Question

Why is evidence-based practice an important piece of an organization's culture when it comes to patient safety and quality?

Answer 1

Evidence-based practices -- It is the effective, efficient and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of the individual patient. It is to integrate patient individual values, best research evidence, circumstances in which health professional works and clinical expertise. Some times sufficient research details may not be available, so in such a case for making decisions expert advice and scientific principles are considered which are not evidence-based. Evidence-based practice is not only used for medical applications but also for health care systems to create policies that address administrative and safety issues as well as patient satisfaction.

Importance of evidence-based practices in organizational's culture when it comes to patient safety and quality --

1) Healthcare devices featured audible alarms such as the cardiac monitor, infusion pumps, ventilators, beds, etc. After implementing evidence-based practices it is found that most of these alarms do not help to indicate an emergency that can lead to unfortunate patient deaths. This is one of the examples that how evidence-based practice can help the health organization improve the patient individual values and also helps in providing safety to the patients.

2) The patient expects to receive the most effective care based on the best evidence available. Evidence-based practice ensures that the finite health resources are used wisely or not and relevant evidence is used to make funding decisions in a healthcare organization. This shows the effecient use of resources so that both the patient and the organization get benefited.

3) Only clinical experience is not enough in making decisions, as every individual has its own experience that may be biased. Thus the practices based on clinical experience may quickly become outdated and thus cannot be used for decision making. But if this clinical experience is used when integrated with evidence-based information then the organization can prevent itself from having risk in the operations carried out by health organizations. This also ensures safety for the patients.

4) The evidence-based practices give the organization a surety in the validity of the practice, the result of the practice which will be carried out and how they can apply those practices on their patients.

5) It helps in using near-real-time data to make care decisions. Thus Evidence-based practice improves transparency, accountability, and value. This helps in the transparency of having a reason behind any policy in a health organization. Thus result in improving organizational culture especially when it comes to patient security and safety.

6) It also improves the results. Evidence-based practices always help to find a safer way to treat their patients which can lead to improve the outcomes.

Thus evidence-based practices always help the organization to improve its culture especially when it comes to patient safety and quality.