Patient-focused care

The trend away from a departmental focus and toward "patient-focused" care in hospitals is described; advantages of and barriers to such a change and its effects on pharmacy are discussed. Patient-focused care is characterized by decentralization of services, cross-training of personnel from different departments to provide basic care, interdisciplinary collaboration, various degrees of organizational restructuring, use of "clinical pathways"--recommended components of care for patients with a particular diagnosis, simplification and redesign of work to eliminate steps and save time (e.g., providing care according to predetermined protocols and charting only exceptions to the protocol), and increased involvement of patients in their own care. Its objectives are to use nonclinical and clinical staff more effectively and to improve patients' perceptions of the quality of care and staff members' job satisfaction. It is unrealistic to expect quick reductions in hospital costs through patient-focused care, and workers will worry about job security if an institution overemphasizes this aspect. A 1993 survey of 311 hospitals found that almost half had or planned to have patient-focused care projects. Adoption of patient-focused care projects may be slowed by workers' fear of new responsibilities and new reporting relationships. However, not all patient-focused care models involve radical organizational changes, and reorganizations can be such that pharmacy staff members are still connected to the pharmacy department even if they are supervised by a nonpharmacist. In some institutions patient-focused care projects have given pharmacy its first opportunity for decentralization.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)