Coordination Care Programs
A quality healthcare system is organized, patient-centered, and has a good communication system. Health care coordination activities involve getting a patient the right care when it is needed through communicating their needs to the involved care providers. For instance, when a patient visits a hospital, they should experience the flow of activities from the reception to the physician, laboratory, and all other services that they may require.
Effective patient care coordination ensures that the safety and quality of the healthcare system are maintained. Moreover, a smooth flow of care activities results in improved outcomes for all participants, that is, the patients, care providers, and payers (Weaver et al., 2018). The primary goal of care coordination practices is to provide the patient preference in the healthcare provision activities and ensure effective and appropriate treatment. Hence, the participants of the healthcare provision department should enact policies that drive the implementation of appropriate care coordination activities.
Strategies for Collaboration with Patients and Families for the desired Health Outcomes
Patients, alongside their families or informal caregivers, may experience poor care coordination during the process transition. A transition may be experienced when shifting from one service to another or between departments and shifts in a healthcare facility (Rosen et al., 2018). For example, a patient requiring physical therapy services may be stranded if they do not appear on the list of patients in need of treatment on their appointment day.
This demonstrates a lack of coordination between the prescribing physician and the physical therapy department. Patients, families, or informal caregivers perceive failed care coordination as the use of excessive resources such as time, money, or energy to acquire the necessary services during transitions between different entities. To ensure successful care coordination is provided to patients and their families, healthcare facilities should set specific strategies such as applying foundation principles, actively engaging with patients and families, and establishing partnerships with involved parties.
Foundational Principles
Foundational principles ensure that healthcare providers actively engage their patients throughout the treatment process. Such foundation principles include encouraging informed decision-making, sharing treatment preferences, co-setting treatment goals, and encouraging self-management. Nurses should provide their patients with an opportunity to make evidence-based decisions by informing them of their health status and treatment options (Langberg et al., 2019). They should also assist their patients in creating health goals by providing them with appropriate advice. Nurses should promote self-management practices in their patients by asking them to be responsible and accountable for their health. They should do this by actively engaging in health discussions in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
Leveraging Policies
Alignment in the quality of services offered, quality of measurements, constant improvement, and oversight practices ensure the provision of quality healthcare. Similarly, efforts to ensure patient care coordination activities should be promoted as it adds up to the quality of services provided (Rosen et al., 2018). A health facility should establish programs and policies that engage patients and families throughout and after the care provision of services.
Partnerships with Involved Parties
During a treatment process, a patient may require services from various departments found within and outside the healthcare facility. Some of these departments may include insurance agencies, pharmaceutical departments, and healthcare homes, among others. It is a challenging process for the patient or their family to move from one facility to another in search of these services. To improve patient care coordination within a facility, they should encourage partnerships with key parties.
Cultural Competence Strategies
Access to quality healthcare is a right that should be provided to all people globally, regardless of their culture. A healthcare facility should focus on providing effective care despite a patient’s ethnicity, religion, physical ability, or gender (Langberg et al., 2019). Nurses should adopt a culture and language that aims at equalizing their services to all patients. This will promote engagement between the patient, their family or informal caregivers, and the health official.
Aspects of Change Management that Affect the Provision of High-Quality Care
The process of change management involves undertaking a series of activities that may affect various operations in a healthcare facility. Although healthcare professionals are trained to provide quality care in all circumstances, some aspects of change management may affect patient experiences. There are two types of changes, predictable with the foreseeable outcome and unpredictable change that has not been prepared for. Due to the dynamic nature of a healthcare system, most of the change processes are unpredictable (Rosen et al., 2018). The process of change involves freezing existing systems, introducing the change, and unfreezing them. Some patients may find themselves caught in the process affecting the quality of care provided.
The Freezing Process
At this phase, the change outcome has already been determined, and the management is ready to introduce the new processes. Unfreezing occurs when the old systems are paralyzed to welcome the developed systems. For instance, if a facility wants to introduce a new payment method, they partially remove the existing one to pave the way for the new one. In the meantime, a patient who was making the payment at the moment may experience a delayed response affecting their experience.
