Sunday, July 21, 2013
New client wait list
Under 2011 Timely Access Regulation new patient appointment unit (NPAU) started monitoring client wait list in late 2012.
Data on all health centers is shared in the whole department. Few health centers are interested in implementing OC.
Three health centers: CMHC, SAFHC and OPHC implemented OC in 3/2013. The new clients wait list decrease drastically. As of 7/29/2013 wait list for the health centers with OC as compared to the COPC.
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Kit, from your graph it appears that there definitely has been a dramatic decrease in the client wait list with the addition of the OC. Over the last few years I have heard a lot about the nursing shortage but very little about the shortage of PCP. It sounds as if the public health department in Chinatown has come up with a good strategy to ensure that clients will have access to healthcare. Are the nurses running the clinics APNs?
ReplyDeleteHi Tina,
DeleteThey are RNs. Based on the standing orders and provider support the RNs are doing well to see all new clients with no acute or urgent signs and symptoms. My organization is trying to have RNs to work at the top of their licence. The next step is to implement tactical nurse to help with access. Primary physicians shortage will not be resolved in the near future. 52,000 more primary care physicians are needed by 2025. Thus, it is a golden opportunity for RNs to have major role to meet the needs in primary care created by the health care reform.
I am just curious. How is the retention of the existing RNs on staff?
ReplyDeleteThe retention of RN in SFDPH is very high because the benefit is good. As we implemented team let model to have medical assistant team up with provider, the health centers actually cut one RN position. RNs in my clinic are very receptive to do OC in order to maintain working in the health center with 8-5 weekday schedule instead of transferring to hospital or long term care. Now SFDPH are hiring RNs to implement OC. The next step is to implement tactical nurse (Traphagan, Stratman & Debella. n. d.)to increase access to meet the demand in health care resulted from the health care reform. (http://www.patientvisitredesign.com/techniques/are-you-a-tactical-nurse/)
ReplyDeleteKit,
ReplyDeleteIt appears that the nurse run OCs are doing well with great support from your providers. You mentioned a shortage on providers, does it include advance practice nurses?
Grace,
ReplyDeleteThere is no shortage of advance practice nurses, nurse practitioners (NP) for the primary care setting at this time. The department of public health has been hiring more NP to provide primary care services. Yet, it is required to have at least one physician to four NP ratio.