Implementing inter-professional patient-family centered plan of care meetings on an inpatient hospital unit

Nicolas Hernandez, Northwell Health-Hofstra UniversityFollow
Alice Fornari, Northwell Health, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/NorthwellFollow
Sage Rose, Hofstra UniversityFollow
Leanne Tortez, Hofstra UniversityFollow

Abstract

Inpatient plan of care meetings support efforts to encourage collaborative practice and patient-family centered care and result in an effective strategy to enhance communication and patient satisfaction. Clinical team members participated in patient/family centered plan of care meetings at a community hospital in a selected inpatient unit with full time hospitalist physicians. Quantitative data were gathered pre/post implementation from the external Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers (HCAHPS) survey. HCAHPS data were collected independently, specifically for questions related to communication between patients, family members/guardians and the medical team and also the effects of care transition. There was a slow but steady upward trend in selected domains that reflected the standpoint of patients/families specific to patient communication and patient experience in care transition(s) during hospitalization. A greater upward trend was noted in the domain of communication with doctors. Qualitative data analysis revealed positive attitudes towards the plan of care meetings, and team members expressed concern regarding redundancy of information. Sharing amongst providers throughout the day identified a need for clearer criteria in patient selection for these meetings to maximize efforts and resources. A major concern was lack of direct feedback from the patient and family, the end users of the meetings. From this study, inter-professional collaboration in patient family centered care can be viewed as a positive aspect of efficient and innovative care delivery. More evidence-based research is needed to guide how inpatient hospital clinical care planning can be standardized to optimize the way in which patient family centered care can be supported by a collaborative coordinated effort among clinical team members.

Experience Framework

This article is associated with the Quality & Clinical Excellence lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework)

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Recommended Citation

Hernandez N, Fornari A, Rose S, Tortez L. Implementing inter-professional patient-family centered plan of care meetings on an inpatient hospital unit. Patient Experience Journal. 2020; 7(1):84-91. doi: 10.35680/2372-0247.1379.