Care redesign: a higher-quality, lower-cost model for acute care.

Objective: The aims of this study were to design, pilot, and evaluate a care team model of shared accountability on medical-surgical units.

Background: American healthcare systems must optimize professional nursing services and support staff due to economic constraints, evolving Federal regulations and increased nurse capabilities.

Methods: A redesigned model of RN-led teams with shared accountability was piloted on 3 medical/surgical units in sample hospitals for 6 months.