| Project Objectives / Summary
The issues for ensuring effective communication and health care partnerships between general practitioners and community nurses are many and complex. These two parties have a long history of providing health services to the community. The effectiveness of such relationships hinges on factors including mutual understanding of and respect for, each other's role and from a realisation of the value that each party has to offer to the total care of the patient.
The first step was to identify critical success factors and barriers in the development of strategic alliances between GPs and community nurses in urban areas. The project aimed to identify critical success factors and barriers in the development of health care partnerships between GPs and community nurses within the Launceston urban area that could:
- Improve continuity of care for patients;
- Ensure better utilisation of community resources; and
- Integrate the work of these two primary health care providers.
After extensive local consultations, and a national and international literature search, several key outcomes emerged. Some, when implemented, could enhance communication between GPs and community nurses within the current model and context of service delivery. Other findings contribute to the discussion of future models of health care partnerships and the delivery of health services to people at home.
As a short term project with a brief to clearly identify the issues, but unable to implement the outcomes due to time and funding restrictions, it was limited in its ability to effect change within the health care system. However it is anticipated that the findings and discussions will continue to be of benefit to both nurses and GPs irrespective of how the community health care delivery system is structured in the future.
Collaboration:
- Telehealth - Community Nursing Electronic Information Trials
- Launceston General Hospital
- Faculty of Rural and Community Nursing, University of Tasmania
- St Luke's Hospital - Community Nurses
- St Vincent's Hospital - Community Nurses
- Launceston Home Nursing Pty Ltd
- Department of Health and Community Services
Project Outcomes:
As one participant said during the consultations and feedback "This project has already enhanced communication between GPs and nurses by giving us the opportunity to have a say, and by better understanding each other's roles."
Recommendations:
- That an In-Home Share Care tool be trialed for a period of three months;
- That the In-Home Share Care tool be simple and inexpensive;
- That reciprocal notification faxing be trialed for three months;
- The fax form to be an easy to use format (tick sheet);
- An annual joint education session to be held;
- Meetings to remain on an "as needed" basis;
- Care clustering to be discussed further before it can be considered;
- Patients appeared satisfied with the level of communication between their doctor and nurse;
- Medication charts remain problematic and require further investigation; and
- A joint "Community Health Steering Group" could be formed to continue the process of enhancing communication and collaboration, and to complement the work for findings of APHC.
Lessons / Assessment:
The Division did not pursue Round Two funding. |
