Introduction
Care coordination implies the organization of activities for the care of the patient and the exchange of information between the participants in this process to achieve the most effective treatment. Care coordination may include facilitating communication with the patient to better achieve treatment goals. The nurse’s role in coordinating care is to provide both communication with the patient and act as a liaison between members of the healthcare professional team. While working in the field of care coordination, the nurse must follow ethical considerations and act in accordance with existing medical policies.
Key Factors to Effectively Participate in the Care Coordination Process
Nursing care coordination helps members of the healthcare team deliver high-quality care to patients. From the nurse’s point of view, coordination can face serious barriers such as misunderstandings, lack of communication and resources. The coordination should be patient-centered, taking into account the needs of patients, their families and the facility policy. Key elements of successful care coordination include high-quality care itself, maintaining cultural and ethical values, communication and collaboration (Farokhzadian et al., 2018). When all four components are achieved, the institution can make better clinical decisions.
Collaboration Strategies with Patients and Families
Communication focused on the patient and their family members is the basis of the care coordination process. One of the most popular communication strategies is the presentation of medical information to patients in order to speed up the healing process. Another effective strategy is family-centered rounds of the patient, which allows for a deeper understanding of the needs of the patient and the delivery of the necessary information (Secunda & Kruser, 2022). This strategy involves family members in the treatment process, ensuring that moral support is established and that the family participates in the coordination of care.
Educational Activities, Cultural Competence Strategies
Preventive health promotion can be effective in improving public health. One of the effective measures can be the educational awareness of patients about the need to prevent cardiovascular diseases. It has been proven that patients who have been instructed are less likely to re-hospitalize and develop complications (Dinh et al., 2019). The briefing may include an explanation of the need to regularly measure pressure, give up bad habits and change the diet.
Culturally competent nursing implies awareness of the cultural worldview of the nurse, understanding and awareness of cultural differences, intercultural skills. One of the strategies for improving the culturally competent approach is to raise awareness: to work with prejudices and eradicate them. The acquisition of knowledge is an important aspect of the development of cultural competence. The most effective strategy is to apply knowledge in practice, repeating conscious culturally competent behavior until reinforcement.
Aspects of Change Management
Change management is a complex but essential process for improving care strategies. When planning any changes, it is necessary to take into account communication with nurses and doctors, the overall effectiveness of a particular clinic, and the responsiveness of staff in general. To justify the effectiveness of the clinic, one can take into account the level of patient satisfaction, which will depend on the outcome of treatment. Communication with hospital staff, the responsiveness of nurses and the clarity of information delivery are important factors. To improve the quality of care provided, all aspects must be taken into account.
Ethical Issues
Rationale for Ethical-Based Care Plans
An ethical approach to patient care plans can be challenging due to the need to make medically correct, yet morally appropriate choices. This is especially true of the patient’s family members, who are under the control of emotions, and the role of medical personnel is to persuade them to adopt a coordinated and correct plan of care. Often, the complexity of the ethical choice falls on the shoulders of medical personnel, since only they can make a medically correct decision. The main reason for the need for an ethical approach is the desire to provide high-quality care to the patient (Suhonen et al., 2018). Medical staff must become aware of their own beliefs, learn to work with the expectations of the patient and family members. After counseling, the family or the patient can be persuaded to make a rational decision.
Consequences of an Ethical Approach
Consequences of an ethical approach can be positive and negative. A positive outcome can be observed when a rational and balanced decision coincides with ethical principles. In this case, the desired result of medical intervention is achieved. However, an ethical decision shared with the family and the patient does not always lead to a choice that is consistent with medical correctness. For example, the management of ethical principles in medicine can lead to prolongation of suffering for a patient who can no longer be helped. An ethically correct but unjustified decision can be made by medical personnel who are too emotionally involved in a particular case.
Policy Issues
Potential Impact of Health Policy on Patient Experience
Medical care must be at a high level and accessible to society, therefore, the provisions of the health policy are being implemented. The Affordable Care Act is an example of such a policy, which resulted in reduction in the number of uninsured citizens, having a positive effect on the availability of medical care (Campbell & Shore-Sheppard, 2020). Legislation is being developed in such a way as to satisfy the right of various patients to receive medical care. Standards are being developed, including for nurses, dictating the need to provide assistance in accordance with competencies, legislation and ethical standards. All of these policies influence the patient’s experience in an attempt to make it more positive and comfortable.
Implications the Policy Provisions
Health policy seeks to make health care more accessible and system costs lower. The Affordable Care Act operates in the interests of the state and citizens. For example, the law provides that children can remain in their parents’ insurance plans until the age of 26, which significantly reduces costs (Campbell & Shore-Sheppard, 2020). Employers are now required to provide insurance for full-time employees, making programs more affordable and costing the state less (Campbell & Shore-Sheppard, 2020). With improved access to insurance programs, patients can expect timely care and disease rates should decrease.
Awareness of the Role of Nurses
Nurses play a special role in the care coordination process by establishing a particularly trusting relationship with the patient. Their role in coordinating and developing treatment cannot be replaced by other medical personnel. The nurse is responsible for coordinating the communication between doctor and patient, giving the information in a simple way. In coordinating care, nurses play a key role in communicating with all parties involved. For nurses, the role of liaison and coordinator is considered essential to ensure continuity of care.
Conclusion
The nurse plays a special role in coordinating care, providing a link between the patient and the rest of the medical staff. Care coordination should be based on rationality and be guided by ethical and legal principles. The key components are collaboration, communication, preservation of cultural and ethical values. The nurse is responsible for coordinating patients and family members, participates in rounds and is present in decision-making, therefore, acts as a link in the medical team.
References
Campbell, A. L., & Shore-Sheppard, L. (2020). The social, political, and economic effects of the affordable care act: Introduction to the issue. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 6(2), 1-40. Web.
Dinh, H. T., Bonner, A., Ramsbotham, J., & Clark, R. (2019). Cluster randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of a self‐management intervention using the teach‐back method for people with heart failure. Nursing & Health Sciences, 21(4), 436-444. Web.
Farokhzadian, J., Dehghan Nayeri, N., & Borhani, F. (2018). The long way ahead to achieve an effective patient safety culture: challenges perceived by nurses. BMC health services research, 18(1), 1-13. Web.
Secunda, K. E., & Kruser, J. M. (2022). Patient-centered and family-centered care in the intensive care unit. Clinics in Chest Medicine, 43(3), 539-550. Web.
Suhonen, R., Stolt, M., Habermann, M., Hjaltadottir, I., Vryonides, S., Tonnessen, S., & Scott, P. A. (2018). Ethical elements in priority setting in nursing care: A scoping review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 88(1), 25-42. Web.