The rapid growth of home health care has raised many unsolved issues and will have consequences that are far too broad for any one group to analyze in their entirety. Yet a major influence on the safety, quality, and effectiveness of home health care will be the set of issues encompassed by the field of human factors research-the discipline of applying what is known about human capabilities and limitations to the design of products, processes, systems, and work environments. To address these challenges, the National Research Council began a multidisciplinary study to examine a diverse range of behavioral and human factors issues resulting from the increasing migration of medical devices, technologies, and care practices into the home. Its goal is to lay the groundwork for a thorough integration of human factors research with the design and implementation of home health care devices, technologies, and practices. On October 1 and 2, 2009, a group of human factors and other experts met to consider a diverse range of behavioral and human factors issues associated with the increasing migration of medical devices, technologies, and care practices into the home. This book is a summary of that workshop, representing the culmination of the first phase of the study.

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

Professional reference for Nurses on Home Health Care

Important Notice: The digital edition of this book is missing some of the images or content found in the physical edition. Handbook of Home Health Care, Fifth Edition has been completely revised and updated to provide up-to-date, specific, authoritative guidance for the successful administration and management of home health care agencies. An excellent, comprehensive text, this Handbook addresses detailed legal and legislative issues, case management processes, and state-of-the-art technology.

Twenty-nine practitioners combine their expertise to bring clarity to an issue that is at the forefront of discussion-home health care. The field is emerging and is growing faster than most professionals and their patients can keep up with. Here is a text in which the authors make every effort to provide readers with the latest thinking and technology that can better the home health care field. Spiralling costs have forced all aspects of illnesses to be closely scrutinized for possible home care applications and financial savings. The industry is growing rapidly, fueled by increasing service and constant technological breakthroughs, but the overriding philosophy must be focused on cost containment with maintenance of high quality care. This book is directed at providing highly practical, up-to-date information that health care professionals can use in their daily practices.