Ambulatory care

Healthcare is in the midst of a paradigm shift in which the focus is transitioning from volume based care to value based care. Ginter, Duncan and Swayne (2013) describe value as the “amount of satisfaction received relative to the price and the expected outcome or results” (p. 131). In order to ensure success for these healthcare institutions, care must be cost effective and higher in quality (Homsted, Chen & Knoer, 2016). This focus on quality is guided by the Institute for Healthcare…

The continuum of care services is a concept that involves in an integrated system of care that guides and tracks a patient over time through a comprehensive array of health services in which it provides a vital component in providing health care services. Continuum of care will be able to direct patients through a variety of health care services. If a patient needs his,or her needs to be managed effectively from basic care such as prescriptions to more advance care in a hospital, nursing…

evidence in making patient care decisions and such evidence typically comes from research conducted by nurses and other health care professionals" (Polit & Beck, 2014, p.2). Additionally, research has shown "patients who receive care based on evidence from well-designed studies experience nearly 30 percent better outcomes" (Bennett, 2009). Furthermore, implementing evidence-based research into practice leads to improved patient outcomes and cost-savings across the continuum of care. Finally,…

Advocating for Health Care Worker Safety Professional organizations continue their advocacy efforts for the health and well-being of the health care worker. Since 2003 the American Nurses Association (ANA) has supported policies related to safe patient handling and mobility (SPHM). SPHM includes the use of mechanical devices/lifts to aid patients in mobility and allow health care workers to help patients without putting strain on their bodies (ANA, 2015). According to Nelson and…

Infections definition Healthcare-Associated infections are patients’ infections that happen when the patients are receiving treatments in a health care setting for health issues either medical or surgical condition. There are many places where healthcare-associated infections can happen such as hospital’s inpatient care, outpatient clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, nursing homes, end-stage renal disease facilities, and rehabilitation centers (Health.gov, 2016). Types of Healthcare-Associated…

patient.co.uk/doctor/diagnosing-childhood-asthma-in-primary-care [4].Rodrigo Athanazio, “ Airway disease: similarities and differences between asthma, COPD and bronchiectasis”, Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2012 November; 67(11): pp 1335–1343. [5]. Moore WC, Meyers DA, Wenzel SE, Teague WG, Li H, Li X, et al. “Identification of asthma phenotypes using cluster analysis in the Severe Asthma Research Program”, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Vol 4, 2010, pp 315-323.…

topic of patient health records. Each and every time a patient is checked in at an ambulatory center, admitted into an acute care facility or has an encounter with a health care professional or support staff there should be a corresponding electronic or hand-written footprint of the meeting with the appropriate accompanying narrative documented into the patient’s health record. This action protects the patient, the care provider and the facility itself. Therefore, the initial encounter is…

Does patient-centered care benefit patients and their families? “Patient-centered care in healthcare is defined as care provision that is consistent with the values, needs, and desires of patients and is achieved when clinicians involve patients in healthcare discussions and decisions” (Constand, M. K., MacDermid, J. C., Dal Bello-Haas, V., & Law, M, 2014). Patient-Centered care can improve the quality of a patient's life, because we as nurses are focused on the holistic individual needs of the…

Crowding of Emergency Departments (ED) is a major problem that not only effects the patients seeking medical attention, but the hospital staff trying to provide effective and quality care. With so many factors contributing to the overcrowding issue, it is impossible for nurses to resolve the situation without assistance. “The intense and continuous work overload, combined with the lack of response from organizational management, can compromise the work process and the quality of the healthcare…

Communication is a part of our everyday life. Not being able to communicate, especially in the healthcare field, can create problems in providing good patient care. There has been research done stating that good communication can raise patient satisfaction rates and prevent illness and/or death. The article “The Importance of Clear, Effective Communication in Healthcare” by The Hospital Housekeeping System (HHS), tells readers the steps in which they followed and were able to raise their patient…