Date

6-8-2023

Department

School of Nursing

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Chair

Kristene Diggins

Keywords

Patient Experience, Medication Communication, HCAPHS

Disciplines

Nursing

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to examine how placing a visual cue (sticker) for patients and nurses to reference during the patient’s acute care admission on the Telemetry unit will affect the patient’s perception of medication communication (purpose and side effects of medications). Background: Approximately 1.3 million people annually in the United States experience an injury due to medication-related errors. Hospitalized patients are at greatest risk for medication errors at the time of discharge due to medication changes in the acute care environment and these changes being implemented in the patient’s plan of care in the home environment. To promote safe medication management adherence in the home environment, it is essential that patients receive accurate communication about their medications while they are in the acute care environment. The medication communication should include the name of the medication, the dose, frequency, what the medication does, how to take the medication, and the potential side effects of the medication (Indovina et al., 2021). The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) is a national survey that collects data from the patient’s perception of the care received in the hospital. This data can be used to compare hospitals locally, regionally, and nationally. The HCAHPS survey includes 29 questions, with 19 of those questions asking about their experience in the hospital. One category of questions asked to patients revolves around the patient’s perception of medication communication received in the acute care environment. Method: Descriptive study design. Results: The patient mix analysis incorporated into the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) was the evidence-based practice methodology used for this scholarly project’s data analysis. The goal of the project was to increase the top box score percentile rank from November 2022 to December 2022 by ten points. The percentile rank for patients who reported from their experience that the medication's purpose was explained by the nurse increased from 4th to 29th; the patients who reported that the nurses explained the side effects of the medication percentile rank went from 17th to 72nd, achieving the scholarly project's goal. Conclusion: Patients’ understanding of the purpose of their medications can lead to an increase in medication compliance and facilitate the patient in meeting their healthcare goals. Patients who are knowledgeable about the side effects of their medications will have a decrease in anxiety with any new symptoms that may develop as a result of a particular medication, and if the patient knows side effects of a particular medication, they will be able to report the side effect of the medication with their provider in a timely fashion to mitigate any long term complication from the medication’s side effect.

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