and Health Implications
As of 2020, statistics on financial cost of managing diabetes showed that the total annual cost of managing diabetes due to medical errors is $245 billion, with a total economic impact of $27.4 trillion (Alqenae et al., 2020). This cost includes direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity. Medical errors have resulted in the loss of lives, limbs, and eyesight. Obesity is one of the most important risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes. Medical errors are more common in obese patients than in those who are not obese. Obesity increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by increasing the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and other metabolic problems. This increases the cost of caring for a diabetic patient. Due to the financial and health implications of medical errors when dealing with patients with T2DM, there is need to develop better methods for detecting and preventing these errors from occurring. Leading the Future of Health Care Assignment Paper
Conclusion
A concerted effort is needed to reduce medical errors and their financial and health implications. To address this, there needs to be a concerted effort in educating and training programs to help the providers learn the procedures to follow when caring for these patients. More research is also needed to develop more effective and affordable education programs. For instance, to avoid with the incorrect use of insulin, there should be specific educational programs that cover the different types of insulin and how they are administered. Additionally, it is important to have protocols in place for when a diabetic patient goes into diabetic shock, as well as for when they experience a low blood sugar. Lastly, it is also necessary to have standardized and accurate tools to measure blood sugar levels in diabetics so that the correct treatment can be given in a timely manner. Leading the Future of Health Care Assignment Paper
References
Alqenae, F. A., Steinke, D., & Keers, R. N. (2020). Prevalence and nature of medication errors and medication-related harm following discharge from hospital to community settings: a systematic review. Drug safety, 43, 517-537.
Bukhari, M. M., Alkhamees, B. F., Hussain, S., Gumaei, A., Assiri, A., & Ullah, S. S. (2021). An improved artificial neural network model for effective diabetes prediction. Complexity, 2021, 1-10.
Elliott, R., Camacho, E., Campbell, F., Jankovic, D., St James, M. M., Kaltenthaler, E., … & Faria, R. (2018). Prevalence and economic burden of medication errors in the NHS in England. Rapid evidence synthesis and economic analysis of the prevalence and burden of medication error in the UK.
Roumeliotis, N., Sniderman, J., Adams-Webber, T., Addo, N., Anand, V., Rochon, P., … & Parshuram, C. (2019). Effect of electronic prescribing strategies on medication error and harm in hospital: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of general internal medicine, 34, 2210-2223.
Shojania, K. G., & Dixon-Woods, M. (2017). Estimating deaths due to medical error: the ongoing controversy and why it matters. BMJ Quality & Safety, 26(5), 423-428. Leading the Future of Health Care Assignment Paper