Collaboration
Alex on day two after his rod surgery in 2009. HIGH-ACUITY HOME CARE, INDIVIDUALIZED PHYSIOLOGY, AND THE LIMITS OF TASK-BASED SYSTEMS One of the most important things I have learned over the years caring for my son Alex is that highly medically complex care is often misunderstood when it is reduced to task-based or standardized models alone. Task-based systems absolutely have value. Standardization helps create consistency. Orders matter. Protocols matter. Checklists matter. Training matters. In predictable and stable situations, task-based care can work very well. But there are some medically complex neurologic situations where the greatest risks are not simply whether tasks were completed. The greatest risks can become: • whether the situation was interpreted correctly, • whether subtle warning signs were recognized, • whether the person’s individualized baseline was understood, • and whether the intervention itself could unintentionally destabilize the person. That is a very d...
