Nursing Care Delivery Model
Patient-centered care is a model of nursing care that encompasses a patient’s values, needs, preferences, and experiences in the planning, coordination, and delivery of care. It seeks to include patients and family members as active participants in the decision-making process rather than passive recipients of treatment. The model seeks to recognize unique patient perspectives while providing emotional or physical support and comfort by fostering a relationship with healthcare professionals and providing transparency of information about the care process (Gluyas, 2015).
The concept of patient-centered care which emphasizes focusing on patients and families in ways that are valuable and meaningful, encompassing unique personal individualities. However, there are eight universal principles that should be accommodated in the patient-centered care model. Respect for patient’s preferences and needs includes recognizing patients as individuals and treating them with respect and sensitivity. Care should be coordinated and integrated using ancillary or support services, thus, reducing feelings of vulnerability in patients. Information and education should be provided regarding patient condition and prognosis. A certain level of physical comfort, including pain management, should be assured. Emotional support must be provided to alleviate anxiety. Friends and family should be involved and accommodated when appropriate. Transition to post-discharge care should be provided to the patient. Finally, access to ambulatory care should be available to the patient (Oneview, 2015).
The model focuses strongly on understanding patients holistically, thus, tremendously improving health outcomes. Such care creates a dual-benefit relationship, where the patient has a positive perspective on recovery. Patients valued specific components of effective communication, partnership, and health promotion that the model offered. A patient-focused care model is easily replicable amongst healthcare institutions to focus on public health management strategies while supporting patient accountability for personal health behaviors. This makes the framework effectively versatile since it is applicable in a variety of settings, populations, and treatments (Constand, MacDermid, Bello-Haas & Law, 2014).
Advantages and Disadvantages
Patient-centered care leads to a number of improved health outcomes. Patients have reported improved satisfaction with their treatments. Since the patient is better educated, they are more likely to manage health upon discharge, including adherence to treatment plans. Patients show better self-perception that leads to reduced stress and anxiety. This empowerment helps to make lifestyle changes. Ultimately, all these aspects result in a decreased length of stay and lower readmission rates. Patients rely more on primary care services and show overall improved function. Clinical processes underwent significant change in order to accommodate patient participation and communication. For example, there was a stronger focus on patient and family counseling, while processes such as bed handovers occurred within the presence of the patient. The model leads to enhanced service since patients are more likely to communicate any issues or preferences. This helps to increase safety and mitigate risks in many cases while improving the quality of care from the patient’s perspective (Delaney, 2018).
There are some disadvantages to the patient-centered model as well. It requires a significant structural change at both, organizational and healthcare practice levels. There is an inherent need to dedicate time and human capital to additional responsibilities that focus on the patient. Furthermore, it is not always clear on how to measure the model’s effectiveness in terms of patient behaviors or outcomes. The model places a lot of responsibility on the patient to be well-informed about the medical background of the treatment. With the existence of disparities, socioeconomic, or cultural, that may not always be the case. The culture health capital creates a problem of a systematically and unevenly distributed expectations about the patient’s knowledge and behavior. The model can only provide significant benefits if there is mutual recognition between the patient and the provider with similar socio-cultural experiences (Dubbin, Chang & Shim, 2013).
References
Constand, M., MacDermid, J. C., Bello-Haas, V.D., & Law, M. (2014). Scoping review of patient-centered care approaches in healthcare. BMC Health Services Research, 14(271). Web.
Delaney, L. J. (2018). Patient-centred care as an approach to improving health care in Australia. Collegian, 25 (1), 119-123. Web.
Dubbin, L. A., Chang, J. S., & Shim, J. K. (2013). Cultural health capital and the interactional dynamics of patient-centered care. Social Science & Medicine, 93, 113-120. Web.
Gluyas, H. (2015). Patient-centred care: Improving healthcare outcomes. Nursing Standard, 30(4), 50-59. Web.
Oneview. (2015). The eight principles of patient-centered care. Web.