Assignment; Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination Essay

Assignment; Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination Essay

Assignment; Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination Essay

Assignment; Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination Sample Essay

Care coordination is one of the essential components of high-quality care in the modern world. The practice entails organizing care activities and information sharing among all the healthcare providers involved in addressing the care needs of a patient. The aims of care coordination include the promotion of high-quality, safe and efficient care for different populations. Care coordination achieves these outcomes by prioritizing the preferences and needs of the patients in the adoption of the different care interventions. Care coordination adopts several interventions to optimize care outcomes. They include care management, teamwork, health information technology use in care provision, medication management, and patient-centered medical homes. Healthcare policies influence the delivery of patient care in the care coordination models (Greenwald, 2022). Therefore, the purpose of this presentation is to examine the effect of policies on care coordination and continuum in homeless shelters and factors that influence healthcare access for diverse populations.

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The Selected Organization

The selected organization for this presentation is the homeless shelters. Homeless shelters are institutions that provide temporary homes to homeless families and individuals. The importance of these shelters is that they protect the vulnerable from harsh environmental conditions such as cold temperatures, which could otherwise cause health problems to the homeless. Despite providing an effective solution for the homeless against harsh environmental conditions, homeless shelters also predispose them to other health problems. For example, the shelters are overcrowded resulting in poor sanitation and easy transmission of infections. Residents of homeless shelters are often from poor socioeconomic status. They experience challenges in accessing the healthcare services that they need. As a result, the risk of poor outcomes in disease management in this population is high. Nevertheless, the shelters provide alternative housings, which improve the health and wellbeing of the vulnerable populations.

Government Policies

Several government policies related to health of the residents of homeless shelters affect coordination of care. One of them is the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA is a policy that was adopted to increase the population of Americans with a medical insurance coverage. The policy addresses barriers to healthcare due to issues such as cost. The other government policy is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA is a policy that was adopted to regulate the use of health information technologies in healthcare. The policy assures the integrity of data in the use of health technologies to improve population health. The other policy is the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). CHIP assures children from vulnerable backgrounds enhanced access to healthcare irrespective of their conditions (Greenwald, 2022). The other policies influencing care coordination are Medicaid and Medicare, which lowers the healthcare costs for the vulnerable populations, including those in homeless shelters.

Effect of the Policies on Care Coordination

The above policies have considerable effects on care coordination. First, they increase access to healthcare for the residents of homeless shelters. The residents have access to the healthcare they need due to the support from different policies such as the ACA, Medicaid, and Medicare. The policies also promote the protection of the residents’ rights to access high-quality, safe and efficient care. For example, policies such as CHIP ensure that children from vulnerable backgrounds access the care they need with ease, eliminating poor outcomes such as complications and early mortalities. In addition, policies such as HIPAA ensure the protection of patients’ right to data integrity. Health organizations and providers must ensure privacy and confidentiality of data when incorporating technology into the care of residents of homeless shelters. The policies also increase the role that patients play in addressing their health needs (Greenwald, 2022). For example, increased access to care implies that patients have an expanded role in making decisions on issues affecting their health. cumulatively, these effects eliminate barriers to healthcare access for the residents of homeless shelters.

Policy Provisions that Raise Ethical Questions or Dilemmas in Care Coordination

Government at different levels such as local, state, and national levels implement policies that raise ethical dilemmas in care coordination. The provisions in most of the policies affect the level in which nurses and other healthcare providers make decisions related to the patient’s needs in the care coordination process. One of the policy provisions that raise ethical questions or dilemma in care coordination is privacy and confidentiality of the patient’s data. The law requires that nurses and other healthcare providers protect the integrity of data in care coordination (Maher et al., 2019). Similarly, the law also requires them to share information with other healthcare providers involved in care coordination, which predisposes nurses to ethical issues, since the extent of information sharing is not given.

The other policy provision is patient self-determination. The law recognizes the autonomous role that patients play in making decisions about their health. This provision raises ethical concerns since patients may make decisions that do not optimize care outcomes in care coordination. The other provision is the restricted or limited scope of practice for advanced practice nurses in some states, which lower the access to high quality care for the population. Lastly, policies such as ACA were adopted to lower costs patients incur in seeking the healthcare they need. However, healthcare in the USA is among the world’s most expensive (Berwick, 2020). Therefore, despite the different policies, most the citizens do not afford the care they need, hence violation of their universal access to healthcare services.

Implications and Consequences

The above policy provisions have implications and consequences to care coordination and continuum for the residents of homeless shelters. First, it contributes to limited access to healthcare for this population. Issues such as the high cost of healthcare result in the unaffordability healthcare services for the vulnerable populations. Secondly, inadequate sharing of information in care coordination results in fragmented care services and suboptimal outcomes for the residents of homeless shelters. Third, the costs of specialized care will continue to rise due to the limitations on the scope of nurse practitioners (Berwick, 2020). Rather than solving the issue of physician shortages, most states will continue suffering from the shortage, resulting in high cost of healthcare to the population.

Impact of Code of Ethics on Care Coordination and Continuum of Care

Code of ethics regulate nurses’ actions in the care coordination and continuum of care processes. The ethics safeguard the patient’s safety in the care process. They hold nurses responsible and accountable for any actions they implement in the care coordination process. Code of ethics also ensures safety. It encourages nurses to adopt patient-centered strategies in care coordination and continuum to optimize outcomes. Ethics also increase the need for the use of evidence-based strategies that contribute to safety, quality, and efficiency in care coordination. Lastly, they enhance the autonomy of nurses’ involvement in the care coordination process (Patel et al., 2020). This is attributed to the existence of clearly defined nurses’ roles in the care coordination and continuum of care.

