Potential Advantages of Nurse-Led Care
Clinicians concerned about nurses missing nuances in disease progression or being slow to recognize complications might be surprised to learn about the advantage of nurse-led care, but Mwidimi Ndosi, PhD, an associate professor in rheumatology nursing at the University of the West of England, Bristol, England, was not.
“There is quite a large literature to show that nursing care is often superior to physician-led patient management in the appropriate circumstances,” Mr. Ndosi said. In this specific instance of gout management, he said that the treatment target is clear, and nurses are often able to devote more time to a specific goal, like T2T, than clinicians balancing more priorities.
Dr. Mwidimi Ndosi
“In this trial, the care was administered by nurse specialists who presumably are skilled in this disease and know their limitations if a consultation with a physician is needed,” he said.
Mr. Ndosi, like Mr. Larsen, considers it likely that nurse-led programs for a T2T gout protocol will be implemented elsewhere. Mr. Ndosi pointed out that patients who are concerned about the quality of nurse-led care are generally convinced of its merits over time.
Because of factors such as nurses’ ability to spend more clinical time with patients and greater willingness to engage in resolving obstacles to self-care, compared with physicians, “there are many studies to show that patients are often more satisfied with care provided by nurses,” he said.
Mr. Larsen and Mr. Ndosi reported no potential conflicts of interest.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.