Rasee Leenakul. Development of nursing case management model for patients with Myocardial infarction . Doctoral Degree(Nursing). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2005.
Development of nursing case management model for patients with Myocardial infarction
Abstract:
The health care system in Thailand has evolved towards management of quality of care and cost effectiveness in recent years. This research aimed to develop a nursing case management model in patients with myocardial infarction, using a nurse case manager as a key person to manage care for patients more effectively. Participatory action research was conducted with nine participants in the process of model development. Data collection strategies included interviews, observations, document examination, as well as records of outcomes of the model.
The findings revealed that the model of nursing case management comprised three important parties, including a nurse case manager, health care provider, and payor or budget providers. These parties interacted with one another while the patient was the center of service delivery and a clinical pathway was used as a tool to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate care provided for patients. In this process, the nurse case manager was a person who acted as a primary nurse responsible for providing direct care and collaborating with other health care providers. The manager was also responsible for ensuring both quality and effective cost outcomes, including patient and staff satisfaction, as well as a reduction in length of stay and readmission rate of patients. Strategies toward the achievement of the success of this model included support at a policy level and cooperation among the health care team. Barriers for the achievement of the model included staff resistance and inadequate resources for continuing care post discharge. From the findings, it is clear that nurses are in a pivotal role to collaborate in care plan with other multidisciplinary teams. The researcher suggests that in this model a nurse case manager should have knowledge pertinent to the case type and effective communication skills so as to facilitate effective care management. It is envisaged that the process of model development in this study could be used as a guide to develop other similar models for different groups of patients. This would be beneficial for the further improvement of quality of care and cost containment in the future.