Explain the Rationale for Coordinated Care Plans Based on Ethical Decision Making

Coordinated care plans organize patient care activities to enhance their clinical outcomes and patient experiences. This caring approach utilizes collaborative paradigms that employ the principles of teamwork, information sharing, role interdependence, respect, and cooperation in patient care activities. Care coordination facilitates the appropriate and efficient care delivery from diverse healthcare professionals. It remains a superior approach in care provision as it enables the delivery of high-quality and high-value care that meets the preferences and needs of individual patients. This enhances not only their clinical outcomes but also their patient experiences. Coordinated approaches have been lauded for their superiority over fragmented care approaches due to their ability to deliver holistic care.

An ethical approach to care employs the provisions of the moral codes that guide medical decision-making. Moral codes of medical practice implore the healthcare systems and providers to use the requirements of the moral codes in patient handling, interpersonal relationships, and designing therapeutic plans. The care coordination approach stems from the ethical provision of goodwill, which requires that caregivers promote the welfare of their patients, and non-maleficence, which requires them not to harm. Beneficence stresses the need for caregivers to do good to their patients by employing superior interventions that guarantee their patient’s welfare. Care coordination remains an ethical approach in care provisions as it is aligned with the ethical provisions governing medical practice.

The implications of establishing a culture of ethical practice in healthcare include reduced risk of medical errors that arise from unethical practice. It also improves healthcare providers’ morale, confidence, and self-esteem as ethical provisions guide their clinical decision-making processes, helping them navigate clinical complexities. It also contributes to healthy interpersonal relationships and subsequent cohesion in care provision. The consequences of ethical practice are often evident in better clinical outcomes, ease of care operationalizations, and enhanced patient experiences. This highlights the need for an honest approach to care provision.

Now Let’s Discuss the Potential Impact of Specific Health Care Policy Provisions on Outcomes and Patient Experiences

Healthcare, a regulated discipline, is bound to several legal and policy provisions. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act is an example of a policy provision that found immense use in modern healthcare. This policy encourages using meaningful healthcare technologies such as the EHR in care provision. The healthcare goals of the HITECH Act are to improve the efficiency, quality, and safety of the healthcare system, improve care coordination, enhance privacy and security of protected health information, and improve the health status of communities. This act oversaw the widespread integration of an electronic health record system that significantly enhanced work efficiency in the healthcare system.

The provisions of the HITECH Act have positively impacted patient experiences and clinical outcomes. By encouraging the use of healthcare technologies, the HITECH Act eliminates barriers to enhanced patient experiences, such as privacy and security breaches and poor access to care. It has also eased workflow within the healthcare system (Gettinger & Zayas-Cabán, 2021). Implementing this policy has resulted in improved efficiency of healthcare provision processes, enhanced security of protected health information and clinical outcomes, improved patient satisfaction with the care process, and improved patient experiences. Atasoy et al. (2019) note that adopting meaningful healthcare technologies that succeeded in the HITECH Act had clinical care benefits, with enhanced patient experiences evident. This further reinforces the significance of this act in improving clinical outcomes and patient experiences.