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Environmental Science Reducing Risk Discussion

Environmental Science Reducing Risk Discussion

Environmental Science Reducing Risk Discussion

Think about your current or a previous workplace. Is it proactive when it comes to hazards? What are some ways occupational physical, biological, or chemical hazards could be decreased?

Two strategies help proactive firms anticipate and deal with risk: voluntary, preventative measures such as total quality management systems, and corrective approaches such as pollution insurance.

Background

Firms are considered proactive when they respond to challenges by changing policies rather than reacting to isolated events. Proactive environmental responses include: reducing the environmental impact of products, improving the efficiency and costs of processes, involving employees in decisions, and using R&D and marketing to expand sustainable markets. This study builds on past research by looking specifically at how companies use voluntary and preventative practices, or corrective practices that respond to regulation.

Findings

Firms with proactive environmental strategies use both preventative and corrective practices.

Preventative practices include voluntary measures such as programs that train workers about the environment, total quality management and product life-cycle analysis.

Corrective practices are normally subject to public regulations such as pollution insurance and emission filters.

Environmental training itself does not result in better environmental performance.

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Implications for managers

Adopt a proactive environmental strategy to anticipate problems and create solutions.

Use Total Quality Management systems to address the environment and overall management.

Reduce product impacts and use flexible technologies that can respond to change quickly.

Improve the efficiency of products and processes, which will also cut costs.

Use R&D and marketing to expand markets for sustainable new products.

Involve employees in decision-making.

Implement corrective practices that help your company comply with regulation.

These may include pollution damage insurance, discharge controls and filters and residue recycling.

Implications for researchers

Future research could look at the specific role employee and executive environmental training serves. We suggest research could also examine whether the results are consistent for small companies and across countries.

Methods

This paper tests the relationship between how proactive companies are and their environmental approach. Data are obtained from 2 questionnaires given to 105 firms in Spain. One questionnaire measures business strategy, while the other measures company environmental practices. The firms with the most responses used are from the automotive industry, banks, retail trade and food, beverages and tobacco.

 

Reduction of Risk Potential

Patient safety is one of the central themes that has dominated patient care in the last decades. Therefore, healthcare professionals in hospitals and primary healthcare take part in various initiatives to ensure that patients are offered safe and efficient care. In addition, various nursing organizations that are stakeholders in nurse training, such as the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, ensure that when the trainer nurses are tested after training, the tests cover key areas in patient care (Denman & Cohn, 2022). For example, The National Council Licensure Examination covers four main areas, such as assurance of a safe and effective care environment. One of the priority topics related to the mentioned NCLEX-RN examination blueprint is the reduction of risk potential. These two are related in that when the healthcare professionals reduce the risk potentials among patients, then the patients are assured of safety and hence better outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this assignment is to explore the importance of reduction of risk potential, healthcare disparities, inequalities, and interventions. In addition, this paper will focus on legal and ethical considerations, potential challenges, participants and interdisciplinary approach, and quality improvement.

The Importance of Reduction of Risk Potential

Risk can take many forms in the hospital and primary health care environments. For example, patients are usually at risk of falls, medication errors, equipment failure, diagnostic errors, errors associated with providers, and indwelling device infections (McGowan et al., 2022). All these risks can lead to adverse events if not well managed and taken care of. Therefore, it is important to come up with effective strategies to manage the risks. Even though risk management can be complex, they are key in helping hospitals and primary health care centers in detecting, assess, mitigating, and preventing risks to patients. The final outcome could be a substantial reduction of risk potential hence better patient outcomes; without a reduction of risk potential, the incidences of patient harm increase hence higher healthcare spending, adverse events, and even death (Redding et al., 2018). Reduction of risk potential is also key to the nursing profession as it reduces the chances of potential litigation due to patient harm in the care environment. Participating in risk reduction also enables the nurses to fulfill their ethical and professional obligation to enhance patient safety. Failure to participate in activities that reduce risk potential may taint the profession’s image and lead to litigations, especially when patients get harmed and die in the care environment.

Healthcare Disparities, Inequality, and Intervention.

As earlier discussed, there are several forms of risk. One of them is medication errors. While any patient can experience medication error, one of the populations which can heavily be affected by the problem if not resolved are individuals with comorbidities hence having to practice polypharmacy. Recent data indicate that these patients have medication error rates of up to 56% (Fernholm et al., 2020). Health care resources can be key in supporting evidence-based professional practice regarding the reduction of risk potential such as medication errors. Among the resources are standards of practice which entail double checks to verify patients, medication names, medication calculations, and routes. Professionals can effectively use these practice guidelines to reduce the risk of medication errors and potential harm occurring.

The reduction of risk potential is also related to healthcare disparities and inequalities. For example, the risks are higher among more vulnerable patients, such as patients with single or multiple chronic conditions. Such patients are more prone to adverse events such as medication errors, patient falls, and hospital-acquired infections. Patients from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds are also more prone to risk than those from privileged backgrounds (Fernholm et al., 2020). One of the solutions to medication errors as a risk is the use of bar code scanners. Barcode scanners can be key in matching the patients with the correct medications hence reducing the risk of medication errors.

Various evidence-based interventions have been used to reduce the potential risk of medication errors. Some of the interventions include the use of individual medication supply systems, integrating clinical decision support systems and computerized physician ordering systems, and checking and counterchecking the medication by the nurse prior to dispensing (Billstein-Leber et al., 2018). Among the three, the priority intervention is integrating clinical decision support systems and computerized physician ordering systems. This system is a priority since it has effectively prevented medication risk potential by substantially reducing inappropriate prescriptions, excessive dosage, and adverse drug events. In addition, the use of integrated CDSS and CPOE also results in significant improvement in required dosage and prescriptions (Gohari et al., 2021). Patient education is key when it comes to the reduction of risk potential. For example, in terms of medication errors, the patients should be educated to adhere to medication regimens and promptly report any potential drug events. The patients should also be offered educational materials such as fliers and pamphlets with useful information regarding the need to reduce risk in the hospital environment and strategies to use as patients.

