4.4 care coordination for children with complex special health care needs: a novel nursing position in an outpatient child psychiatry service

Outpatient child psychiatry in a children ’s hospital is charged with care of mental illness severity in the setting of medical illness. Numbers of complex patients are increasing, coincident with high utilization of resources, as well as involvement of subspecialists. A nursing-level clinician may improve safety and quality of care, enha nce patient responsiveness, and increase access through optimizing physicians’ direct care. This type of clinician is even more relevant in child psychiatry, given the workforce shortage and because only a small fraction is comfortable with a medically complex cohort.
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research