How Should Technology-Dependent Patients' Care Be Managed Collaboratively to Avoid Turfing?

Area of Science:

• Medical ethics
• Healthcare management
• Patient care

Background:

• Technology-dependent patients require life-sustaining interventions like tracheostomies or gastrostomy tubes.
• These patients are frequently transferred between hospital services, a phenomenon known as "turfing."

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the reasons behind the common practice of turfing technology-dependent patients.
• To propose strategies for combating this issue and improving patient care coordination.

Main Methods:

• Case commentary analyzing the challenges in managing technology-dependent patients.
• Discussion of contributing factors including clinician knowledge gaps, bias, and ethical considerations.

Main Results:

• Identified key factors contributing to patient turfing: lack of clinical familiarity with technology, clinician bias and ableism, and complex quality-of-life decisions.
• Highlighted the need for targeted educational interventions.

Conclusions:

• Addressing clinician education and biases is crucial to reduce the turfing of technology-dependent patients.
• Implementing specific educational strategies can improve the management and care coordination for these vulnerable individuals.