Impact of localizing physicians to hospital units on nurse-physician communication and agreement on the plan of care.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A significant barrier to communication among patient care providers in hospitals is the geographic dispersion of team members.

Objective

To determine whether localizing physicians to specific patient care units improves nurse-physician communication and agreement on patients' plans of care.

Methods

We conducted structured interviews of a cross-sectional sample of nurses and physicians before and after an intervention to localize physicians to specific patient care units. Interviews characterized patterns of nurse-physician communication and assessed understanding of patients' plans of care. Two internists reviewed responses and rated nurse-physician agreement on six aspects of the plan of care as none, partial, or complete agreement.

Results

Three hu

SUBMITTER: O'Leary KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2771243 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature