Dive Brief:
- The American Hospital Association has published a white paper which argues that changes in how care is delivered, such as shorter acute care stays, a growth in community-based health engagement and a shift to greater use of advanced practice nurses and other skilled non-physician providers.
- To address these shifts, new principles of bedside care are necessary, including that the patient and family are key members of the core care team, that evidence-based guidelines for care are followed, and that technology will replace some clinical tasks.
- It will be necessary to educate all clinicians about needed changes, including the nature of inter-professional team work, the need to reduce and simplify bedside process and the importance of considering patient/family needs.
Dive Insight:
While few hospitals have gotten there yet, a drive toward more nimble, technology-assisted bedside care which focuses on patients and families makes a lot of sense. But it won't happen overnight. In particular, it will be interesting to see whether providers resist turning over some of their power to families and patients, as not all clinicians are as patient-centered as others. Even so, it's good to lay down tracks in the right direction, and AHA's white paper does that well.