Care frames: interactive units of health-care delivery

Describes a way of characterizing the progress of a patient into and out of acute care. Presents a model of the process which resulted from a study of the interface between tertiary care and resettlement in the home community in a single health district. After discussion of the problems relating to patient discharge as described in the literature, briefly describes the origins of and setting for the study. The method of data collection (through documentary analysis, individual and group interview and case study) involved over 100 staff and patients on both sides of the interface. Does not present the substantive findings in detail, as these remain confidential to the organizations involved. However, outlines the process whereby the data gave rise to a model of patient progress and discusses in detail the essential feature of that model--the care frame--both as a theoretical entity and as a basis for practical action. Concludes with a demonstration of how the care-frame model can be used to manage the interface between successive phases in the provision of care and, especially, how it helps to define and manage the interface between acute care and care in the home community.