Search -
Improving Care for the End of Life: A Sourcebook for Health Care Managers and Clinicians
Improving Care for the End of Life A Sourcebook for Health Care Managers and Clinicians Author:Janice Lynch Schuster, Center to Improve Care of the Dying, Andrea Kabcenell, Institute for Healthcare Improvement Using examples taken from a year-long collaborative on improving end-of-life care, Improving Care aims to equip readers with the best available advice on how to make substantial improvements in the delivery of health care to seriously ill people who are coming to the end of life. The books intended audience includes anyone working in health care... more » management, ranging from doctors, nurse managers and social workers, to administrators, hospital chaplains, and directors of volunteer services. Improving Care describes the gains organizations have made, the changes they have attempted and the successes they have achieved. By offering step-by-step stories of successful efforts to provide good end-of-life care, the book provides a template for organizations interested in improving the way people die in Americas health care system and closing the gap between what is known about good end-of life care and what is actually done for patients. By seeing what didn't work, readers can avoid common pitfalls. Improving Care includes sections focusing on changes patients and families often demand or would most benefit from, environments that encourage better practice, opportunities for change in caring for patients with specific diseases, as well as a Getting Started chapter which offers specific tips on getting something done by next Tuesday. Content-specific resources are listed at the end of each chapter. An appendix provides instruments used by organizations in assessing various aspects of end-of-life care, and a detailed glossary explains those terms with which the audience may not be familiar. Ultimately, the writers hope to provide the insight and inspiration to address current problems in health care delivery and create excellent health care for everyone, regardless of their stage in life.« less