The Institute of Medicine (IOM) defines patient-centered care as “[p]roviding care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions.” Patient-centered health care is the healthcare system designed and delivered to address the healthcare needs and preferences of the healthcare recipient. The value of patient-centered care is that health care becomes more clinically appropriate and cost-effective. To that end, patient-centered health care supports active involvement of healthcare recipients and family members in the implementation of innovative care strategies, such as SPHM. Recognizing the healthcare recipient as a unique individual is essential to the next step, which is to integrate SPHM technology into the plan of care based on SPHM assessment.

Informing the healthcare recipient about the SPHM program is important. There are a number of ways to accomplish this. The best time to begin involving the healthcare recipient is at the time of admission or preadmission. Consider a written brochure that summarizes goals and expectations specific to the SPHM program. Christiana Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, uses a specially designed pamphlet, which has been developed based on the learning needs of the healthcare recipient, family members, and visitors. The pamphlet is instructional for the healthcare recipient, serves as a guide for the healthcare worker who is describing the SPHM program at Christiana, and sets the tone for questions about the SPHM program (Price, 2012). Another strategy, which has been successful at Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities, is a continuous-loop video that plays on the televisions in the patients’ rooms. This video, titled “Flying, Gliding and Sliding,” provides a basic orientation to the SPHM program at the VA facilities as it describes lifts, slings, slides, lateral transfer devices, and other technology. Further, this presentation provides a mechanism to manage expectations, especially when the healthcare recipient has not had the experience of care at a minimal lift facility.

The Society of Hospital Medicine (n.d.) describes its “Mobility Assessment Test: Performance Based” as a mobility assessment tool that can be performed in less than one minute. This particular tool screens for gait and balance impairments. The performance-based mobility test is named “Timed—Get Up and GO!” The test is performed with the healthcare recipient wearing regular footwear, using a usual walking aid if needed, and sitting back in a chair with armrests. On the word “Go,” the patient is asked to do the following: (1) stand up from the chair, (2) walk nine feet in one direction, (3) turn, (4) walk back to the chair, and (5) sit down. Scoring is related to the time needed to accomplish the task safely. If the task is performed in less than 10 seconds, findings are normal. A time of 20 seconds or more is an abnormal score. For example, low scores correlate with good functional independence; high scores correlate with poor functional independence and higher risk of falls and other hazards of immobility.

Banner Health has piloted a validated mobility assessment tool called the Bedside Mobility Assessment Tool (BMAT). This easy-to-use assessment tool is designed to predict mobility and then set criteria for SPHM needs, based on the assessment. The BMAT is integrated into the Banner electronic medical record system-wide. All registered nurses in the inpatient setting perform the mobility assessment every shift and as needed, assigning each patient a level of mobility.

What follows are selected ideas and insights on implementing the SPHM standard on integrating a patient-centered approach that coordinates assessment, the plan of care, and supporting technology. Matching technology to the healthcare recipient’s unique needs is key. A comprehensive mobility assessment is fundamental to selecting an appropriate plan of care; however, a written procedure that links the mobility status to SPHM technology is imperative to success. The ideas and insights are organized by the sets and subsets of the standards that are required by any facility: one specific to your organization as an employer, the other to your facility’s interprofessional healthcare workers. Communication, delegation, and transitions of care are included as components of this standard.