Hodges' Model: Welcome to the QUAD: December 2011

Hodges' model is a conceptual framework to support reflection and critical thinking. Situated, the model can help integrate all disciplines (academic and professional). Amid news items, are posts that illustrate the scope and application of the model. A bibliography and A4 template are provided in the sidebar. Welcome to the QUAD ...

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Interprofessional Collaborative Care Will Be Key to Meeting Tomorrow’s Health Care Needs

Maryjoan Ladden, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Senior Program Officer

A little over a year ago, the Institute of Medicine’s landmark Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report put forward a series of recommendations for transforming the nation’s health care system. Among them was a call for a system in which “interprofessional collaboration and coordination are the norm.” That’s no simple assignment in a system that often operates in silos, from schooling through practice. But a number of innovators around the nation are already making headway.

Their work is the subject of a new policy brief from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, part of its Charting Nursing’s Future (CNF) series. The brief delves into what the IOM recommendation means for health care systems, offers case studies of several collaborative care models already in place, and examines the implications of the recommendation for how we train nurses and other health care professionals.

According to the brief, Implementing the IOM Future of Nursing Report–Part II: The Potential of Interprofessional Collaborative Care to Improve Safety and Quality, the “silo” approach must soon give way if we are to meet coming health care challenges. For example, chronic conditions are increasingly common—not surprising given an aging population. But the health care system is poorly structured to provide the sort of coordinated care and preventive services needed to give these patients quality care while reducing costs. Some health care institutions are gearing up for the challenge.
  • In Boston, where Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates developed its Complex Chronic Care (CCC) program, primary care has become interprofessional, collaborative and noticeably more efficient. Each CCC patient is assigned a nurse practitioner (NP), a registered nurse with advanced education and clinical training. The NP consults with all the patient’s subspecialists and incorporates their guidance in a single plan of care. The NP then manages and coordinates that care, connecting patients to nutritionists, social workers, and other professionals as needed. The model is dynamic, allowing patients to meet more or less frequently with the NPs and their primary care physicians, who remain responsible for the patients’ overall care.
  • In New Jersey, the Camden Coalition of Health Care Providers is “revolutionizing health care delivery for Camden’s costliest patients,” according to the brief. These individuals, sometimes called super utilizers, typically rely on hospital emergency rooms for care. Not surprisingly, such patients account for an outsized share of local hospital costs, often with diagnoses that would have been more properly handled in a primary care setting. The Coalition developed its Care Management Project to reduce these unnecessary emergency room visits by treating patients where they reside, even when that means treating them on the street. A social worker, NP and bilingual medical assistant work as a team to help patients apply for government assistance, find temporary shelter, enroll in medical day programs and coordinate their primary and specialty care.
Training the Next Generation to Collaborate

Of course, the silo effect usually begins in school. In May 2011, six national education associations representing various health care professions formed the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) and released a set of core competencies to help professional schools in crafting curricula that will prepare future clinicians to provide more collaborative, team-based care. Such efforts are already under way at a number of institutions.
  • Maine’s University of New England has developed a common undergraduate curriculum for its health professions programs in nursing, dental hygiene, athletic training, applied exercise and science, and health, wellness and occupational studies. The curriculum includes shared learning in basic science prerequisites and four new courses aimed specifically at teaching interprofessional competencies.
  • In Nashville, Vanderbilt University is also pursuing an interprofessional education initiative that unites students from the medical and nursing schools with graduate students pursuing degrees in pharmacy and social work at nearby institutions. Students are assigned to interprofessional working-learning teams at ambulatory care facilities in the area.
  • The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is piloting an interprofessional initiative, as well, focused on preparing medical residents and nursing graduate students for collaborative practice. As part of the initiative, five VHA facilities have been designated Centers of Excellence and received five-year grants from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Each VHA Center of Excellence is developing its own approach to preparing health professionals for patient-centered, team-based primary care.
  • In Aurora, Colorado, the University of Colorado built its new Anschutz Medical Campus with the explicit objective of creating an environment that promotes collaboration among its medical, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry and public health students. It features shared auditorium and simulation labs, as well as student lounges and other dedicated spaces in which students from different professions can pursue common interests such as geriatrics in a collaborative fashion.
Such initiatives are clearly the wave of the future, if only because the pressures of caring for a larger, older and sicker population of patients in the years to come will drive efforts to identify efficiencies. In the words of Mary Wakefield, PhD, RN, head of the Health Resources and Services Administration, “As the health care community is looking for new strategies and new ways of organizing to optimize our efforts—teamwork is fundamental to the conversation.”

