|
1. What does this mean for me?
It depends on whether the patient
concerned is still the responsibility of the host hospital or the
service has been commissioned through primary care.
Generally speaking, if a patient has
been transferred from hospital the responsibility remains with the
hospital doctors. If MediHome is providing a hospital admission
prevention service then arrangements for liaison with GPs will be
necessary.
2. What should I do if a MediHome
patient calls me?
Every patient is left with a folder
that has a MediHome phone number for them to call. In the
first instance a MediHome Nurse will attend to the patient.
If necessary, the MediHome Nurse will call the responsible
clinician (see question 1) for advice. In an emergency, the
MediHome Nurse will arrange for readmission to hospital.
3. Will this mean more work for me?
Not if the patient has been
transferred from hospital and is still part of the acute
hospital's responsibility (see answer to question 1).
However, if the patient's care with
MediHome has been commissioned by the PCT as part of an admissions
alternative programme (unless other special arrangements are in
place) you are likely to be the responsible clinician. You
will need to log on to the MediHome EPR system at least once a day
to review the notes and observations recorded for your patient and
feed back any directions for the management of the patient. The
MediHome Nurse would also contact you for clinical advice in the
event of any problems.
4. Can I commission the service for
my patients?
You can commission this service
under Practice Based Commissioning or by liaising with your PCT.
If your practice is close to an area where we already provide the
service we may be able to provide the service on a spot contract
basis, but we generally need a minimum volume of work locally to
support a local nurse manager and team of MediHome Nurses.
5. Can I be assured of a high
quality service?
MediHome Nurses operate within a
robust clinical governance framework and a comprehensive set of
policies and frameworks. For more detail,
click here.
6. What do patients think who have
used this service?
MediHome Nurses receive very
positive scores in our patient satisfaction surveys. This
bears out the academic research that demonstrate the preference
patient for this pattern of care. For more detail
click here.
7. What is the evidence for the
benefits of this service
The MediHome Review archive contains
links to a number of studies that demonstrate benefits in terms of
clinical outcome as well as patient preference.
Click here. |
