Crossing the quality chasm: building a safe nutrition system

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality
• Patient Safety
• Clinical Nutrition

Background:

• Recent Institute of Medicine reports highlight concerns regarding healthcare quality in America.
• Intravenous (IV) nutrition support is a vital medical treatment but carries risks.
• Patient safety issues with IV nutrition have prompted the development of safer delivery methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address concerns about patient safety in IV nutrition support.
• To evaluate the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of different approaches to IV nutrition administration.
• To identify and promote tools for improving the safety and quality of nutrition care.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature and reports on healthcare quality and nutrition support.
• Analysis of patient safety concerns associated with IV nutrition.
• Identification of potential tools for enhancing practitioner performance and decision-making.

Main Results:

• An interdisciplinary team approach is the safest method for IV nutrition but is costly and not widely implemented.
• Safer methods for IV nutrition delivery have been developed and evaluated.
• Tools such as self-assessment, continuing education, board certification, and clinical guidelines can improve patient safety.

Conclusions:

• There is a need to evaluate alternatives to the interdisciplinary team approach for IV nutrition to ensure optimal patient care.
• Promoting practitioner self-assessment, education, certification, and clinical guidelines is essential for building a safer nutrition system.
• The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.) is dedicated to advancing safe nutrition care for all patients.