Change Introduction
During the introduction of a new system of operations, the involved stakeholders feel the difference which may either be positive or negative. At first, a new system may have some challenges to use and adapt to, hence, affecting the user experience (Rosen et al., 2018). For instance, if a facility splits its operation departments according to the type of care provided and places them in different buildings, a patient may have a problem when adapting. Regular patients may find themselves walking to the wrong department, numerously affecting their experiences.
The Rationale for Coordinated Care Plans based on Ethical Decision Making
To achieve the best patient experiences through the provision of quality care and services, nurses must apply ethical decision-making in their practice. This includes applying the relevant skills and knowledge, establishing good customer relationships, and the application of ethical principles. Ethical decision-making is an essential element of coordinated care plans, as the process involves sharing confidential patient information with several stakeholders, thus, requiring observation of high ethical standards (Langberg et al., 2019). The decisions made within the information should be confidential, hence, the need for ethics.
Furthermore, the coordinated care plans should be in line with the community’s culture and ethics, such as deontology and utilitarianism, for effective care. The assumption that all professional healthcare procedures should be conducted uniformly across all communities would affect the quality of care (Langberg et al., 2019). It is thus essential that healthcare providers understand the beliefs, values, and ethics of the surrounding community to ensure that their practices are acceptable to them.
The Potential Impact of the Affordable Healthcare Policy Act on Outcomes and Patient Experiences
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) and patient protections have to change the nature of healthcare provision in the United States (US) significantly. The primary focus of this act is to provide health insurance for those who cannot afford private health insurance and are not eligible for public insurance. Since its introduction in 2010, ACA has covered over 20 million previously uninsured Americans (Hswen et al., 2020). The law requires that a candidate for the program be from a middle or low-income family and have the potential to prove their economic status. Due to the private nature of the American healthcare system, many low-income Americans do not have access to quality healthcare hence the need for ACA.
Impact of Affordable Healthcare Policy Act on Health Outcomes
The introduction and expansion of ACA services have played a significant role in improving the health conditions of uninsured Americans. A year after the introduction of the policy, the health status of uninsured Americans had improved to a level comparable to the insured. In addition, it was evident that health disparities among the uninsured were discovered early enough for better treatment outcomes (Hswen et al., 2020). The policy also provided room for healthcare providers to create awareness of certain health conditions, such as obesity, and implement preventive measures.
Impact of Affordable Healthcare Policy Act on Patient Experiences
The primary aim of the affordable healthcare policy was to increase coverage affordability and eligibility for low-income earners in America. The policy has managed to impact patient experiences of the poor community significantly. The patients can access timely and quality health care services. More so, they can have access to a usual care facility at an affordable fee and have access to preventive, specialty, and primary care (Hswen et al., 2020). Patients covered under the policy have access to quality and effective medications. The improved state of healthcare provision for middle and low-income communities has improved patient experiences in America drastically.
References
Hswen, Y., Hawkins, J. B., Sewalk, K., Tuli, G., Williams, D. R., Viswanath, K.,& Brownstein, J. S. (2020). Racial and ethnic disparities in patient experiences in the United States: a 4-year content analysis of Twitter. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(8), e17048. Web.
Langberg, E. M., Dyhr, L., & Davidsen, A. S. (2019). Development of the concept of patient-centredness–A systematic review. Patient Education and Counseling, 102(7), 1228-1236. Web.
Rosen, M. A., DiazGranados, D., Dietz, A. S., Benishek, L. E., Thompson, D., Pronovost, P. J., & Weaver, S. J. (2018). Teamwork in healthcare: Key discoveries enabling safer, high-quality care. American Psychologist, 73(4), 433. Web.
Weaver, S. J., Che, X. X., Petersen, L. A., & Hysong, S. J. (2018). Unpacking care coordination through a multi-team system lens. Medical Care, 56(3), 247-259. Web.