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New Nursing Care Delivery Model

The rising cost of health care in the recent years has been a major cause of concern. According to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (2018), it is estimated that the United States’ government currently spends over $3.2trillion dollars each year, which is about 18 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This implies that every person spends at least $9,255 annually in healthcare.  Unfortunately, studies reveal that the high healthcare expenditure does not always translate to improved patient care in regard to healthcare outcomes. Some of the reasons for the rising cost and unfavorable patient outcomes could be attributed to the adoption of healthcare delivery models that may not conform to the increasing healthcare demands which need to be reexamined. As the nurse executive at our healthcare organization, my proposed care delivery model is Integrated Care Delivery Model (ICDM). The aim of this study is to explore the proposed new nursing care delivery model in regard to its capacity to safeguard patient safety goals and to lower the cost of care. Key concepts pertaining to the new model as well as supportive evidence are also discussed.

New Nursing Care Delivery Model and Patient Safety Goals

Different models for delivering nursing care have been implemented over the past decades and recorded considerable success. However, in the past ten years, the healthcare environment has changed drastically. For instance, in the healthcare facility where I work as a Nurse Executive, the traditional total-patient-care model is no longer capable of meeting current patient safety goals. Besides, the operational cost remains high which translates increasing cost of care.  To effectively manage these challenges in my capacity as a nurse executive, I propose the Integrated Healthcare Delivery Model.  The model is based on the contextual domain of McCormack and McCance (2017) that is founded on the idea that the provision of health-care services must change and be more flexible to meet a patients needs in a manner that best suits them. To best meet the contemporary health care demands, the model will adopt engineering science in clinical research and medical technology. In addition, it employs community based and preventive method of healthcare delivery as well as basic digital software and Artificial Intelligence (AI) software in healthcare administration to improve quality of care. Equally, the model promotes two key patient safety goals; the correct identification of patients and accurate use of medicine. 

Key Concepts

To promote quality of care and improve patient outcome, the model utilizes community based and preventive method. As Pratt (2012) observes, community based care, including home care and adult care, remain an essential tool in promoting healthcare outcome and for lowering cost of care among the low and middle income persons. This is because of its capacity to minimize the number of nursing home beds. The preventive healthcare approach will entail the use of technology to support disease prevention measures as opposed to treatment. The disease awareness platforms will be conducted through mainstream media and social media to alert people on environmental factors, lifestyle choices and disease agents to prevent individuals from suffering from preventable diseases. This will significantly reduce the cost of care.

The technological component of the model will also contribute towards the improvement of quality of care in a number of ways. First, it will make efficient utilization of the physician’s time since administrative tasks will be automated. According the findings of a report by Information Resources Management Association (2018), doctors spend less than 30 percent of their time in administering treatment to their patients while the rest of the time is spent on different administrative tasks such as entering patient information into Electronic Health Records (EHRs).  The technological component of the proposed care delivery model, therefore, will include the use of both basic digital software and AI. This will be able to automate the physician’s interaction with the EHRs. For instance, as opposed to manually filling out intake forms or entering test results, the software can automatically import the test results to fill the corresponding paper work. What is more, the software will have the capability to provide reminders and prescriptive advice to physicians which in turn will promote the quality of care as a result of improved clinical efficiency.

In regard to promoting patient safety, the model puts into consideration two patient safety goals. These are the correct identification of patients and accurate use of medicine. To correctly identify the patients, the model advocates for the use of biometric devices to positively identify patients. According to Ashbourn (2012), the biometrics does not leave room for error since they can read iris patterns, finger prints and facial structure.  Similarly, the technology will be incorporated in promoting safe use of medicine among patients. A mobile app will be incorporated in the model to make medication specifications easy to understand by the patients. The app will contain the dosage and a timely reminder on when to take medication or to see a medical doctor. According to Lahue et al. (2012), medication errors affects 3.3 million outpatient visits each year in the United States with over 7000 cases resulting to fatalities. The model will, therefore, not only save money by minimizing hospital readmissions resulting from patient-based non-adherence to medication, but also promote patient outcome due to correct use of medication. 

Conclusion

In summation, it is established that current traditional healthcare models such as person-centered care model are unable to address contemporary issues affecting healthcare such as the rising cost of care and the growing demand for quality care.  However, my new integrated model of care delivery addresses these challenges. It advocates for community based and preventive approaches in delivery of care. Also, it incorporates technology that not only allows physicians to have more contact time with their patients, but also promotes patient identification and patient’s proper utilization of medication, hence promoting patient outcome.