...

My source: Matt Freeman (PRS)

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

[HIFA2015] Women and Children First

As we draw towards the end of the year, Ros Davies, executive director of
Women and Children First (www.wcf-uk.org) reminds us:

'This Christmas Day, 1000 women will die in childbirth.
1000 women will die this way on Boxing Day too.
In fact 1000 women die every day whilst pregnant or giving birth.

... the vast majority of these deaths could be prevented by the provision of simple information and equipment which many of us take for granted.'

http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/786283/74890f4030/1470640645/8fd055e22b/

My source:
HIFA2015: Healthcare Information For All by 2015: www.hifa2015.org

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) in Health

The following text is from the report:

Social Impact Bonds
A new way to invest in better healthcare


PURPOSE

This report is about the potential applicability of Social Impact Bonds
(SIBs) in the health field. The SIB is a financial mechanism where 
investor returns are aligned with social outcomes. The SIB is based on a
contract with government in which the government commits to pay for
an improvement in social outcomes for a defined population. Investors
fund a range of preventative interventions with the goal of improving
the contracted outcomes. If and as the outcomes improve, investors
receive payments from government.

To widespread interest, the first SIB was launched in September 2010. 
Its aim is to reduce reoffending among short sentence male prisoners
leaving Peterborough prison.

Social Finance believes that the reach of the Social Impact Bond 
model is wider than Criminal Justice. We asked Professor Paul Corrigan, 
a leading health adviser, to assess the suitability of the SIB model for 
the NHS. This report presents his thoughts. We hope that his report 
provokes a thoughtful debate on how, or alternatively if, financial
mechanisms such as Social Impact Bonds, might fund new 
interventions, improve people’s well-being and ultimately lead to 
a real change in the health system.

https://yoursri.com/users/570478ce8443743bff8b7e51c4d7ba60/b8984d6a364dadf0ff6c5d869f8f0cb8/@@download/fs


My original source: HSJ

Monday, December 19, 2011

Time Magazine's 2011 'Person of the Year': The Protester


This image released by Time Magazine, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011, shows the cover for Time Magazine's 2011 'Person of the Year' issue. The Protester is this year's choice.

Thinking about this recognition of The Protester I believe that -

the Protester is an example of a true holistic practitioner...

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL
How does an individual decide 'enough is enough'? When does the one act on behalf of the many? What happens when a Person clenches their fist, decides to fight for their rights? In a digital world "NO" and denial of individual human rights is not an answer.
When is the individual a mere 'particle'? 

When are they a 'wave'?
The Protester
TAKES IN ALL THE CARE DOMAINS. 
They reflect - 
but they do not see themselves - 
they see the future for family, friends, nation: and then they act.
When the State clenches its fist what does it strike? 
Who tends to the mental health of the world's leaders?
What price for home, land, human rights, education, health information and justice?


MEMO:
TO: The Editor, Time Magazine
FROM: Welcome to the QUAD

Congratulations on your publication and this annual media event. It is fascinating to note the changing cultural, social and political influences evident in the history of 'Person of the Year', most evident in being originally 'Man of the Year'.

I note you have twice selected former president Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1983 respectively. The former president disclosed that he was diagnosed in 1994 as having Alzheimer's disease. It is quite a coincidence that in-between Reagan's selection the means to a global memory The Computer was appointed as Machine of the Year in 1982. One thought: how many other individuals listed were, or are affected by the dementias?

I believe at some point in the next five years you could do a great service to the many Persons (younger as well as older adults) and their families who are living with dementia in acknowledging them as PERSON of the year.

To people living with this dreadful condition you can help highlight the importance of health, research, funding, policy, socioeconomic impact and most of all - person-hood where it really does matter.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours Sincerely,

Peter Jones

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Person_of_the_Year


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan

Saturday, December 17, 2011

States of mind and policy [I]: 25% of hospital beds...

The repeated things that some people say, what does that denote?

The repeated things that other people say, what does that demonstrate?

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL
In which care domain does the Person living with dementia reside?
1 : 4 - 25% of occupied beds
[ diagnosis? ]
... and what of their carers... with their expertise?
there is a strategy - yet more hospital champions are needed and training.

