Develop a 3-4 page preliminary care coordination plan for a selected health care problem. Include physical, psychosocial, and cultural considerations for this healthcare problem. Identify and list available community resources for a safe and effective continuum of care. Preliminary Care Coordination Plan-Heart Disease as a Health Concern Preliminary Care Coordination Plan-Heart Disease as a Health Concern Introduction NOTE: You are required to complete this assessment before Assessment 4.

Preliminary Care Coordination Plan-Heart Disease as a Health Concern

Heart disease remains a global health concern and describes a spectrum of disorders that affect cardiovascular functionalities. These include congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease, hypertension, peripheral artery disease, and aortic sclerosis. Heart diseases are the leading cause of death and a major contributory factor for disability in the U.S and across the globe. Heart diseases accounted for one in every five deaths in the U.S. in 2020, translating to over 690,000 deaths. Coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction are the leading cause of mortality among all heart diseases. The burden of these diseases is also high, with over 220 billion dollars incurred by the U.S healthcare system (Abdalla et al., 2020). The costs are mainly due to the loss of productivity accustomed to the high mortality rates of these diseases, costs of medications, and costs of healthcare services utilizable in managing these disorders.

The healthcare burden of heart disease continues to increase. This is attributable to the increasing prevalence of these diseases and the advanced screening for these diseases (Abdalla et al., 2020). This makes it a concern for the global healthcare system. It also reinforces the need to heighten preventive measures against the disease and implement the existing policies and interventions to mitigate these diseases’ health risks.

Best Practice for Health Improvement

Best practices in cardiac care are targeted at preserving lives with heart diseases. Collaborative practice agreements are the first best practice. Collaborative drug therapy management allows pharmacists to work with other caregivers to assume greater responsibility in assessing, monitoring, initiating, and adjusting drug regimens for patients with heart disease to optimize care. Collaborative paradigms in cardiac care have been lauded for their effectiveness in enhancing clinical outcomes and patient experiences (Mehta et al., 2019). It is for this reason that this approach maintains superiority over fragmented care. Quality and safety safeguards are best assured when a synchrony of care is provided to the patients.

Another best practice is to empower patients to implement steps to lower their risk for disease exacerbation and optimize their disease management. This enables them to take a much more active role in their care process. It also provides them with a framework for making necessary adjustments in their therapeutic plans (Zhang et al., 2020). Integrating community health workers into the clinical care teams is another best practice in cardiac care. Community health workers are important links between the community and various health and social services. They, therefore, promote access to care and improve the quality of services given to patients (Tsai et al., 2022). Community health workers also improve the cultural competence of healthcare services provided to patients.

The underlying assumption in the analysis of best practices is that patients with heart diseases will seek healthcare and cooperate with other caregivers in the care processes. This informs the synchrony in care approaches targeted towards them. A point of uncertainty in the analysis is the ability of transcultural patients to articulate educative provisions targeted toward them. Transcultural barriers to the care process may jeopardize the effective care provided to these patients.

Specific Goals

Comprehensive management of heart diseases is targeted at secondary prevention, quality of life enhancement, and prolongation of life of patients with heart diseases. The first goal in this regard is to educate the patients on self-management. Self-management focuses on the individual’s role in managing their disease. Notably, self-management may be particularly valuable in the care continuum in home-based care. Educating the patients on self-management enhances their capacity to monitor their disease and inform adjustments. The second goal is to improve access to medications to manage heart disease. This can be achieved through policy provisions regulating the pricing of drugs and by encouraging patients with heart diseases to seek insurance coverage. Insurance coverage may bridge the gap in not only access to drugs but also to cardiac care services.

Another goal is to synchronize healthcare services targeted to patients through collaborative paradigms. Interprofessional collaborations remain valuable in cardiac care. The diverse roles of healthcare professionals in interdisciplinary healthcare teams widen the scope of care and enhance the quality of care provided to patients. Healthcare collaborations are superior to fragmented care because they address broader healthcare aspects. Accordingly, this will improve clinical