There are several nursing care delivery models currently in practice, and each is furnished with its own distinctive set of advantages and disadvantages, which makes the choice of an appropriate care model important when providing different kinds of healthcare services. For Intensive Care Units (ICU) the primary model is the Progressive Patient Care model. It is characterized by assigning specific teams of medical workers to specific patients, based on the severity and extensiveness of their injury or disease. This allows for much greater accuracy and swifter response times, which in turn greatly improves the outcomes and quality of care. The Progressive Patient Care model is often described as having the right patient, in the right bed, at the right time (Guarinoni, Motta, Petrucci, & Lancia, 2013)
This model offers numerous advantages both to the patient and to the healthcare personnel, for several reasons (Guarinoni et al., 2013):
- Clients receive specialized healthcare tailored to their needs when they need it the most.
- Allows for the most effective use of personal skills and capabilities of the healthcare providers.
- Delivers increased and improved quality of treatment to the patient, thus improving the healthcare outcomes and promoting quality of life.
The Progressive Patient Care model has very few flaws, but they exist and are the reason why different care models are used in long-term hospital treatment. These flaws are (Guarinoni et al., 2013):
- Discomfort for the client due to constant transferring from one emergency room to another.
- Administrative and financial needs are increased for the PPC model. It requires a lot of space and large numbers of qualified personnel.
- Long-term nurse-patient relationships are made impossible due to constant changes in the nursing teams.
References
Guarinoni, M. G., Motta, P. C., Petrucci, C., & Lancia, L. (2013). Progressive Patient Care Model and its application into hospital organization: A narrative review. Professioni Infermieristiche, 66(4), 205-214.