Patient Safety and Confidentiality in Nursing

Running Head: PATIENT SAEFTY AND CONFIDENTIALITY IN NURSING 1
PATIENT SAFETY AND CONFIDENTIALITY IN NURSING
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PATIENT SAEFTY AND CONFIDENTIALITY IN NURSING 2
MODULE ONE
SAFETY IN HEALTH CARE
Safety in health care is the process of minimizing risks for patients and healthcare
providers to acceptable levels. Nurses play a big role in enhancing the safety of patients. It is the
process of avoidance of any unexpected or unintended harm to individuals in the course of
healthcare provision. Healthcare organizations are mandated to ensure that patients are treated in
an environment that is safe and free from any harm (Moumtzoglou, 2012). They also play a role
in enhancing the quality of healthcare and safety of patients. Patient’s safety is considered in
various aspects of healthcare provision.
First Safety is considered in the medication administration process. Patients have various
rights touching on the medication process which include the right to the right dose, right time,
right routine and right drug. These rights ensure that patients are not harmed through the
medication process. Nurses have a critical role in ensuring that a patient’s medication rights are
observed to avoid any adverse effects on them. Medication process includes transcription,
prescription, dispensing, administration and monitoring processes. Errors can occur in any of
these processes. For example, errors can occur in the prescription stage which may include the
prescription of the wrong dose or wrong drugs. Such errors can arise as a result of wrong
labelling, wrong storage, wrong patient information or communication breakdown. In the event
that these errors occur the safety of the patient can be at risk. An overdose for example can have
adverse effects on a patient, which may include even death (Rudd, Aleshire, Zibbell & Gladden,
2016).

PATIENT SAEFTY AND CONFIDENTIALITY IN NURSING 3
Secondly, Safety concerns may arise as a result of mental illnesses. Mental health
patients pose risks not only to themselves but also other patients and healthcare providers alike.
Such patients may contemplate on committing suicide and self-harm, become violent or
aggressive. Their aggressive behaviour may compel them to harm other people within the
healthcare set up. To enhance the safety of such patients and other people within the clinical
setting, nurses need to be aware of such factors to maintain safety for patients and other parties
likely to be affected (Dewa et al., 2018).
The issue of safety has become a serious issue in global healthcare set up For some
reasons. This growing recognition has led to more than 140 countries worldwide to work
relentlessly to solve issues associated with unsafe care (Mitchell, 2008). In developed countries,
research has estimated the number of patients likely to be harmed while receiving health care to
be one out of 10 patients. This harm may arise as a result of adverse effects at the hospital as
well as other errors. There is also a worrying trend of the increased infections among admitted
patients. The number of patients who acquire such infections is 7 out of 100 in developed
countries and 10 out of 100 in developing countries. Every year millions of such cases are
reported globally. Inappropriate hand hygiene is one of the causes of associated healthcare
infections. Partnerships at the hospital can play a major role in improving the safety of patients
within the healthcare set up. These partnerships can provide learning opportunities on aspects of
patient safety and facilitate a collaborative effort in the development of solutions to safety
concerns (Healthstream.com, 2018).
Module Two: CONFIDENTIALITY
What is Confidentiality?