The Partnership Care Delivery Model

Healthcare leaders should define better ways of providing quality care to patients at the lowest cost possible. For many patients in the United States, the cost is a significant limitation on access to medical care. In other situations, the prohibitive cost may force the clients seek compromised care, especially when they cannot afford the required services. Such cases create problems for healthcare organizations and providers due to the need to ensure cost-effective and quality services to patients. As a result, administrators in various settings should adopt the most practical patient care model to achieve among other patient safety goals the “improvement of the effectiveness of communication among caregivers and accuracy and completeness in reconciling medications across the continuum of care” (Joint Commission, 2014, p. 1). The purpose of this discussion is to propose the implementation of the partnership care delivery model as the most applicable framework to achieve these goals hence, reduce the cost of care and improve quality.

New Nursing Care Delivery Model and Patient Safety Goals

The model is based on the ongoing efforts to ensure the participation of patients in their care for better outcomes. The model focuses on the importance of engaging all the stakeholders, including patients and their families in the care delivery process to achieve greater effectiveness at a lower cost. Batalden et al. (2015) refer to the model as a co-production in healthcare from the perspective of engaging the patients in the production and consumption of healthcare services. According to the model, patients have essential information that care providers could use in making treatment and management decisions. Hence, the process involves effective partnerships with the client and empowering them to manage their conditions for better outcomes (Hibbard & Greene, 2013).  As part of the person-centered nursing leadership, the model focuses on the role of the patient in quality improvement and reducing the cost of care through effective partnerships.

The model concentrates on the achievement of two patient safety goals in the healthcare organization: “improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers” and “accurately and completely reconcile medications across the continuum of care” (Joint Commission, 2014, p. 1). Achieving these goals will improve the quality of care provided at the healthcare organization and enhance the outcomes of the care recipients and providers.

Key Concepts

Various concepts related to the partnership care delivery model, including patient-centeredness, patient engagement, and patient experience. Patient-centeredness defines the tendency of healthcare providers to place patients at the core of the continuum of care. It informs the patient-provider relationship that is formed at the beginning of the care process. Patient’s engagement is associated with the role of the patient in the treatment and management of disease conditions. It involves the continued working together of the patients and their caregivers to achieve positive outcomes (Carman et al., 2013). Care providers are expected to promote and support the active participation of the clients in their care. Patient experience defines the overall feeling of the patient about the process and the outcome. Healthcare practitioners are challenged to promote positive patient experience as they provide care (Batalden et al., 2015). The concepts relate to the partnership care delivery model where providers must work with recipients to achieve better results.

Evidence

The partnership care delivery model is proven in research to be a useful exemplary in providing care to patients. The framework is successful in achieving the goals relating to quality and cost across healthcare settings (Hibbard & Greene, 2013). For instance, evidence shows that the model equips patients with the knowledge to make informed decisions about their care for better health outcomes, costs, and patient experience. Batalden et al. (2015) aver that when patients are engaged in their care, they have better results due to the high level of satisfaction with the treatment and management. The model recognizes the role of patients in the continuum of care which is critical for holistic healing. Frank et al. (2015) posit that patient and family engagement is the basis for providing better quality care in various settings. Hence, the partnership care delivery model is a multidimensional framework for creating interventions for diverse conditions in healthcare organizations. The model allows for improved quality at an affordable cost.

Conclusion

Leaders in healthcare are facing the challenge of providing quality care at a lower cost primarily due to the increase in the demand for resources. Thus, to achieve patient safety objectives amid the difficulties, they have to implement the most effective healthcare model. The discussion proposes partnership care delivery model as the most appropriate in achieving the goals. The model is founded on three key concepts, patient-centeredness, patient engagement, and patient experience. Evidence shows that the model is successful in implementing interventions for diverse medical conditions across healthcare settings. Therefore, leaders should adopt the approach to reduce the cost and provide quality care to their patients. On the other hand, the model will also achieve positive outcomes for patients and their families, care providers, and healthcare organizations.