Medical negligence is a significant concern that has led to the deaths of many patients. Issues such as medical errors due to carelessness have occurred in many hospitals. Consequently, policies to ensure that healthcare providers do not exercise some behaviors that can lead to more health complications and deaths of patients. Some of the significant aspects included in the policy involve the loss of license, fines, and suspensions. These factors can be determined by the level of negligence and the implications caused. Thus, medical negligence policy is an essential approach for every healthcare organization.
Background of the Problem Requiring the Policy
Many patients have stated that they have experienced medical negligence in medical facilities. Issues such as racial discrimination and ignoring patients with disabilities are forms of medical negligence. Although the government has ensured that all people have the right to access quality healthcare in all facilities, many individuals are mistreated. Thus, policies to curb such issues have been implemented. Delayed or missed diagnoses are also encountered due to negligence in healthcare facilities. Some people have lost their lives due to avoidable delays in treatment caused by carelessness (Amirthalingam, 2017). Hence, the major problem requiring the policy is to curb complications and deaths caused by practitioner’s negligence.
How the Policy is Relevant to Medical Errors
Medical administration is an essential aspect that determines patient outcomes. In most cases, medical errors lead to further complications, whereby patients have sued some nurses for their mistreatment. Consequently, the policy will be of great significance as it will minimize such issues. Additionally, medical negligence policy can encourage healthcare providers to be more cautious when administering drugs. For instance, they can seek assistance from experienced physicians. Bad medical advice has also been termed one of the factors caused by carelessness and can also be limited by the medical negligence policy. In this case, penalties and suspensions can be exercised in issues involving medical providers issuing bad advice to patients and caregivers. Some patients require guidance during and after treatment to prevent them from experiencing further complications, whereby patient education is exercised by nurses (Cardoso et al., 2017). Nonetheless, some nurses end up giving the wrong procedures that harm patients. Thus, medical negligence policies can essentially limit different types of medical errors.
How This Policy Impacts Practice at the Local, State, and National Level
Medical negligence policy can impact healthcare practices at all heights since healthcare providers can exercise negligence at local, state, and national levels. Therefore, it would be of great significance if the policy is implemented and encouraged in all hospitals. Governments at these levels can also ensure that all facilities are aware of the policy, and any medical provider who violates the rules should be accountable and appropriate charges should be imposed. All healthcare providers should also be educated about the policy to guarantee that they do not exercise negligence and ensure that quality patient care is exercised.
How This Policy Impacts Healthcare and Nursing Practice and Evidence to Support it
The policy can impact health care in different ways, such as improved patient outcomes. In this case, healthcare practitioners can focus on ways to limit complications and loss of life due to negligence. Moreover, misdiagnosis and delayed treatment due to negligence can be limited in hospitals (Cardoso et al., 2017). The policy can also impact nursing practices since nurses can ensure that they are more careful in all procedures. For example, they can guarantee that they are cautious when administering drugs to the patients and monitoring their treatment.
The policy can be implemented by first educating healthcare providers about medical negligence and how it affects patient outcomes. Training can also be conducted to ensure that nurses have adequate skills to avoid carelessness. Medical providers can also be educated about the charges and other penalties. After all healthcare workers are aware of medical negligence and its consequences, the policies can be introduced in all healthcare facilities. Different policies have been implemented using these procedures. For instance, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted by focusing on how healthcare providers can learn the importance of equality in treatment. The consequences of discrimination were also introduced, and the policy was implemented whereby all healthcare providers were urged to fight discrimination against people with disabilities in healthcare facilities.
Ways One Can Assist in Implementing the Policy and the Recommendations
There are ways to assist in implementing the policy, such as educating healthcare workers about the significance of improving patient care. Additionally, an individual can interact with other physicians and inform them how the policy can be of great significance to nursing practice and healthcare. Patients can also be involved in implementing the policy by enlightening them on the need to report any form of negligence. Therefore, medical negligence policy should be recommended in healthcare organizations to improve the quality of patient care.
References
Amirthalingam, K. (2017). Medical dispute resolution, patient safety, and the doctor-patient relationship. Singapore Medical Journal, 58(12), 681.
Cardoso, R., Zarin, W., Nincic, V., Barber, S. L., Gulmezoglu, A. M., Wilson, C., & Tricco, A. C. (2017). Evaluative reports on medical malpractice policies in obstetrics: A rapid scoping review. Systematic Reviews, 6(1), 1-11.