Summary of Key Ethical and Policy Issues Affecting Care Coordination in Nursing Homes

The clinical complexities of nursing homes may sometimes bring ethical issues in care provision. Ethical issues in nursing homes include informed consent, advanced care planning, and patient access to privileged information. Federal policies such as the Nursing Homes Reforms Act (NHRA), Medicare and Medicaid, HIPAA, and Hospital Readmission Reduction Program play a role in nursing home oversight and significantly influence care coordination in these care facilities. These policies are mainly targeted at enhancing the quality of the care provided in these care facilities, directing funding, and protecting the rights of nursing home residents. Policy issues that may be present in nursing homes include breaches of privacy and confidentiality in PHI and deterioration of quality of care (Bowblis & Ghattas, 2019).

References

Bowblis, J. R., & Ghattas, A. (2019). The impact of Minimum Quality Standard Regulations on nursing home staffing, quality, and exit decisions. Review of Industrial Organization, 50(1), 43–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11151-016-9528-x

Dawkins, B., Renwick, C., Ensor, T., Shinkins, B., Jayne, D., & Meads, D. (2021). What factors affect patients’ ability to access healthcare? An overview of systematic reviews. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 26(10), 1177–1188. https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.13651