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.
Presentation Script-Ethical and Policy Factors in Coordination Care
Hello and welcome to this presentation on the ethical and policy factors involved in the coordination of care among individuals in a nursing home. In this presentation, I will explain how the governmental policies linked to the health and safety of the community affect the coordination of care; identify the national, state, and local policy provisions that raise ethical questions or dilemmas for care coordination; and assess the impact of the code of ethics for nurses on the coordination and continuum of care. Our assignment writing help is at affordable prices to students of all academic levels and academic disciplines.
Governmental Policies
Governmental policies are highly important in determining the success of the healthcare system. Various policy and ethical issues affect healthcare organizations. In recent years, there are various reforms that have been implemented to boost coordination of care. One of the governmental policies that commonly affect the coordination of care in nursing homes is the Affordable Care Act. The objectives of the ACA are to improve access to healthcare for patients, improve the quality of care and lessen expenditures in healthcare (Collins & Saylor, 2018; Luther & Hart, 2014). Under the ACA, consumers currently have easier access to more information regarding nursing homes to aid in the selection of a facility and also monitor the care that is being provided. For instance, consumers are able to gain access to information regarding who owns the nursing home, how much the facility spends on resident care in comparison to administrative costs, the number of violations and complaints as well as the hours of nursing care that residents receive (AARP, Health Reform for Seniors, 2015).
HIPAA
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is another governmental policy that affects the coordination of care in nursing homes. HIPAA emphasizes the need for covered entities to protect sensitive health and personal information. For several years in most nursing homes, employees tend to violate the privacy of patients. In one nursing home in San Francisco, staff members are said to have physically and verbally abused patients and sent photos of such incidents to other employees (Davidson, 2021). Complying with HIPAA regulations can help to avoid such incidents. HIPAA emphasizes the protection of patient privacy, which increases the trust of patients in healthcare and helps improve the quality of care received. Through the sharing of important information with only covered individuals or essential people, there can be better coordination of care as well as patient-centered care. However, this restriction could also prevent coordinated care.
Medicare
Medicare is among the most notable government policies that affect the coordination of care. Medicare provides health insurance services to millions of individuals (particularly elderly persons) in the US. Medicare boosts coordination of care since it strives to improve access to care for the covered individuals. However, some researchers claim that individuals covered by Medicare record an increase in readmission and hospitalization rates (Khullar & Chokshi, 2018). Given that a wide population of people with chronic diseases covered under Medicare are also poor, there is the possibility of high numbers of patients, which could hamper the coordination of care due to issues like staff shortages, medical errors, and burnout.