Introduction
Effective coordination of care is necessary to ensure that every patient seeking care receives quality care. However, political and ethical obstacles may arise in the way of such coordination. The target audience for this assessment is the American Red Cross, which bills itself as a humanitarian organization dedicated to moral health. This issue becomes especially relevant in the event of a tense global situation that may call into question the activities of the organization.
To begin the study, it is necessary to determine the coordination of care that is used in medicine. This coordination involves managing healthcare activities to ensure patients receive the proper care at the right time. Professionals must also control the quality of products used in patient care, which requires interaction with reliable suppliers. Finding such suppliers requires constant collaboration with various stakeholders and sharing information during communication.
Successfully coordinating a patient’s care can significantly reduce healthcare costs while improving the quality of patient care. Thus, treatment outcomes will be improved, indicating the multiple benefits of coordination. The coordination process identifies patient-centered aspects of care and focuses on improving safety and quality of care.
Ethical Component of Coordination
Health professionals have several ethical obligations in their practice, each of which they must comply with. Above all, every nurse must respect patients’ rights (Broussard et al., 2019). This way, the provider can make informed decisions about patient care that are helpful but not inconvenient. Every healthcare provider should strive to act in the patient’s best interests, thereby ensuring the best possible outcome.
Thus, the level of medical care will be as high as possible since the employee is not interested in his benefit but in improving the lives of others. The nurse should also minimize potential risks while caring for the patient. Any source of harm must be eliminated, and the patient must receive treatment without defects. Finally, no human discrimination should be tolerated during treatment (Broussard et al., 2019). This approach ensures that everyone in need has equal access to health care, regardless of race, ethnicity, or other factors.
Ethical issues can become particularly acute if a patient refuses to follow his prescribed treatment because he wants to follow his own. It is also essential to ensure that patients know all treatment options, even if none are the least favorable (Broussard et al., 2019). In this context, the specialist should discuss all the possible advantages and disadvantages of the treatment, which may become a problem in ensuring the best quality.
Also, any patient data should remain confidential, subject to the exchange of information necessary for further coordination. Finally, internal conflicts of interest may arise between stakeholders and providers of health services and goods during the coordination process. All problems are relevant to the healthcare sector, and a qualified specialist must have sufficient knowledge to cope.
Policy Component in Health Care Coordination
One of the most important laws in the health sector is the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This document was a political breakthrough in the United States at the time, as it set out the principles of patient-centered treatment (Broussard et al., 2019). In this case, an important aspect is to improve the quality of the provision of health services while reducing the State’s expenditure on developing this area. However, the Act was a prerequisite for raising political issues. A key example is the requirement for most Americans to have their health insurance under penalty of a fine.
In terms of insurance coverage, this action caused problems, significantly increasing the demand for insurance companies (Krzyzanowski & Manson, 2022). These include expanding people’s access to health insurance within the framework of care coordination, which is one of the features of Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) work. In the case of these organizations, the question is how relevant cooperation between health service providers can be in the process. Another critical topic is the introduction of electronic medical cards, as this process requires the implementation of security measures while maintaining data transmission efficiency (Broussard et al., 2019). Finally, in the context of coordination, deficiencies in patient care should be addressed when patients are moved between different health facilities.
Ethical and Political Components in Conflict Situations
In situations of conflict or strained health systems, additional coordination problems may arise. One of the policy provisions governing the policy of health care coordination is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (Hofmann, 2022). One problem is limited resources, the allocation of which may be complicated by the diversity of agency needs (Broussard et al., 2019). In this case, the needs of medicine may exceed the available resources, which will delay the process of improving the quality of treatment.
In national policy, it is the HIPAA law; in the state, it is the laws on the certificate of necessity (CON); and in the local policy framework, it is the zoning rules. However, all policies can have consequences in the form of inadequate access to health care. Also, there may be security problems for health workers in conflict and high-risk situations. In a working environment, it is essential to provide care without discrimination or prejudice (Broussard et al., 2019).
The Nursing Code of Ethics requires that patients’ rights and interests be protected and effective care be provided. Social determinants, including access to health care, influence health inequalities. As proven by research, interventions to coordinate care can significantly improve patients’ well-being (Broussard et al., 2019).
Finally, the loyalty to the civilian patient and the public stakeholders must be balanced. Political challenges in conflict situations include limited access to health care in areas directly affected by conflict. Also, an urgent issue becomes the safety of patient data in an unsafe environment and the complete protection of confidential information and persons. The provision of health services must comply with humanitarian law, which can be problematic in coordination under challenging circumstances.
Relevance for The American Red Cross
The American Red Cross is committed to humanitarian norms and principles, and its activities are based on assisting those in need in the United States and abroad. For an organization to coordinate its activities in patient care, it needs to understand the political and ethical issues involved. First and foremost, organizations must provide ongoing medical support to victims of natural disasters and other emergencies. In these cases, the work of blood donation centers, which is an essential element for global health, becomes particularly relevant. Understanding the issues at hand is vital for organizations to provide ethical and quality health services in emergencies.
The American Red Cross uses the power of trained volunteers to help those in need. Volunteers who understand political and ethical issues in the health sector can act more clearly and qualitatively in emergency situations, which will significantly improve the quality of care and its speed. The organization is also involved in supporting humanitarian efforts to ensure people’s access to health care. Understanding the policy issues and challenges that stand in the way of this goal can contribute to future policy changes that will positively influence the coordination process.
The American Red Cross also needs to actively cooperate with various health care providers and other health care providers. In this regard, understanding the ethical challenges faced by health professionals every day will be helpful. In order to coordinate medical care and further practical cooperation, the organization should understand the problem of working in the field of health care to identify areas requiring increased attention.
Finally, the Red Cross is actively involved in various health initiatives at the international level. The problems that arise in situations of conflict or emergency should be studied by the organization, as this understanding is the solution for working in emergency areas. For example, employees of an organization should understand the difference between working with people from quiet parts of the world and people who live in places affected by war or other political or natural disasters.
Conclusion
In conclusion, in the health sector, the coordination of health care is a crucial aspect of the provision of quality health services. The coordination process is closely related to other political and ethical challenges that arise in the process. These problems are particularly acute when there is conflict in a territory and health workers often have to make ethically difficult decisions. Understanding the main challenges that stand in the way of ensuring full coordination of health care is critical to providing quality care to those in need.
In health organizations such as the American Red Cross, problem-solving is a necessity that enables professionals to respond quickly to emergencies and natural disasters. Ultimately, the aim of their work is to ensure that even the most vulnerable segments of the population can receive high-quality, timely assistance. I’m looking forward to working with the American Red Cross on the topic of health coordination, as addressing humanitarian health issues is a pressing issue in today’s world; in this process, it is essential to make sound policies and ethical decisions.
References
Broussard, G., Rubenstein, L. S., Robinson, C., Maziak, W., Gilbert, S. Z., & DeCamp, M. (2019). Challenges to ethical obligations and humanitarian principles in conflict settings: a systematic review. Journal of International Humanitarian Action, 4(1). Web.
Hofmann, B. (2022). Ethical issues with geographical variations in the provision of health care services. BMC Medical Ethics, 23(1). Web.
Krzyzanowski, B., & Manson, S. M. (2022). Twenty years of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Safe Harbor provision: Unsolved challenges and ways forward. JMIR Medical Informatics, 10(8), e37756. Web.