title: Patient-focused care and its implications for nutrition practice.
abstract: Patient-focused care is a central element in work redesign and restructuring of health-care delivery systems. It affects all levels of dietetics practice. Patient-focused care poses potential benefits and challenges for nutrition professionals, including opportunities to expand the scope of practice and to share traditional nutrition duties with others. This article provides a brief overview of the basic components and terms of patient-focused care and reviews a case study that illustrates how implementation of patient-focused care in a community hospital has influenced the hospital's organizational structure and delivery of nutrition care and services. A review of the initial goals of patient-focused care in relation to long-term outcomes provides perspective for those beginning or in the midst of the reengineering process.
authors.affiliation: Ohio State University Medical Center, Room 842 Doan Hall, 410 W 10th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210-1228, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kinsel
mesh_terms: D004046:Dietetics / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D005521:Food Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006754:Hospital Restructuring; D006764:Hospitals, Community / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States