My source:
BBC Radio 4 & RCN Students mail list

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Student placements and public engagement - over the years

Mentoring student nurses has always been and remains a non-trivial professional obligation. It is something that I have always enjoyed. I make a point of not wittering on and on about h2cm - well maybe a little :) . To save the student's patience and assure my time it is good to ensure a well-rounded placement.

Over the years I've engaged in community service and research projects so looking to the humanistic domains comes naturally. It's been quite interesting watching the various efforts the health sector has made to engage the public. There's no imperative, but I make a point of highlighting the possible learning to be had in contacting the local public involvement and engagement people. Students have found this to be quite enlightening. Encounters with the Community Health Council [CHC] especially so, although that seems a long time ago now.

The Health Service Journal (still catching up) reminded me of all this in the summer, c/o Calkin & West, 4 August 2011 pp. 4-5. This news item spanned my whole career outlining the history of such bodies:

  • Community Health Councils: 1974 - 2003
  • Patient and Public Involvement Forums 2003 - 2008
  • Local Involvement Networks 2008 - 2012
  • HealthWatch 2012 - ?
I even remember the demise of the CHC being reported. Actually no, correct that: I remember the report of the CHC's teeth being taken out before their end. As you look at the timeline represented above it seems to suggest either less stability, or less significance has set in; maybe both. The title of the above piece reads: Plans for engagement are 'insulting'.

Whether or not the CHC ever had sharp canines (with an extra full-moon glisten) and a bite force like a croc is something for the archaeologists to check. One thing for sure, it seems subsequent bodies have no need of dental check-ups, being sans teeth.

Working in the community it was heartening to see the CHC doing its work locally. I also read recently (HSJ I'm sure) how public involvement was finally enshrined in the The National Health Service Act 2006. So you see how progressive the CHC was. It is a great shame this momentum cannot be maintained - for reasons we'll return to in 2012.

For now, as students enter their third year I think it helps to bring life to the POLITICAL care domain. It matters. This ongoing issue is central to health services provision, planning, innovation and the commons ...

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

The astrolabe, programming and big pictures



The astrolabe was a
mechanical implementation of
an object-orientation
model of the sky. p.47.






Eric Evans, (2009). Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software, Model-Driven Design. Addison-Wesley.


Image source: http://planetariubm.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/femei-celebre-in-istoria-astronomiei-1/

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Green Collar Jobs: The Big Picture (Infographic)

I like big pictures :) especially those that point the way to a greener global future.

For text and my source please see:
...

Infographic by Jobvine Jobs

What is the deal with Green jobs

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Woolly vests, Engines and Health care: One stroke or two?

The cover of Nursing Times this week declares helpfully and positively that nursing is not broken. Stressed on several fronts, but not broken. The feature explores the contribution that skill mix makes to nursing practice, quality and outcomes.

With the past day of industrial action and the economic climate you hear repeated commentators extolling the need for and benefits of investment in services be that: health and social care, house and road building, high speed rail, green energy, ...

The economy is often described as an engine. The knowledge and skills of the workforce (and students) help fuel prosperity through creativity, innovation and ultimately productivity.

As the looming winter settles in - I start to think about vests. The woolliest I can find.* You wonder to what extent the in-vest-ment in skill mix on the wards and other clinical encounters are oriented  towards tasks, activity and how much that skill mix has the necessary redundancy in place to afford high-quality patient education and person-centered care? You see we need to revest patients and the public at large with the knowledge and self-efficacy to keep well and stay well.

Economies that rely on two cylinder engines are usually considered as a bit behind the times. Noise. Pollution. Waste. How many cylinders do our health care systems run on?

Well, it looks and sounds like one.

One poorly machined cylinder with CURE at one end and PREVENTION at the other. So, the irony. We need a two-cylinder engine not just in health and social care, but people's lives. What a dream machine that would be. Is there a conceptual prototype out there...? You hope that Local Authority changes can refactor the engine, because looking at re-admissions (Milne and Clarke, 1990; Dowler, 2011) a radical redesign is greatly needed.

The truth is that as things stand (and the masses sit) this isn't enough.

(Interesting to note that apparently some 'one-cylinder' designs actually depend on two operations that overlap.)

Milne, R., Clarke, A. (1990) Can readmission rates be used as an outcome indicator? BMJ, 301, 17 NOV. 1139-4.

Dowler, C., (2011) Penalties fail to cut readmission rate, HSJ, 24, 11, 11, 4-5.

*Only kidding.