Background Communication between levels of care can be complex for any patient. For the Servicemember or Veteran with complex medical issues, who needs transitioning between multiple levels of care, this communication involves detailed, individualized information pivotal to quality clinical outcomes and patient/family satisfaction. These complex cases also typically include communication between multiple family members. Purpose The purpose was to summarize the evidence and present recommendations for facilitating effective transitions of patient care within the complex Veterans Affairs (VA) Polytrauma System of Care. Design Evidence Based Review. Methods Selected members of the VA Office of Nursing Service Polytrauma Field Advisory Committee conducted an evidence-based review, and queried a clinical panel of polytrauma nursing experts and direct care rehabilitation nurses. Findings Search results, key practice recommendations, a plan of care template, and future plans for dissemination and implementation are presented. Conclusions Communication is a key to success when managing many details and requires both focus and knowledge of larger systems. Clinical Relevance Direct communication, using a standardized approach, is recommended for successful patient transitions.

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The complex care needs of these returning service members require astute case management in addition to clinical care. This collaboration ensures the best life-long outcomes and will be discussed in detail in this article.

Several published reviews and recommendations exist for the use of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) with instillation and a dwell time (NPWTi-d) in acute and chronic wounds. Specific dressings for use with NPWTi-d have also been developed, including a reticulated open cell foam dressing with through holes (ROCF-CC) that assists in removing thick wound exudate and infectious materials. ROCF-CC is especially helpful for wound cleansing when debridement is not possible or appropriate in patients.We report our initial experiences in using NPWTi-d with ROCF-CC in patients with pressure ulcers. An algorithmic approach was used to determine appropriate treatment to reach the goals of therapy (i.e., wound bed preparation, granulation tissue formation, and removal of infectious materials). Previous therapies included honey and gauze soaked in Dakin's solution. All patients received antibiotics and debridement when possible.Five patients (3 females and 2 males) received NPWTi-d with ROCF-CC (instillation of saline or a hypochlorous solution with a dwell time of 10 minutes, followed by 2-3 hours of -125 mmHg NPWT). Patient comorbidities included obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and peripheral artery disease. Mean age of patients was 65.2 years (range: 50-82 years). After an average of 6 days of therapy (range 2-9 days), all wounds treated with NPWTi-d with ROCF-CC showed rapid granulation tissue formation.We also noted improved removal of devitalized tissue and subsequent granulation tissue formation in patients receiving hypochlorous solution compared to patients receiving saline during NPWTi-d with ROCF-CC. All patients were eventually transferred to a skilled nursing facility. In our clinical practice, NPWTi-d with ROCF-CC provided effective and rapid removal of the thick exudate and infectious materials and promoted excellent development of underlying granulation tissue.

Following the rapid service development brought about by the hospice movement, specialist palliative care services are involved with up to 50% of all patients dying with cancer in the United Kingdom, although the primary health care team remains the main provider of community based palliative care. This paper discusses findings from a survey of palliative care provision in the south west of England, and describes the perceptions of the primary care team (general practitioners and district nurses) about the interface between themselves and voluntary sector specialist palliative care providers (hospice in-patient units, hospice home care nurses and other charitably funded specialist palliative care nurses). The voluntary sector services are run with a mixture of funding from charitable sources (public donations, legacies, charitable trust moneys), and statutory funding (grants and recurrent contracts from central government, district health commissions, and local health care trust). The interview and questionnaire data suggest that the voluntary sector services are perceived variably as substituting, supplementing, complementing and duplicating the services provided by the primary care team. Drawing attention to these dimensions and the ambivalence sometimes felt by general practitioners and district nurses could provide a means of negotiating consensus on appropriate professional tasks and facilitating interprofessional practice in what is increasingly a mixed economy of statutory and voluntary funded health care.