Continuum of care

These grandparents and other relative carers were unequivocal as to the importance of having taken on the care of children. Even so, they acknowledged that there were costs, whether emotional, social, financial or health wise and, in different measure, everyone in the family was affected by it. The chapter begins with a consideration of the continuum of care that was being provided by the extended family as reported by parents and relative carers, before moving on to consider the effects that this had on them all. 

STUDIES INVOLVING THE EVALUATION OF DOCUMENTATION BY PHARMACISTS ACROSS THE CONTINUUM OF CARE ... 

Several studies evaluating the impact of the provision of proper documentation by pharmacists across the continuum of care have been conducted in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and beyond. Examples of such studies are presented. The examples are not meant to be a comprehensive list of all such activities but rather are reviewed to give an indication of the state of pharmacist documentation in each country. 

Continuum of care, from nutritional products and laboratory diagnostics through medical devices and pharmaceutical therapies Electronic digitahzation of human senses, such as smell and taste... 

Yetman M., Porter S., Ronayne D., Ralph P., Cooze H., Reid U., et al., 2010. Guideline for Preventing the Transmission of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis across the Continuum of Care. 

In developed countries, naturally, the critical issue of delivering quality health care to all citizens remains. The focus, however, moves away from managing acute and infectious diseases to managing chronic and complex diseases, such as congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes. However, even in the most economically advanced countries, the need to deliver quality health care in an economically viable and sustainable fashion is of concern, as is the issue of continuum of care across the various health services. With increasingly aging populations, the demands on limited health resources will escalate over the next decade. 

As pointed out by Lazar et al. (2013) outcome measures need to be harmonised. They must be rehable, valid and consistent Most outcome measures reflect a single dimension but rrltimately they must be developed to reflect the continuum of care. While we might ideally want and even require measures of safety climate and culture to correlate with outcome measures, we have tried to describe in this section the many factors that will tend to cover or weaken such correlations. 

The measurement of safety culture has now become a core component of patient safety and additional patient safety culture assessment instruments will be needed to accommodate organisational sehings that cover the continuum of care in multiple settings. It will also be necessaiy to examine differences, as well as similarities, in staff perceptions of patient safety culture across different settings of care. In addition, it is necessary to examine in these other healthcare settings the relationships between patient safety culture and patient perceptions of care, as well as clinical outcome measures, as has been done in the hospital setting. 

Casey Hooke, advanced practice nurse and creator of the Safety Action Team (SAT) concept, defines SATs as department- or unit-based interdisciplinary work groups that provide a "think tank" for staff to identify safety concerns, process them, and brainstorm new ways to address them (Hooke, 2002). Group membership varies according to individual needs, but SATs strive to include members who represent the continuum of care for the patients they serve. SATs include registered nurses, physicians, pharmacists, respiratory care practitioners, child-life specialists, unit service coordinators, and members of the management team. The group is chaired by a staff leader, or sometimes by two staff leaders who share the responsibility. 

Patient rights and assessment Patient and continuum of care Patient/family education... 

Austin, L. S., Landis, C. O., and Hanger, Jr., K. H., Extending the continuum of care in congestive heart failure An interactive technology self-management solution, J Nurs Adm Sep 42(9) 442-446,2012. 

Interrelated national level responsibilities for Ausfralia s public healfh information infrastructure are held by the Australian Population Health Development Principal Committee (APHDPC), the Population Health Information Development Group (PHIDG), and the Public Health Information Development Unit. The APHDPC, which operates under the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Committee (AHMAC), works at a high level across disease groups and the primary and secondary health sectors, with a focus on building a framework across both the life course and the continuum of care [33]. 

II. The Role of Multidisciplinary Team Caring for Ventilator-dependent Patient Through Continuum of Care... 

Figure 2 Overview of the continuum of care for prolonged mechanically ventilated patients...

Another challenge involves how community-based mental health clinicians can complement the delivery of services by school personnel. Sometimes, school personnel may turn to community-based mental health providers to assist students in need of more acutely intensive services provided through a continuum of care in the community (e.g., family stabilization teams, emergency room coverage, and psychiatric hospitalization). In these instances, collaboration between school and community mental health personnel is essential to engage the student and family in treatment to ensure necessary consultation and follow-up. 

Bickman, L. (1996). A continuum of care More is not always better. American Psychologist, 51, 689-701. 

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