Transitional Care Model - When You or a Loved One Requires Care

The Transitional Care Model (TCM) provides comprehensive in-hospital planning and home follow-up for chronically ill high-risk older adults hospitalized for common medical and surgical conditions. The heart of the model is the Transitional Care Nurse (TCN), who follows patients from the hospital into their homes and provides services designed to streamline plans of care, interrupt patterns of frequent acute hospital and emergency department use, and prevent health status decline. While TCM is nurse-led, it is a multidisciplinary model that includes physicians, nurses, social workers, discharge planners, pharmacists and other members of the health care team in the implementation of tested protocols with a unique focus on increasing patients' and caregivers' ability to manage their care. For the millions of Americans who suffer from multiple chronic conditions and complex therapeutic regimens, TCM emphasizes coordination and continuity of care, prevention and avoidance of complications, and close clinical treatment and management - all accomplished with the active engagement of patients and their family and informal caregivers and in collaboration with the patient's physicians.