NURS 6052 EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE AND THE QUADRUPLE AIM

The health practice faces numerous challenges prompting health care providers to use practical and research-based interventions always. Over time, the adoption of technology has been central in the health practice, proving that the determination to improve patient experience and enhance outcomes is high. As these changes occur in practice, evidence-practice practice (EBP) has played a critical role by giving health practitioners the base knowledge required in making changes to improve outcomes. More integration of evidence-based practice is expected over time. This paper discusses the connection between EBP and the quadruple aim.

EBP and the Quadruple Aim

Excellence in health practice depends on the extent to which interventions meet patient needs and current health demands. One of the most recommended ways of achieving this goal is integrating research-driven processes into general health practice. Melnyk (2018) described EBP as integrating clinical expertise, the best research evidence, and patient values into the patient-care decision-making process. The objective is to ensure that patients get high-quality and safe health care services. The quadruple aim focuses on the overall health care experience by addressing critical aspects such as patient experience, reducing health care costs, refining population health, and improving healthcare providers’ work-life (Valaitis et al., 2020). EBP has a positive impact on the quadruple aim if implemented rightly, and health care organizations remain committed to incorporate research into the practice.

EBP and Patient Experience

One of the ways of improving patient experience is embracing patient-centered care. To a profound extent, EBP recommends health care providers implement research findings into clinical practice. Doing so allows nurses and other health care providers to apply proven scientific knowledge in clinical practice to ensure that care matches individual patient needs (Beckett & Melnyk, 2018). When health care addresses specific patient needs, the quality of care and health outcomes improve. Scientific knowledge can also be used to address other issues affecting patient care, such as improving the health care environment to make patients comfortable as much as possible.

Population Health

Broadly, evidence-based processes involved in care help to address patient needs based on challenges affecting the populace every day. Research that EBP implements usually provides diverse information on population health matters such as health determinants, cultural and religious issues affecting health, and family and social practices related to people’s health. Research also provides information related to health equity and needs across socioeconomic statuses. Based on this information, EBP proposes various ways of improving population health, such as educating the populace and distributing health resources based on populations’ needs. Social and cultural determinants improve health care providers’ knowledge about populations’ characteristics and perceptions of health care, improving health care providers’ cultural competence. Generally, EBP and population health are connected in that EBP is the basis for understanding populations’ diverse needs and addressing them depending on illness patterns, vulnerabilities, and needs of population subgroups.

Costs

For a long time, affordability problems have made many people not receive health services at all or at the right time. Many health care facilities also lack adequate resources to address health care needs. Scientific research has explored how to improve access to care and the impacts of measure per capita costs of health care on people’s health. One of the most recommended evidence-based practices to address cost issues is telehealth. As a way of implementing technology in health care provision, telehealth enables health care providers to distribute health-related services and information electronically via computers and mobile devices. A study by Snoswell et al. (2020) found that telehealth saves as much as $361 per patient annually, which cannot be realized through traditional in-home care programs. Telehealth also reduces travel expenses to health care settings since a patient can be assisted remotely. EBP continues to implement progressive research findings to realize the benefits of technology and other interventions that reduce costs, implying that more benefits will be realized over time.

The Work-Life of Health Care Providers

Health care providers require a support system to enhance their productivity. The work environment should be free of stressors that affect health care workers’ output adversely. Through EBP, interventions that ensure health care providers are mentally, emotionally, and physically stable to work are utilized. Such interventions include a practice where interprofessional collaboration thrives. Other interventions include health care cultures that prevent nurse burnout, such as preventing excessive workload, supporting mental health, and reducing stress (de Oliveira et al., 2019). Adopting such measures ensures health care environments mind about the wellness of health care providers to balance work and life issues. They are also motivated to work and determined to meet the desired health outcomes.

In conclusion, EBP advocates for processes that improve the patient experience while trying to utilize the best current knowledge to meet the desired health outcomes. Due to its focus on patients’ and health care providers’ satisfaction, EBP helps in achieving the quadruple aim. It helps by implementing research evidence in real practice to ensure that health care is patient-centered and population health needs are known across cultures. EBP is also instrumental in reducing health care costs by making technology a central element of the health practice and ensuring that issues that affect care providers’ mindset, such as stress and environmental conditions, are addressed appropriately.

References

Beckett, C. D., & Melnyk, B. M. (2018). Evidence‐based practice competencies and the new ebp‐c credential: keys to achieving the quadruple aim in health care. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs, 15(6), 412-413. doi: 10.1111/wvn.12335.