In the Spotlight
Primary Care
Patty Suderman, NP at Access Winnipeg West
We asked Patty Suderman to provide some suggestions and ideas to inspire nurses who work in primary care about how they can help facilitate improved patient flow. Here are her thoughts:
Back to basics
Keeping patients flowing is about the very basics - the timeliness of being on time. Keeping on schedule is an important element of keeping patients moving, as is addressing immediate health issues.
Nurses and leadership
A primary care nurse does a triage system to address patients' concerns over the phone, without them physically having to come in. That can be very helpful, depending on what the person's concern is.
Nurses working in primary care have a strong role to play in education. For example, they may do some follow up with a person around their blood pressure concerns. But along with educating a person about their chronic health condition, nurses can help educate people about how to navigate the health care system. Many of our patients may be older adults or family members where they don't know how to access home care or support services in the community. A primary care nurse can do a referral to those support services, but also help a person with navigating them.
They also help refer people to community resources to help them build their health and wellness. While an NP or physician makes referrals to specialists, a primary care nurse can make a referral to a community agency, for example, and follow up on that.
Right care
Working together as a team, collaboratively with providers ultimately should facilitate patient flow throughout the system, ensuring the patient gets seen by the right person in a timely manner.
Sometimes people come into the hospital with expectations that can be better met in a primary care setting, but perhaps they can't get in to see their primary care provider. Often if they don't have a primary care provider, they will go to emergency for primary care.
(Editor's note: www.myrightcare.ca offers a range of health care options to help people choose what option is best when they are ill or injured and require health care.)