The focus of hospitals on family care.

Abstract

Health care professionals are recognizing the need to treat their patients not only as individuals, but as part of a social network--the family. In order for health care organizations to provide a total family care program and, therefore, a more efficient and effective health care delivery system, they must develop and implement strategies to identify and treat all of the patient's needs--psychological, biological, and familial. Coordination among individual departments and personnel is critical to ensuring that resources meet these needs. The trend toward total patient and family services will continue to be emphasized and refined by the leaders in the health care industry.