Intentional roundings in general medical practice: the experience of the Azienda Ospedali Riuniti Marche Nord (Italy).

Abstract

The "intentional roundings" are planned rounds, conducted at regular intervals by nursing staff to anticipate care, comfort, hospitality and psychological needs of hospitalized users. These purposes are achieved with a structured way to make observations and carry out activities for well-being and patient safety, documenting what was done with a structured ad hoc form. In the United Kingdom, as well as in the USA, intentional rounding is an established model of care that improve the safety of provided care, to reduce the occurrence of preventable events, address proactively basic caring needs, and that increase users and staff satisfaction. Implementing in a medical pilot unit the care model named "intentional rounding". The care team carried intentional rounds every two hours, in a systematic and documented manner. All patients received admission informations about the organizational method and were invited to participate by completing a satisfaction questionnaire at discharge. At the end of the experimental period organizational impact have been investigated, specifically users and hospital staff satisfaction. About privacy, courtesy, nurse support and quality of care provided, level of satisfaction of patients and caregivers reached high percentage of approval (90-99%). Nurses and other healthcare personnel have perceived they delivered either a safer and most satisfying healthcare (90-94%) as well as inter- and intra-professional dynamics communications (95%). Value of roundings have been less appreciated concerning the optimization about the worktime management (79%). Calls to the bell have had a notable change of their reasons unlikely about the quantity. Intentional roundings affects very positively to users satisfaction level and to the perception of the quality of care provided; the care team, though express the need to make some changes for a real implementation, recognize the proactivity of intentional roundings as an added value.