Factors that Contribute to Health Disparities

Several factors contribute to health disparities in a population. One of them is employment status. Employment status influences’ one’s affordability of the healthcare services that they need. The second factor is medical insurance coverage. Medical insurances such as ACA, Medicare, and Medicaid increase affordability and access to healthcare. Poverty lowers the access to high-quality care due to cost-related challenges. The risk of worse health outcomes among the poor is high as compared to middle and high-income earners. Educational attainment influences income level, poverty, and employment status (Palmer et al., 2019). Highly educated populations are highly likely to be employed in well-paying jobs, which increases their access and affordability of high-quality care services.

The other factor contributing to health disparities is ethnicity and race. People from ethnic minority backgrounds tend to experience barriers in accessing healthcare services due to issues such as unemployment and poverty. Income level also determines the affordability of different healthcare services and premium insurance coverages. The disabled also experience significant barriers because of their minimal involvement in opportunities such as employment (Palmer et al., 2019). Sexual orientation such as that of LGBTQ may act as a barrier in accessing care due to stigmatization being experienced in healthcare systems.

Conclusion

In summary, care coordination and continuum are important for the residents of homeless shelters. Government policies affect care coordination. Policy provisions and code of practice also play a role. Several factors affect access to healthcare for different populations.

References

Berwick, D. M. (2020). The Moral Determinants of Health. JAMA, 324(3), 225–226. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.11129

Greenwald, H. P. (2022). Health Care in the United States: Organization, Management, and Policy. John Wiley & Sons.

Maher, N. A., Senders, J. T., Hulsbergen, A. F. C., Lamba, N., Parker, M., Onnela, J.-P., Bredenoord, A. L., Smith, T. R., & Broekman, M. L. D. (2019). Passive data collection and use in healthcare: A systematic review of ethical issues. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 129, 242–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2019.06.015

Palmer, R. C., Ismond, D., Rodriquez, E. J., & Kaufman, J. S. (2019). Social Determinants of Health: Future Directions for Health Disparities Research. American Journal of Public Health, 109(S1), S70–S71. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.304964

Patel, S. A., Sharma, H., Mohan, S., Weber, M. B., Jindal, D., Jarhyan, P., Gupta, P., Sharma, R., Ali, M., Ali, M. K., Narayan, K. M. V., Prabhakaran, D., Gupta, Y., Roy, A., & Tandon, N. (2020). The Integrated Tracking, Referral, and Electronic Decision Support, and Care Coordination (I-TREC) program: Scalable strategies for the management of hypertension and diabetes within the government healthcare system of India. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 1022. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05851-w

BUY A CUSTOM-PAPER HERE ON;Assignment; Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination Essay

Select a community organization or group that you feel would be interested in learning about ethical and policy issues that affect the coordination of care. Then, develop  a 10-12-slide, intended for that audience. Create a detailed narrative script or speakers notes for your presentation, 4-5 pages in length.

Introduction

As coordinators of care, nurses must be aware of the code of ethics for nurses and health policy issues that affect the coordination of care within the context of the community. To help patients navigate the continuum of care, nurses must be proficient at interpreting and applying the code of ethics for nurses and health policy, specifically, the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Being knowledgeable about ethical and policy issues helps ensure that care coordinators are upholding ethical standards and navigating policy issues that affect patient care.

This assessment provides an opportunity for you to develop a presentation for a local community organization of your choice, which provides an overview of ethical standards and relevant policy issues that affect the coordination of care. Completing this assessment will strengthen your understanding of ethical issues and policies related to the coordination and continuum of care, and will empower you to be a stronger advocate and nursing professional.

Preparation

Your nurse manager at the community care center is well connected and frequently speaks to a variety of community organizations and groups. She has noticed the good work you are doing in your new care coordination role and respects your speaking and presentation skills. Consequently, she thought that an opportunity to speak publicly about contemporary issues in care coordination would be beneficial for your career and has suggested reaching out to a community organization or support group to gauge their interest in hearing from you, as a care center representative, on a topic of interest to both you and your prospective audience.

You have agreed that this is a good idea and have decided to research a community organization or support group that might be interested in learning about ethical and policy issues related to the coordination of care. Your manager has suggested the following community organizations and support groups, but acknowledges that the choice is yours.

• Homeless shelters.
• Local religious groups.
• Nursing homes.
• Local community organizations (Rotary Club or Kiwanis Club).

To prepare for this assessment, you may wish to:

• Research your selected community organization or support group.
• Review the Code of Ethics for Nurses With Interpretive Statements and associated health policy issues, specifically, the ACA.
• Review the assessment instructions and scoring guide to ensure you understand the work you will be asked to complete.
• Grading Requirements

  The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination Scoring Guide, so be sure to address each point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.

• Explain how governmental policies related to the health and/or safety of the community affect the coordination of care.
  • Provide examples of a specific policy affecting the organization or group.
  • Refer to the assessment resources for help in locating relevant policies.
  • Be sure influential policies include the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA).
• Identify national, state, and local policy provisions that raise ethical questions or dilemmas for care coordination.
  • What are the implications and consequences of specific policy provisions?
  • What evidence do you have to support your conclusions?
• Assess the impact of the code of ethics for nurses on the coordination and continuum of care.
  • Consider the factors that contribute to health, health disparities, and access to services.
  • Consider the social determinants of health identified in Healthy People 2020 as a framework for your assessment.
  • Provide evidence to support your conclusions.
• Communicate key ethical and policy issues in a presentation affecting the coordination and continuum of care for a selected community organization or support group. Either speaker notes or audio voice-over are included for a proficient score; both speaker notes and the audio voice over are included for a distinguished score.
  • Present a concise overview.
  • Support your main points and conclusions with relevant and credible evidence.

NOTE- You can write the 4-5 page paper, and complete the slides. I will record the presntation based on the slides and paper, thanks.