Capella FPX 4035 Assessment 1

Name

Capella university

NURS-FPX4025 Research and Evidence-Based Decision Making

Prof. Name

Date

Enhancing Quality and Safety in Patient Education

Improving patient education is essential to enhancing healthcare safety and minimizing treatment costs. When patients are not adequately informed about their medical conditions or treatment plans, it often leads to preventable complications, increased hospital admissions, and rising healthcare expenses. Health institutions must actively adopt educational practices that empower patients to participate in their care, thus enhancing overall outcomes (Bhattad & Pacifico, 2022). The process involves assessing patients’ comprehension and delivering customized, accessible health education. Nurses, as frontline caregivers, are crucial in executing these strategies through collaboration with multidisciplinary teams to ensure that patients receive relevant and actionable information.

Contributors to Inadequate Patient Education in Healthcare

Many patients in the United States encounter challenges in understanding their health due to limited health literacy. Nearly 80 million individuals struggle with interpreting medical information, contributing to avoidable complications (O’Mara et al., 2022). Several factors contribute to insufficient patient education:

1. Patient-Related Challenges

These include cognitive impairments, language differences, low literacy, and memory issues. Elderly individuals, particularly those with conditions like dementia, often struggle to retain or interpret health instructions effectively (Fan et al., 2021).

2. Systemic Issues in Healthcare

Staffing shortages, rushed communication, lack of standardized instructional materials, and insufficient follow-up are systemic contributors. When professionals omit critical educational tools—such as the teach-back technique or written summaries—patients are at greater risk of misunderstanding their care plans, leading to medication misuse or missed appointments (Brown et al., 2024).

3. Missed Opportunities at Admission

Failing to evaluate patient education needs upon hospital admission is a major oversight. Complicated treatments or polypharmacy require clear explanations, and without them, patients may make dangerous errors in self-management. Organizations like QSEN and The Joint Commission recommend embedding patient education into all stages of care delivery to promote safety and effectiveness.

Table 1: Factors Contributing to Inadequate Patient Education

Factor Type	Examples
Patient-Related	Cognitive decline, low literacy, language barriers, dementia
Systemic	Staff shortages, rushed explanations, lack of educational tools
Procedural	No education assessment at admission, failure to apply teach-back method

Evidence-Based Solutions for Enhancing Patient Safety and Cost Efficiency

Incorporating structured, evidence-based educational strategies significantly improves patient outcomes and reduces care-related expenses. Tools like the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) help clinicians evaluate how understandable and actionable patient resources are (AHRQ, 2020). Limited health literacy impacts over 42 million adults and adds an estimated \$106 to \$238 billion annually to healthcare costs (Shahid et al., 2022).

Customizing education to meet individual needs, especially through teach-back methods and digital aids, helps patients retain vital information. Visual aids, multilingual materials, discharge checklists, and mobile reminders improve patient comprehension and treatment adherence (Davaris et al., 2022). Nurses must receive ongoing training to maintain education quality, especially in high-pressure environments where understaffing can compromise patient instruction (Wang & Lo, 2021).

Table 2: Education Strategies to Improve Patient Safety

Strategy	Purpose
Teach-back method	Confirms patient understanding
Multilingual written materials	Improves accessibility for non-English speakers
Discharge checklists	Ensures patients have actionable steps post-discharge
Digital tools (e.g., reminders, videos)	Reinforces learning and promotes adherence

Nursing Coordination for Safer, Cost-Effective Care

Nurses serve as coordinators of patient education, ensuring consistent, clear communication and leading team-based approaches. According to the CDC (2024), unclear instructions contribute to avoidable errors and unnecessary expenditures. Since Medicare and Medicaid do not reimburse for preventable incidents caused by poor communication, healthcare systems must invest in proactive nurse-led education strategies.

Nursing efforts include conducting health literacy screenings, using visual and verbal teaching tools, and tailoring education materials to cultural preferences. Interdisciplinary collaboration enhances this process, with nurses working alongside physicians, pharmacists, and allied health professionals to align treatment plans with patient comprehension (Ho et al., 2023).

