NP Care Model Drastically Lowers Heart Failure Readmissions
Posted over 9 years ago by Nicholas M Perrino
The group's brainstorming sessions led to the creation of The NP Care Model, a patient-centered, collaborative-care approach intended to decrease readmissions and costs of care, and improve patient outcomes. The model's details and outcomes were recently published in Nursing Economic$.
'The model became the patient-centered model because the whole point is, if we're meeting healthcare challenges, we need a collaborative team,' Judith Kutzleb, RN, DNP, CCRN, CCA, APN-C, vice president of advanced practice professionals at Holy Name Medical Center, in Teaneck, NJ says, ' which means we 're not taking the place of anything. The model is not taking the place of anything. It's going to enhance that which already being delivered.'
And enhance care it has.
A Win-Win Scenario
Evidence shows that APNs provide equal or better outcomes when compared to physicians, yet there is often still resistance to allowing APNs to function at the top of their licenses.
As the results of the model show, when healthcare disciplines work collaboratively and APNs are given responsibilities that allow them use their administrative and clinical expertise, there can be big payoffs for patients, physicians, and the organization.
'The nurse practitioner is the conduit throughout the disciplines in order to make the patient experience and outcomes the very best,' Kutzleb says.
The program, which originally focused on heart failure patients, was implemented in January 2012.
Over a 12-month period, 30-day readmission rates dropped to 8% from 26%. Healthcare costs for the group of 312 patients receiving care via the NP Care Model was $311,818 during 30-days after discharge. Prior to the model 's implementation, cost of care for this patient population during the 30-days post-discharge was $1,019,405."