Abstract
BACKGROUND: With the urgency related to improving quality and creating efficiency in healthcare, partnership is emerging as a critical concept related to transitions of care.
PURPOSE: This quality improvement project included facilitation of hospital partnership with skilled nursing facilities to improve outcomes associated with the lower extremity total joint arthroplasty population.
METHODS: The clinical nurse specialist (CNS) utilized a standardized framework to implement partnership strategies with multidisciplinary teams. Outcomes were monitored for the 2 quarters of partnership activities.
RESULTS: All recommendations for developing a partnership model were facilitated within the project timeline. Patient experience and quality measures remained at, or improved, from baseline and met all strategic targets. Efficiency through episode payment demonstrated improvement at each interval during the study period. Analysis revealed a significant (p < .05) reduction in the mean hospital length of stay.
CONCLUSION: The CNS practice outcomes suggest that the use of structured partnership strategies between agencies improves efficiency of care and accelerates rapid spread of innovation.