An ongoing University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee study suggests that patients are less likely to be readmitted to the hospital if nurses train them on self-care. The 100 nurses involved in the study, who work at an Aurora Health Care hospital in Kenosha, WI, work with surgical and medical patients, the elderly and those with heart failure and total hip or knee replacements. Using an electronic medical record, the nurses pinpoint a patient's overall needs, then make use of one of 50 standard patient care plans. The plans include giving the patients instructions on how to care for themselves post-discharge. While researchers haven't collected final statistical data, as the project is still ongoing, nurse feedback suggests that the process is working.
Get more background on the study:
- read this article from The Milwaukee Business Journal