BWH is currently in the process of rolling out “clinical care plans” throughout the hospital. They will provide all medical staff with a standard, multi-disciplinary approach to the documentation of the patient care for each individual case.
“Since patients receive treatment from numerous caregivers while at BWH, we designed this framework to improve patient care by allowing everyone involved including physicians, nurses and family to know the patient plan and expected outcome. This is designed to be a major step toward improving the quality of the care we provide our patients. By using printed reminders we hope to truly provide comprehensive care for our patients.’ said Robert Goldszer, MD.
BWH first used orthopedic surgery as the pilot for these plans and has recently expanded them for use in other surgical specialties as well as numerous general medical specialties. With feedback, recommendations and revisions from those involved, BWH is currently, in “phase two” of rolling out clinical care plans throughout the hospital and plans to implement this standard documentation to all departments in the future.
According to Nancy Kruger, DNSc, RN, chief nursing officer and vice president of Patient Care Services, this is a “work in progress that allows us to improve part of our patient care process and allows us to recognize other ways we can streamline care."