Defining a Gap in Practice: Executive Summary

There is a focus on identifying a large practice niche and applying the PICOT model to guide the development of the best evidence-based intervention approach. Because this strategy is vital in improving care coordination and the patient’s well-being (Raj et al., 2021). The purpose is to provide those who make decisions with straightforward factual information based on the analysis of problem areas and existing resources for increasing the group of coordinated care of a particular population or developing effective actions. These interventions are implemented based on the care coordination criteria to attain measurable changes in a community’s health outcomes while addressing its specific needs to produce medical interventions of desirable quality and efficiency.

Clinical Priorities for a Specific Population 

The centrality of clinical need zones of numerous patient populations when coordination is to influence healthcare outcomes is very important. It is done by focusing on key areas such as the management of pain, rehabilitation, infection prevention and control, patient counseling, and finally management of follow-up in the setting of an orthopedic department (Ash et al., 2020). However, care coordination organizes all the patient care activities encourages the essential communication between the departments and other participating bodies, and ensures the accomplishment of these aims. However, the lack of comprehensive and up-to-date patient notes, poor communication, and overall lack of a structured patient feedback system result in gaps in practice.

Some of the actions to address these gaps include adopting state-of-the-art EHR systems, convening multiple discipline team meetings more often, and promoting patient-centered care coordination (Saitto, 2023). These strategies combined by health care practitioners can raise patient satisfaction, enhance the effects of the treatments, and enhance the quality of the delivery of health care services. Apart from facilitating the delivery of health care, efficient care coordination ensures that patients receive adequate, on-time, and uniform care, hence enhancing the quality of health care and resource optimization.

Applying a PICOT Question to a Gap in Practice for Care Coordination

A PICOT question is created to address the gaps in practice in the orthopedic department of a regional hospital: 

In managing Orthopedic patients who post poor outcomes after surgeries (P), does the application of an SCP (I) instead of normal methods (C) reduce the rate of complications (O) over six months (T)? 

The problem with the current practice is that there is a lack of consistency in writing methods and there is an increase in the time it takes to heal and complications such as infections and readmissions. Research evidence by Campagna et al. (2022) shows that they can increase the level of patient satisfaction, and rate of recovery, and decrease the rate of readmission by as much as 30% in the interest of structured care coordination. It is important to use the specifications established communication protocols and access the electronic health records to enhance the quality and decrease the possibility of mistakes in continuing care. Hence, there is a need for a systematic program of care coordination to optimize the healthcare of the patients and the benefits of co-ordinated care are supported by the literature.

Evaluation of Potential Services and Resources for Care Coordination

Despite practicing multidisciplinary teams and EHR, some of the greatest challenges to care coordination in the orthopedic department have not been overcome as per the available care services and resources assessment. These include scarcity of personnel, no standard communication, and limited extents of some of the advanced features of modern EHR systems (Materula et al., 2023). They are as follows and have a lot of problems when it comes to care coordination and there is a lot of confusion. Evidence is that improving these areas for instance through reduced variation to standardized communication procedures and enhancing EHR can reduce errors and also advance the patient experience. These barriers hinder the enhanced recovery and the complication rates in orthopaedic patients therefore increasing the care coordination these barriers need to be eliminated.

Identifying the Optimal Type of Care Coordination Intervention

A care coordination intervention from multidisciplinary care coordination is recommended to enhance the application of evidence-based practices in the orthopedic department. It will also help in reducing errors and misunderstanding by improving the current electronic health records (EHR) system by making it real-time update and more comprehensive when it comes to patient data (Yue et al., 2019). However, one can ensure consistency by well-coordinated products of communication like holding regular case meetings and knowing intimately how to transfer care. It will be easier to organize patient care if the surgeons, nurses, physical therapists, and case managers communicate more often in meetings (Munene et al., 2020). Improving the amount of support that patients receive and the availability of services should be done through expanding education programs that are for patients and by offering telepresence after-treatment services. With these doable actions in place, extant gaps will be met and patient care will be advanced through better coordination of care.

Nursing Diagnosis and Collaborative Care Strategy

This is seen more so with the nursing diagnostic of “Delayed Surgical Recovery/Impaired Physical Mobility related to postoperative pain”. Standardized protocols for pain management can be effective as employing the help of physiotherapists to devise individualized rehabilitation programs, or patient information on pain management and mobility exercises (Evans et al., 2022). Clients’ increased participation in the choice of operations and all the promised changes in the treatment and coordinated care plans will be ensured by the organization of the interdisciplinary rounds. These procedures will enhance a proper healing process and improve the patients’ motility.

Planning of the Intervention and Expected Outcomes

The orthopedic department will implement new working models and tools which include pain management protocols, individual patient care plans, patient information, and involvement of multiple disciplines, beginning with the implementation of multidisciplinary rounds. Better use of analgesics, earlier mobilization, and improved compliance as well as first improved mobility are expected outcomes (Myers et al., 2020). The strategy is based on the idea of the protocols’ integration, effective teamwork, and active participation of the patients. Staff training that never ceases, feedback collection on an ongoing basis, as well as the creation of new patient communication strategies such as practicing follow-ups with them. Such activities are aimed at improving the experiences of the patients and the quality of services to be delivered.

Conclusion

In conclusion, enhancing patient satisfaction in the orthopedic department is possible when the discharge planning includes personalized rehabilitation, the management of pain, and an effective patient information-sharing plan. This should be done daily by combining patient care conferences in an attempt to boost patient transport, compliance, early recovery, and effective management of pain (Yue et al., 2019). This strategy relies on proper collation and cooperation with other members of staff, active engagement of patients, and effective implementation of protocols that have been developed in the health facility. To improve upon the overall results, it is advisable to ensure that information and capacity are continuously provided to the staff, feedback is continuously provided and additional efforts in interaction with the patient are employed. These actions will provide benefits to patients and they will receive quality of treatment.

References

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