Decreasing length of hospital stays and higher patient acuities requires more care to be provided outside of the acute care hospital.  The New England Journal of Medicine states that only “54.9% of patients receive the health care that is recommended” as a standard of care and that the quality of health care is equally substandard across sociodemographic groups (Asch, Kerr, Keesey, Adams, Setodji, Malik, & McGlynn, 2006). Outpatient hospital services are an integral portion of patient care required for positive patient outcomes. A multilevel tiered approach has been implemented at Mercy Medical Center through the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Service Department (WOC) to meet the care needs of patients and to reduce the gap in access to quality of care. The WOC nurses utilize the continuum of care model as a foundation to aid in providing care needs of patients transitioning through the various levels of care. Preliminary findings indicate a reduction in lost time to transition, improved patient outcomes and improved patient satisfaction.  This initiative can be easily replicated and further studies are warranted.

Asch, S., Kerr, E., Keesey, J., Adams, J., Setodji, C., Malik, S., and McGlynn, R. (2006). Who is at greatest risk for receiving poor-quality health care? The New England Journal of Medicine. 354, 1147-56.