NMHC is a care delivery model that uses advanced practice nurses to lead practice arrangements for the provision of comprehensive care services to vulnerable populations. Ely (2015) notes that NMHC-centered models associate with colleges, schools, universities, nursing departments, social service agencies, non-profit health organizations, and qualified health centers. Through NMHC, nurses acquire the skills needed to reframe service delivery in primary health care. The building blocks of this model include primary care, chronic disease management, wellness education, as well as care integration and coordination (Ely, 2015).
Various major studies demonstrate that primary care is cost-effective when delivered under nurse practitioners. Thus, data from such settings serve an important function of building on the quality and cost factors that influence service delivery. According to Sefton et al. (2011), the model anticipates that data from reports permits APNs to participate in practice to their ultimate scope of their profession. Eventually, they can improve their services as well as offer value-added health care. Such moves are necessary for the sector to tackle barriers that hinder service delivery for underserved and vulnerable populations (Sefton et al., 2011).
For instance, the Barkauskas et al. (2011) study looks into the assessment of the quality of care in health care delivery using the Nurse Managed Health Centers (NMHC) delivery model. They clearly state their purpose as forging a description of the quality measures collection for NMHCs. They also look at these facility’s ability to present and compare such findings with care benchmarks. Finally, the researchers also discuss the importance of collecting quality national data including data submission and fund utilization given the model (Barkauskas et al., 2011).
Barkauskas et al. (2011) recruited nine NMHCs to be part of their study. Given these data points, they collected data from record audits and data files. Their primary intention was to access information that would enhance the assessment of NMHC quality as proposed by the NINC. The quality measures developed here center on breast and cervical cancer screening, diabetes, hypertension, and smoking cessation.
In general, the findings had favorable comparisons with national benchmarks. Barkauskas et al. (2011) concluded that NMHCs were ideal regarding care quality and national benchmarks. However, the model would benefit from additional data collection to identify the critical areas that need improvement. Particularly, the NMHC is a data-driven model that has the potential of improving the quality of care services.
References
Barkauskas, V., Pohl, M., Tanner, C., Onifade, T., & Pilon, B. (2011). Quality of Care in Nurse-Managed Health Centers. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 35 (1), 34-43.
Ely, L. (2015). Nurse-Managed Clinics: Barriers and Benefits Toward Financial Sustainability when Integrating Primary Care and Mental Health. Nursing Economics, 33 (4), 193-202.
Sefton, M., Brigell, E., Yingling, C., & Storfjell, J. (2011). A journey to become a federally qualified health center . American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 23(7), 346-350.
