And it represents a sea change from traditional approaches to care delivery. At the heart of patient-centered care is the redesign of the work so that resources, personnel, and processes are organized around patient needs rather than centralized, functional departments. Although no two institutions look alike, there are some common attributes associated with these efforts. For many hospitals, it is surprising to discover how little staff time is devoted to delivering medical, technical, and clinical care. Satellite pharmacies and labs are located within care units to perform routine functions reducing paperwork and turnaround time.
Nursing stations are small, decentralized pods located closer to patients.
Patient rooms have cabinets stocked with most necessary medical supplies, avoiding frequent trips to centralized supply areas. Empowering employees to make decisions while broadening their role in patient care is an important part of this process. These industry approaches are consistent with federal and state health care reform efforts to improve the quality of care while reducing costs. At Lakeland Regional Hospital, Lakeland, FL, for example, team members may acquire competencies in several areas, such as respiratory care, rehabilitative services, laboratory procedures, and radiology. The John C. Lincoln Hospital in Phoenix, AZ, uses a different team-based approach.