Care models had not wavered much since hospitals became medicalized in the early 20th century, and particularly since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) were created in 1965, says Jason Gilbert, PhD MBA RN NEA-BC, executive vice president and chief nurse executive, Indiana University Health.
But now, nursing shortages, increased patient acuity, and workforce pipeline challenges are requiring nurse executives to configure different care models.
Gilbert spoke with HealthLeaders about how he and his organization are approaching practice redesign and best practices to implement a redesign.
HL: When is it necessary to re-engineer, or evolve, the way patients receive care?
Gilbert: The burning platform that’s caused this necessity has been the huge supply and demand mismatch between the number of caregivers available and patient demands and acuity. We’ve been through many nursing shortages in the past but nothing really quite like this one. This has been exacerbated over the last several years with accelerating retirement rates, more work options outside of acute-care settings or in healthcare for nurses, and changing expectations in the workplace.