Journal Article

Unscheduled home consultations by registered nurses may reduce acute clinic visits

Sundler, Annelie J, Bergman, Karin, Östman, Malin, Hallgren, Jenny, Hedén, Lena

2024

Overview

Background To effectively utilize available healthcare resources, integrated care models are recommended. According to such model’s, registered nurses have the potential to increase patient access to health care services and alleviate organizational workload. Studies on acute home consultation assessments by registered nurses are sparse. The aim was to describe the reasons and actions for unscheduled same-day face-to-face registered nurse consultation at home offered to patients calling the national telephone helpline for healthcare in Sweden (SHD 1177), according to the integrated Collaborative Health Care model. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was designed. Data from registered nurses ( n  = 259) working within the Collaborative Health Care model, who performed unscheduled consultations at home ( n  = 615) using a data collection tool from 2017 to 2018 were collected. Results Among the 615 unscheduled home consultations performed by registered nurses, > 50% of the patients were managed at home as their health problems were not deemed as requiring a same-day referral to a clinic when assessed by the registered nurses. The most frequent health problems and reasons for contact were urinary tract problems, followed by medical and surgical conditions. Social factors, including living alone, impacted referral. Those living with a partner received care at home to a greater extent than those who lived alone. Conclusion An integrated model for healthcare involving registered nurses direct assessment, action and accountability seems to be an efficient option for providing integrated care at home and reducing acute clinic visits.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Acute disease / Adolescent / Adult / Aged / Ambulance services / Care and treatment / Clinical decision-making / Collaboration / Collaborative Health Care Model / Community home health care / Consultation / Cross-Sectional Studies / cross-sectional study / Data collection / Diagnosis / Emergency medical care / Evaluation / Female / Health Administration / Health care / Health Informatics / Health Sciences / home care / Home Care Services / Home Care Services - organization & administration / Home care services industry / home visit / Hospitalization / Hospitals / House Calls / House Calls - statistics & numerical data / human / Humans / Hälsovetenskap / Integrated care / Integrated delivery systems / Male / Management / Medical referrals / Medical technology / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Middle Aged / Människan i vården / nurse / Nurses / Nurses - statistics & numerical data / Nursing assessment / Nursing Research / organization and management / patient referral / Patient satisfaction / Primary care / Public Health / Referral / Referral and Consultation / Referral and Consultation - statistics & numerical data / Registered nurses / Services / Sweden / Swedish health care direct / Telemedicine / The Human Perspective in Care / Välbefinnande vid långvariga hälsoproblem (WeLHP) / Wellbeing in long-term health problems (WeLHP)