Reading Part B47

B47. According to the extract, the nursing facilities require more physicians, who:

Nursing Facility Care

Nationwide, nursing facility care is changing to include not only long-term care of frail residents but also complicated and resource-intensive post-hospital care. The population of people receiving care in nursing facilities is more medically complex as patients are discharged ‘sicker and quicker’ from the hospital to skilled nursing facilities and the hospitals focus on decreasing readmission rates. However, the majority of patients are still long term stay patients who themselves have increased in medical complexity and acuity. Both of these imperatives have resulted in an increased need for highly trained and committed health care practitioners willing to provide care on-site to nursing facility residents. Physician involvement in nursing facilities is essential to the delivery of quality long-term care. Attending physicians should lead the clinical decision-making for patients under their care. They can provide a high level of knowledge, skill, and experience needed in caring for a medically complex population in a climate of high public expectations and stringent regulatory requirements.