An integrated chronic disease nurse practitioner clinic: Service model description and patient profile
File version
Accepted Manuscript (AM)
Author(s)
Havas, K
Tam, V
Stone, C
Abel, J
Barnes, M
Douglas, C
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
Size
File type(s)
Location
Abstract
Background: One common cluster of chronic conditions — chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus and heart failure — places a significant burden on the Australian healthcare system. In combination, these conditions complicate treatment, increase rates of hospitalisation and carry a poorer prognosis for survival. Current health services are organised around single conditions, making coordination of care more difficult and adding complexity to patients’ lives. Aims: To describe an integrated model of care provided by nurse practitioners for patients with multiple chronic diseases. Methods: A prospective, longitudinal study of patients with two or three chronic diseases attending a community-based nurse practitioner clinic. On entry to the clinic demographic and clinical data were collected from patients and health records (n = 121). At six months a subgroup (n = 70) also reported their satisfaction with the clinic. Findings: Over 18 months the clinic provided 925 appointments to patients aged between 27–90 years. Most (79.2%) had chronic kidney disease as one of their diagnoses. At baseline, blood pressure and glycosylated haemoglobin targets were achieved by 66.4% and 83.2% respectively, although only 7.1% had a healthy-range body mass index. After six months of attendance, there was high overall patient satisfaction with the new service (98.7%). Discussion: Nurse practitioners can reform healthcare delivery through innovative person-centred models of care, breaking down the siloes of treatment for chronic disease. Conclusion: In the current and growing context of multi-morbid chronic health conditions, integration of care within and across organisations is required to meet future health care demands.
Journal Title
Collegian
Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume
26
Issue
2
Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement
© 2019 Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence, which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, providing that the work is properly cited.
Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject
Nursing
Persistent link to this record
Citation
Bonner, A; Havas, K; Tam, V; Stone, C; Abel, J; Barnes, M; Douglas, C, An integrated chronic disease nurse practitioner clinic: Service model description and patient profile, Collegian, 2019, 26 (2), pp. 227-234