Sustaining a Nurse-Managed Clinic Faculty Practice Plan: Building a Mosaic of Support

Over the past five years, the School of Nursing has developed, implemented, evaluated and sustained a viable alternative to the failing, mismanaged US healthcare delivery system. The Nursing Clinical Enterprise manages four clinics with high patient satisfaction scores and positive clinical outcomes at one-third the cost of traditional models.  The clinics are sustained through a mosaic of support from a variety of funding sources including private, state and federal programs, billing, and grants.  The presentation will educate attendees on how to implement and sustain a nurse-managed interprofessional clinic and will provide details of operations including the potential cost savings of value-based healthcare delivery for their respective institutions. 

This nurse-managed clinic model proposes an accessible, cost-effective, efficient, high quality evidence-based system of primary healthcare, education, and research with the application of engineering principles, optimal use of EHR technology (EPIC), and faculty practice. Electronic health record adoption and integration has been completed at all sites.  Data analytics from the EPIC system promotes care continuity, patient safety/quality, facilitates communication with the system/community partners, and can be used to track the “Top 10” presenting concerns at each clinic. A quick response (QR) code is provided to patients to receive immediate feedback regarding the clinic experience and care.  Data influences local, state and federal health policy decisions.      

The model also includes: expanded faculty practice; interprofessional collaboration; behavioral health integration, and nutrition integral to primary care.  Faculty and students develop an integrated model of discovery, learning and engagement focused on evidence-based health promotion and disease prevention, client, family, and community education, acute, episodic illness care, management of stable chronic conditions and emergency room diversion.  Quality and safety outcomes are measured. 

This nurse-led model provides excellent learning experiences for health science center students while building and sustaining our university community partnerships.  Students are uniquely positioned to further change the face of local to global healthcare with added expertise in systems approaches and removal of practice and policy barriers.