By educating patients on medication usage, recognizing symptoms, and adopting healthy behaviors, nurses reduce complications, lower readmission rates, and prevent costly errors. Effective patient education fosters a safety culture, enhances trust, and supports long-term positive health outcomes (Brown et al., 2024).

Stakeholder Collaboration in Patient Education

Improving health literacy and patient education is a collaborative effort involving various stakeholders. Nurses work closely with physicians, pharmacists, educators, administrators, and family caregivers to reinforce consistent messaging and support patient understanding.

Table 3: Key Stakeholders in Patient Education

Stakeholder	Role in Education
Physicians	Diagnose and guide patients on treatments and expected outcomes
Pharmacists	Counsel patients on medication adherence and side effects
Hospital Administrators	Allocate resources for training, materials, and technology
Physical Therapists	Educate on exercises and functional improvement strategies
Health Educators	Design and deliver tailored learning programs for diverse patient groups
Patient Safety Officers	Evaluate effectiveness of education and ensure compliance with safety regulations
Environmental Services Staff	Maintain conducive learning environments in patient rooms
Families and Caregivers	Reinforce understanding and adherence to care plans post-discharge

Through coordinated teamwork and shared accountability, these stakeholders enhance health outcomes, reduce misunderstandings, and mitigate the financial risks associated with preventable errors.

Conclusion

Strengthening patient education directly contributes to higher-quality healthcare, improved patient safety, and significant cost savings. Nurses are instrumental in leading these efforts, utilizing clear communication techniques and evidence-based tools. A unified approach among healthcare professionals ensures that patients understand their care, follow instructions accurately, and achieve better outcomes. Prioritizing patient education is essential to creating a safe, efficient, and patient-centered healthcare environment.

References

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2020, September). Patient engagement and education. https://www.ahrq.gov/health-literacy/patient-education/index.html

AlRatrout, S., Khader, I., ALBashtawy, M., Asia, M., Alkhawaldeh, A., & Hani, S. (2025). The impact of the Quality and Safety Education (QSEN) program on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of junior nurses. PLOS ONE, 20(1), e0317448. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317448

Capella FPX 4035 Assessment 1

Bhattad, P., & Pacifico, L. (2022). Empowering patients: Promoting patient education and health literacy. Cureus, 14(7), e27336. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.27336

Brown, C., Dotson, B., Montgomery, J., Sutterfield, C., & Maharaj, G. (2024). Evaluating the effectiveness of using the teach-back method to improve the health literacy of individuals in the community. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 42(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370016.2024.2399347

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, October 8). Health literacy. https://www.cdc.gov/health-literacy/index.html

Davaris, M. T., Bunzli, S., Trieu, J., Dowsey, M. M., & Choong, P. F. (2022). The role of digital health interventions to improve health literacy in surgical patients: A narrative review in arthroplasty. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 92(10), 2474–2486. https://doi.org/10.1111/ans.17931

Fan, Z., Yang, Y., & Zhang, F. (2021). Association between health literacy and mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Public Health, 79(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-021-00648-7

Capella FPX 4035 Assessment 1

Ho, J. T., See, M. T. A., Tan, A. J. Q., Jones, T., Lau, T. C., Zhou, W., & Liaw, S. Y. (2023). Healthcare professionals’ experiences of interprofessional collaboration in patient education: A systematic review. Patient Education and Counseling, 116, 107965. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2023.107965

Shahid, R., Shoker, M., Chu, L. M., Frehlick, R., Ward, H., & Pahwa, P. (2022). Impact of low health literacy on patients’ health outcomes: A multicenter cohort study. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08527-9

Wang, M.-J., & Lo, Y.-T. (2021). Improving patient health literacy in hospitals – A challenge for hospital health education programs. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 14, 4415–4424. https://doi.org/10.2147/rmhp.s332220