Clients served and services provided by academic nurse-managed centers

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Primary Care
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Academic nurse-managed centers (ANMCs) are currently not tracked in a national database.
• This lack of data makes ANMCs less visible in policy and reimbursement discussions, leading to under-support.
• ANMCs play a role in delivering primary care services within communities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe client and service data from a national study of ANMCs.
• To highlight the characteristics and scope of services offered by ANMCs.
• To identify areas for improvement in data collection and reporting for ANMCs.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey design was employed.
• Data were collected from directors of ANMCs nationwide.
• Usable data were obtained from 64 ANMCs.

Main Results:

• The surveyed ANMCs were generally small in patient volume.
• Client and service profiles varied, reflecting diverse community needs.
• Services encompassed comprehensive primary care, including health maintenance and illness management.
• Evidence of community-focused care was observed.
• Use of standardized nursing language was low; standardized medical taxonomies were more common.

Conclusions:

• ANMCs deliver a significant amount of primary care services.
• There is a need for ANMCs to enhance documentation using standardized taxonomies.
• Improved data aggregation is crucial for policy and research purposes.
• Standardized reporting will increase the visibility and support for ANMCs.