IN the 2009 Health Leader Media Patient Experience Survey published in the November edition, top-level healthcare executives reported that "the patient experience" was their top priority. However, this top priority was not substantiated in action-oriented plans. Forty-six percent of respondents spent less than $50 000 on the endeavor, 25% said that lack of funding was an issue, 24.5% reported that the "owner" of this priority was the CEO, followed by 20.5% stating "no one!!" As I read this entire report, it saddened me to find not one mention of nursing and the importance of nursing leadership related to the patient experience. Yet, we as nurse leaders understand that nurses are the foundation that ensures patient and family satisfaction and that of 49 Press Ganey patient satisfaction survey questions, 51% directly or indirectly correlate nursing staff performance and patient-family relationships. The Institute for Family Centered Care (http://www.familycenteredcare.org) is one resource to explore for assistance and leadership strategies to posture the nurse administrator as the owner of the patient experience.
Look back upon 1999 IOM report, To Err Is Human by Consumers Union has reported progress on reducing medication errors has fallen short. Only 17% of hospitals have computerized order entry, and 24 states do not have any medical error reporting requirements in place. Preventable medical errors have shown no significant decrease from the original estimate of 98 000 annually.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, life expectancy in 2007 increased to 77.9 years, up from 1.4 years since 2000. Death rates in the United States are at an all time low and vary by region and state, with the southeast leading the nation; Hawaii has the lowest rate. White women have the longest life expectancy (80.7 years), followed by African American women (77 years). What are the demographics of your delivery system and how are you strategically addressing the needs?
2009 Price Water House Cooper's Health Research top 10 healthcare issues for 2010 include the emergence of alternate care delivery models that create worksite and retail health clinics, home healthcare services, and other technology-enabled delivery such as e-mail, telehealth, video interdisciplinary rounds, and remote patient monitoring.
HOT JOBS FOR THE NEXT DECADE
Professional and business services plus healthcare and social assistance are the big winners for employment growth from 2008 to 2018. The economic paradigm shift from goods- to service-producing sector is expected to continue. By 2018, goods-producing sector will account for 12.9% of total jobs, down from 14.2% in 2008, and service-producing sector will account for 78.8% of total jobs, up from 77.2% in 2008. Top gainers in healthcare and social assistance industry are home healthcare, services for the elderly and disabilities, nursing care facilities, and offices of physicians (United States Department of Labor, December 10, 2009).
Finally: Kudos!!
Dr Mathy Mezey, EdD, RN, FAAN, Nursing Professor Emeritus, Senior Research Scientist, and Director of the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at NYU College of Nursing, was presented with the annual Daris Schwartz Gerontological Nursing Research Award in November 2009 at the Gerontological Society of America annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.