vascular access infection prevention
The Value of Research and Education : Impact on Patient Safety
Research and education are essential components of any healthcare organization to provide clinical knowledge to healthcare workers that establish practices and procedures ensuring patient safety . Research is used to identify gaps in practice that indicate the need for improvement , to answer questions for the best practice procedures , and to validate practices and products used within healthcare settings . Investigation of clinical practices for incidence and causes of negative patient outcomes often yields solutions that can be applied in the clinical setting . In addition , many new products are available claiming to solve problems and reduce complications . Product evaluation must be performed to validate claims in the clinical setting . This product research provides additional value to other institutions , when results are published , assisting them in establishing a value basis for products .
Patient complications increase the cost of healthcare . Research provides valuable insights , based on the results of investigations , that often have a considerable impact on cost reduction , improving efficiency of care and other positive effects of improved patient satisfaction . Education , performed in conjunction with research , has been shown to have significant value in reducing complications and cost . Inconsistencies in procedures , failure to follow policies , lack of standardization all contribute to poor quality and negative outcomes which drive up cost . With the increase in technology and essential requirements for vascular access devices for most patients the cost of health care is rising and the impact of serious complications increasing .
Educational program initiatives have been shown to be necessary to outcome improvement and cost-effective components of high-quality healthcare . Nursing and medical professionals receive education in the academic setting and during orientation to a new healthcare facility . Whether initiated by the individual or the institution , frequency and type of education and training following graduation and completion of orientation is often sporadic without defined requirements . Provision of education and clinical training within healthcare facilities are dictated by policy changes and performance improvement initiatives . As noted by Bianco and associates and supported by Marschall , et al . , guidelines on strategies to prevent infections , well organized educational programs to continually train and increase competence of clinicians , for those involved with insertion and care of vascular access devices , is critical to the success of infection prevention methods . As research is incorporated into guidelines and standards , education provides a means to disseminate the information to the working clinician promoting application at the bedside .
The infrastructure of healthcare facilities should include resources to provide consistent education , training and procedural simulation to all staff including programs on basic practices of asepsis , infection prevention , insertion , and maintenance of all intravenous and intra-arterial devices . More emphasis is needed to expand the role and responsibility of all clinicians to include research and increase the emphasis on education within their current job functions . Periodic re-training should be performed following gap analysis of deficiencies in procedures or practices . In addition , clinicians should be provided information on device indications and appropriateness to aid in selection of the lowest risk access device that will effectively deliver the therapy . Encouraging application of research and accountability for education , training , and competency with credentialing requirements initially , prior to independent insertions , and periodically as a means of evaluation will improve and increase patient safety with procedures .
Nancy Moureau , RN , PhD , CRNI , CPUI , VA-BC , is the chief executive officer at PICC Excellence , Inc ., a research member of the Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research ( AVATAR ) Group , and an adjunct associate professor at Griffith University in Brisbane , Australia .
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