Patient-focused care and its implications for nutrition practice

Patient-focused care is a central element in work redesign and restructuring of health-care delivery systems. It affects all levels of dietetics practice. Patient-focused care poses potential benefits and challenges for nutrition professionals, including opportunities to expand the scope of practice and to share traditional nutrition duties with others. This article provides a brief overview of the basic components and terms of patient-focused care and reviews a case study that illustrates how implementation of patient-focused care in a community hospital has influenced the hospital's organizational structure and delivery of nutrition care and services. A review of the initial goals of patient-focused care in relation to long-term outcomes provides perspective for those beginning or in the midst of the reengineering process.