Care Coordination - Carpopedal

care coordination

Any effort that links separate care providers and services with each other.

 PATIENT CARE: Many patients have complicated health care needs: they may have recently been hospitalized, or recently spent time in a short- or long-term care facility. They may have a primary care provider as well as several specialists or subspecialists involved in their regular health care. Care coordination attempts to notify each member of a patient’s health care team about his or her current health status, medication regimen, upcoming appointments, and diagnostic studies. The goals of care coordination include preventing health care errors, integrating care, and limiting duplication or overlap of services. Registered nurses (among other health care professionals) often assume the management of care coordination as professional care coordinators.

careforce

The health care workforce.

care gap

1. The missed potential in health promotion—the distinction between optimal care and the care that is actually provided to patients. 2. The difference between the health care needs of a community and the capacity of the community to provide the service. VAR: Health Care Gap.

caregiver

One who provides care to a dependent or partially dependent patient. In an acute care setting, the caregiver is most often a professional; however, in the home care situation, this person is often a family member. Care of caregivers is a focus of nurses, social workers, and other health care providers who manage chronically ill patients. Generally, caregivers need emotional support and comfort owing to the extreme stress of their lives. SYN: carer.

Caregiver Global Impression of Change scale

A rating instrument used to determine if patients have improved with treatment. The instrument asks if patients are: 1) very much improved; 2) much improved; 3) minimally improved; 4) unchanged; 5) a little worse; 6) much worse; 7) very much worse.

caregiver role strain

A caregiver’s felt or exhibited difficulty in taking care of others. Var. caregiver burden.

 PATIENT CARE: Caregivers can get significant updated help at www.caregiver.org and other related websites.

caregiver role strain, risk for

Susceptible to difficulty in performing the family/significant other caregiver role, which may compromise health. SEE: Nursing Diagnoses Appendix.

carer

Caregiver.

care transition

Transition (2).

CARF

Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.

cargo theft

The stealing of medicines or medical supplies from their supply chain.

caries

(kar′ēz, ker′ēz) pl. caries [L. caries, rottenness] Gradual decay and disintegration ...