Legal and Ethical Considerations and Intervention Challenges

There are various ethical implications of addressing risk potential such as medication errors. Medication errors may make patients to loose trust on the care providers and compromise quality. When a medication error occurs, the quality of patient care is brought to question, and a patient is highly likely to have trust issues with the provider. However, in efforts to address the risk, the provider must consider non-maleficence and justice principles the principles will lead the providers into making the decisions that protect the patients from any further harm. One legal implication is that in case a patient is adversely affected by a medication error, then the patient can sue the provider and the hospital (Robertson & Long, 2018). It is important to prevent ethical dilemmas related to the reduction of risk potential. Following the established guidelines can be key in preventing ethical dilemmas. One way of preventing potential legal consequences is using a reporting system such that when an error occurs, the provider reports it without fear of punishment so that the facility can explore the best solutions before the patient decides to sue. Among the challenges of reducing risk potential, such as medication errors, is possible ignorance from the practitioners. Such cases of ignorance largely dent the chances of strategies succeeding. The risk of medication errors should also be resolved. However, one potential challenge is the absence of uniform structures or procedures for resolving such issues, potentially leading to wrongful punishments.

Participants and Interdisciplinary Approach

Interdisciplinary strategies or approaches are important in reducing the risk potential, such as medication errors. Therefore, various professionals can be part of the interdisciplinary team. They include nurses, physicians, pharmacists, patients, and the patient’s families (Robertson & Long, 2018). They all have different roles in implementing the reduction of risk strategies. Nurses ensure that they give the correct medication to the patient as prescribed. The physicians ensure that they have used appropriate tools for accurate diagnosis and prescribe the correct medication. The pharmacist ensures that they give out the correct medications as prescribed by the physicians by counterchecking the prescriptions.

The patients also play a role by using the medication as prescribed. If the patient cannot follow the instructions, their family members come in to ensure that they follow the medication regimen and schedule. Pharmacists and physicians are both outside of nursing. It is important to include them in the implementation of strategies used to reduce the risk potential. For example, the physician ensures that the correct patient diagnosis and prescription are achieved (Billstein-Leber et al., 2018). The pharmacist also ensures that they give the nurses the correct medications and dosages as prescribed by the physician. As such, the two members outside of nursing play a critical role in the whole process of reducing the risk potential.

Quality Improvement

As earlier indicated, the risks within the clinical environment should be minimized as much as possible. Therefore, one benefit in patient outcomes from reducing the risk potential of medication errors is that the patients are safer in the clinical environment hence lower healthcare spending and better outcomes (Billstein-Leber et al., 2018). The nursing profession can also benefit as a result of addressing the concept as a nurse would fulfill their professional obligation of ensuring patient safety in the clinical environment. Resources are important for better solution implementation. One resource which can be used in promoting improved patient outcomes in the clinical environment includes current technology and educating patients using resources such as fliers and videos. Professional nursing knowledge can also be increased to improve clinical professional practice using various resources. One of the resources is evidence-based clinical guidelines formulated by experts. Another resource is nurse training/education resources at the hospitals. Such resources can be key in informing the nurses of the current patient care and professional practice hence better patient outcomes.

Conclusion

It is important to ensure that patients are safe in the environment; as such, the increased evidence-based professional practice should be used to help reduce the risk potential in the clinical environment. Some of the resources identified to support evidence-based professional practice include clinical guidelines and nurse education or training resource at the facilities. Reduction of risk potential such as medication errors is important for patient outcomes and evidence-based practice since it ensures that patients are safe, receive efficient care and the nurses are able to fulfill their professional obligations.

References

Billstein-Leber, M., Carrillo, C. J. D., Cassano, A. T., Moline, K., & Robertson, J. J. (2018). ASHP guidelines on preventing medication errors in hospitals. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy75(19), 1493-1517. DOI 10.2146/ajhp170811

Denman, C. L., & Cohn, T. M. (2022). Use of standardized testing to predict NCLEX-RN success for associate degree nursing students in a concept-based curriculum. Teaching and Learning in Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2022.05.001

Fernholm, R., Holzmann, M. J., Malm-Willadsen, K., Härenstam, K. P., Carlsson, A. C., Nilsson, G. H., & Wachtler, C. (2020). Patient and provider perspectives on reducing risk of harm in primary health care: a qualitative questionnaire study in Sweden. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care38(1), 66-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/02813432.2020.1717095

Gohari, S. H., Bahaadinbeigy, K., Tajoddini, S., & Kalhori, S. R. N. (2021). Effect of Computerized Physician Order Entry and Clinical Decision Support System on Adverse Drug Events Prevention in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review. The Journal of Pharmacy Technology: jPT: Official Publication of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians37(1), 53. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F8755122520958160

McGowan, J., Wojahn, A., & Nicolini, J. R. (2022). Risk management event evaluation and responsibilities. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559326/

Robertson, J. J., & Long, B. (2018). Suffering in silence: medical error and its impact on health care providers. The Journal of Emergency Medicine54(4), 402-409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2017.12.001

Redding, M., Hoornbeek, J., Zeigler, B. P., Kelly, M., Redding, S., Falletta, L., … & Bruckman, D. (2019). Risk reduction research initiative: a national community–academic framework to improve health and social outcomes. Population Health Management22(4), 289-291. https://doi.org/10.1089/pop.2018.0099