Health care delivery system – Nursing is a profession within the healthcare sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other healthcare providers by their approach to patient care, training, and scope of practice. Nurses practice in many specialisms with differing levels of prescriber authority.
Many nurses provide care within the ordering scope of physicians, and this traditional role has shaped the public image of nurses as care providers. However, nurses are permitted by most jurisdictions to practice independently in a variety of settings depending on training level. In the postwar period, nurse education has undergone a process of diversification towards advanced and specialized credentials, and many of the traditional regulations and provider roles are changing.
Nurses develop a plan of care, working collaboratively with physicians, therapists, the patient, the patient’s family, and other team members, that focus on treating illness to improve quality of life. Nurses may help coordinate the patient care performed by other members of an interdisciplinary healthcare team such as therapists, medical practitioners, and dietitians. Nurses provide care both interdependently, for example, with physicians, and independently as nursing professionals.
Health care delivery system
Health care delivery system or healthcare system is the organization of people, institutions, and resources that deliver health care services to meet the health needs of target populations.
There is a wide variety of health systems around the world, with as many histories and organizational structures as there are nations. Implicitly, nations must design and develop health systems in accordance with their needs and resources, although common elements in virtually all health systems are primary healthcare and public health measures.
In some countries, health system planning is distributed among market participants. In others, there is a concerted effort among governments, trade unions, charities, religious organizations, or other coordinated bodies to deliver planned health care services targeted to the populations they serve. However, health care planning has been described as often evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
Type of Care Facilities within Health Care Delivery System
There are mainly six types of health care facilities within the health care delivery system, this include-
- Acute care
- Sub-acute care
- Chronic care
- Rehabilitation care
- Ambulatory care (Outpatient care)
- Home health care.
Care Facilities within Health Care Delivery System
Acute care
Acute care is a branch of secondary health care where a patient receives active but short-term treatment for a severe injury or episode of illness, an urgent medical condition, or during recovery from surgery. In medical terms, care for acute health conditions is the opposite from chronic care, or longer term care.
It is provided in patient settings, such as in hospital, clinic, emergency room, health center. Acute care involves the care of patient in acute condition e.g. acute appendicitis, acute abdomen, perforation, high temperature, severe bleeding.
Sub-Acute care
Sub acute care is a level of care needed by a patient who does not require hospital acute care, but who requires more intensive skilled nursing care than is provided to the majority of patients in a skilled nursing facility. It is also provided in patient settings. When the acute condition moderately subsides is called sub-acute condition.
Chronic care
Facilities is described the institutions such as nursing homes, convalescent homes, some residential institution, whose primary purpose is to care for people with chronic illness and physical impairment. The chronic care is focus on who do not need hospitalization, ‘but who are unable to care for themselves.
Rehabilitation care
The aim of rehabilitation is-
a) Restore individuals to their forms level of functioning.
b) To maintain or maximized remaining function.
Rehabilitation is carried out in all health care settings by a variety of health care W professionals with the active involvement.
Ambulatory care
Most ambulatory care centers have diagnostic and treatment facilities providing medical, nursing, laboratory and radiological services. Some ambulatory care centers provide services to people who require minor surgical procedures that can be performed outside the hospital.
After surgery, the client returns home, often the same day. They permit the client to live at home while obtaining necessary health care, and they free costly hospital beds for seriously ill clients.
Home health care
Home care derived to persons at home who are recovering from illness, are desirable or chronically or terminally ill and need various services to progress, maintain function services to manage health care needs at home care involves the team of multidisciplinary professional including-
a) Social worker : Social worker counsels clients and support persons regarding social problems, such as finances, marital difficulties and adoption of children. Finding a more suitable living arrangement can be the responsibility of the social worker.
b) Physical therapist : Physical therapists treat movement dysfunctions by means of heat, water, exercise, massage and electric current. The physical therapist function includes assessing client mobility and strength, providing therapeutic measures. Some physical therapists provide their services in hospitals.
c) Occupational therapist : Occupational therapist might teach a man with serve arthritis in his arms and hands how to adjust his kitchen utensils so that he can continue to cook. The occupational therapist teaches skills that are therapeutic and at the same time provide some fulfillment. Also exercises the arthritic man’s arms and hands.
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