Nursing care models move from experimentation to sustainable practice
The Lippincott FutureCare Nursing 2026 survey highlights a major turning point in how nurse leaders approach care delivery. What began as experimental models in response to workforce disruption and rising patient acuity in 2025 has now evolved into sustained, organization-wide strategies. In fact, 9 in 10 respondents say they’ve embraced new models of care, with a majority (90%) saying the models are working well.
These new models are proving effective, as four in five respondents haven’t moved away from the care models they recently implemented. And while nurse leaders have increasingly adopted new models such as multidisciplinary care and telehealth, they’re also focusing new model launches on areas with clear operational and financial rationales, such as home health care and virtual nursing.
Increasingly, nurse leaders are tailoring care models to specific settings, such as acute care and ambulatory environments, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. This reflects a more sophisticated stage of innovation in which 86% of respondents say care models had positive impacts on their organization.
At the same time, financial pressure is shaping decision-making. With four out of five respondents saying staffing shortages are a near-constant concern and 90% worrying financial pressure will limit their ability to sustain care models, nurse leaders are emphasizing outcome measurements like retention — if nurses stick around, the model is effective — in addition to more obvious factors such as patient outcomes.
Largely, nurse leaders are positive on technological advancements like generative AI (70%), and nearly nine in 10 say faster and more-effective technology onboarding is crucial to workforce readiness. And while results showed the expectations of which new models were expected to grow didn’t quite match up with reality, many respondents noted those models (such as home health care) were still effective when implemented.
Ultimately, the report shows care delivery transformation has shifted from ambition to sustainability. By striving for continuing innovation, nurse leaders are ensuring new and existing care models deliver measurable outcomes amid a challenging environment.