Introduction
A coordination process allows effort integration between health providers to improve the quality of care. The health program should be comprehensive to include clinical information exchange, patient safety, performance evaluation, and care competency to create patient-oriented operational systems. Depending on the illness and needs, patients often see more than one clinician and hence coordination between all stakeholders in healthcare provision is vital to achieve patient satisfaction and avoid medical errors. There are established policies, regulations, and codes of ethics that nurses should uphold to cater to patients’ concerns and legal rights. A coordination process creates a deliberate organization of nursing administration activities between patients, families, and nurses to facilitate ethical appropriations, policy provisions, cultural competence, and quality patient-centered care.
Main body
Sharing information related to the patient is the most essential factor to consider in preparation for the care-coordination process. Observing patients’ right to privacy to protect them from any kind of stigmatization and harm is an ethical nursing practice. It is a legal requirement under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) enacted in 1996 that patients maintain patients’ confidentiality, integrity, and privacy (Horvath, 2021). The law directs that nurses take full consideration of the patients’ preference and satisfaction in determining those who have access to the patients’ information. Nurses, therefore, have an obligation to inform their patients in writing how their health information will be utilized and controlled. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 ensures the affordability of health services in the U.S by extending medical insurance coverage (Horvath, 2021). Healthcare costs affect affordability and access to health services; hence health cost regulation guarantees an uncompromised quality of health care. For an effective coordination plan, nurses ought to consider managing patients’ information to gain trust and build an open relationship.
Patient safety is an important aspect of a coordination plan to protect patients from risks, errors, and harm in the healthcare provision process. A patient protection and safeguarding plan to prevent medication-related harms by utilizing the technology and other resources available is necessary for the coordination process (Karam et al., 2021). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides guidelines to nurses on establishing a safety and health management system. For instance, an error in medical prescription could inflict avoidable injuries and harm. According to Sperling (2021), monitoring the patient environment is crucial to ensure safe hygiene to prevent healthcare-associated infections. Health organizations should build rapid response systems to respond to risks and emergencies that may arise during medication procedures. A safety compliance plan in the coordination program reassures patients that the medication will be efficient and safe.
Cultural competence is vital to building a good relationship with the patient. Patients originate from a culturally diverse cultural backgrounds and have different needs, values, and expectations of their healthcare outcomes. Nurses involved in the coordination process should demonstrate awareness of cultural, racial, and religious values (Karam et al., 2021). Cultural competency improves the interaction, relationship, and mutual understanding between nurses and patients. Hannigan et al. (2018) argue that before undertaking healthcare procedures, nurses should first understand their patients’ most critical values and practices. Case-specific treatment programs can be used to manage culturally sensitive beliefs by offering cross-cultural competence strategies to foster patient connection. For instance, the Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment (OSAT) programs guide different nursing interventions procedures across diverse backgrounds (Hannigan et al., 2018). Cultural competence bridges the cultural gap between healthcare providers and patients that can affect communication and relations.
The provision of quality, patient-centered care requires change management in healthcare administration. Nurses are flexible to accommodate their patients’ circumstances and inspire changes to adopt new behaviors into a habit with total consideration of patients’ conditions. According to Sperling (2021), changes include practices and processes for specific medical outcomes. Barriers to change are, however, prevalent, and nurses can utilize the nursing change theories to anticipate barriers and overcome them. For instance, Transitions Theory explains how individuals can utilize behavioral responses to predictable and unpredictable change (Sperling, 2021). Change is hard, and therefore preparation for change is elemental for a successful coordination process. Change management is essential to navigating the disruptive nature of the transition to achieve the intended health outcomes. Nurses should weigh the tangent of the transitional programs and the availability of the required resources for change to occur.
The rationale for coordinated care plans is to improve health outcomes, quality of care, and patient experience by integrating the care of different healthcare providers. Due to diverse patient groups, care settings differ, hence the care coordination process (Hannigan et al., 2018). The care plan is made in conjunction with the patient and assembles an efficient team of health professionals. The coordination with patients enables nurses to administer their functions ethically and train patients to be successful in self-care. An ethical approach to care is fundamental to treatment outcome and satisfaction. Ethics govern nurses’ behaviors and conducts by recognizing the sensitive patients’ concerns. Moral implementation of a coordinated care plan enhances privacy and accountability, system implementation, and data accuracy (Karam et al., 2021). Lack of effectively orchestrated care plans jeopardizes patient safety, satisfaction, and health outcome.
Healthcare policy and procedures provide standardized operation procedures to influence positive patient experiences and outcomes. According to Horvath (2021), having protocols in place helps prevent human errors, poor communications, and medical decisions. When nurses deliver the best care to patients, relevant policy provisions protect patients from physical, psychosocial, and economic harm. HIPAA provisions preserve patients’ right to privacy and confidentiality while seeking medical services (Horvath, 2021). Security of patient information guarantee patients’ security and privacy of health information. The Affordable Care Act ensures medical services are accessible by all people at affordable rates through the expansion of health insurance. Failure to observe the regulations is subjective to jail time and penalties; hence nurses must demonstrate full compliance.
Conclusion
To conclude, nurses are the backbone of efficient healthcare delivery. Appropriate nursing practices are guided by ethical, legal, and procedural provisions to prevent errors and improve efficiency and safety. Sharing of information, patient safety, and cultural competency are the main factors that nurses should consider when preparing the care coordination process. Health information is confidential and hence should be controlled on who has access to it determined by patient preference. Ethical dilemmas regularly surface in nursing work, and the nurses rely on the ethical codes to make ethical choices. HIPAA and the affordable care act are some regulations that guarantee patient privacy and cost of care, respectively. Change management enables patients to adopt new health habits recommended by nurses. Upholding the healthcare policies enhances patient experience and outcomes by regulating nursing practices and vice versa. The care coordination process includes the safety, ethical policy, and regulation measures nurses address in their practice.
References
Hannigan, B., Simpson, A., Coffey, M., Barlow, S., & Jones, A. (2018). Care coordination as imagined, care coordination as done: findings from a cross-national mental health systems study. International Journal of Integrated Care, 18(3). Web.
Horvath, G. (2021). Evolution or Revolution in Telehealth Regulation. Texas A&M Law Review, 9(1), 1-13. Web.
Karam, M., Chouinard, M. C., Poitras, M. E., Couturier, Y., Vedel, I., Grgurevic, N., & Hudon, C. (2021). Nursing care coordination for patients with complex needs in primary healthcare: A scoping review. International journal of integrated care, 21(1). Web.
Sperling, D. (2021). Ethical dilemmas, perceived risk, and motivation among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing Ethics, 28(1), 9-22. Web.