Introduction
Today, nurses have the chance to contribute to and lead the revolutionary changes occurring in healthcare. With a new emphasis on patient-centered care, care coordination, data analysis, and quality improvement, these developments require a new or expanded set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward community wellness and care. There is no question that nurses are prepared to assume the responsibility of advancing healthcare and creating value while promoting health. However, new practices and ways of thinking are needed.
Healthcare Law
The Medicaid Quality Maintenance Act of 2019 is a recently enacted federal bill that alters health care in the United States. On June 13, 2020, this measure was submitted to Congress, and on August 6, 2020, it became a law (Khatana et al., 2021). The measure aims to reform the Medicaid system and includes specific provisions in several clauses.
Expanding Medicaid funding until FY 2024 was one of the improvements implemented. This law also requires another change to Medicaid, allowing state anti-fraud teams to hear complaints from patients who were not accepted (Khatana et al., 2021). This reform is essential because it addresses the existing disparities within the sector.
Expanding Medicaid eligibility is another change this measure makes to guard against marital poverty. Because they are ineligible for Medicaid, spouses from lower socioeconomic backgrounds occasionally face insurance denials (Khatana et al., 2021). The bill focuses on vulnerable population groups suffering from disparities. In addition to these changes, this law ends the practice of pharma companies always including the cost of generic drugs in their pricing (Khatana et al., 2021). This law seeks to reform healthcare programs and their coverage.
Impact on Nursing Practice and the Nurse’s Role and Responsibility
The discussed regulation introduces changes that impact the nursing practice. First, a nurse should explain the changes to the law and ensure a patient realizes how Medicaid might protect them (Khatana et al., 2021). The patient can experience marital indigence, which restricts their access to high-quality medical care. To enable them to receive high-quality treatment, the nurse should recognize these patients and update them on current developments.
This measure also enhances the role of advocacy in nursing, thereby affecting the nurse’s duties and responsibilities. When non-hospital patients complain, the nurse must advocate for them and assist them in applying for Medicaid if their request is denied (Khatana et al., 2021). The new law includes patients and allows them to voice their objections, improving their prospects of achieving social justice. A nurse should act as a patient’s social justice champion by helping patients file grievances.
Quality Measures and Pay for Performance
Performance pay is a form of compensation that rewards medical professionals with cash for meeting specific performance standards in medicine. It is a performance-based remuneration method designed to raise the standard of patient care (Wasserman et al., 2019). As a result, this paradigm also penalizes practitioners who produce poor outcomes.
In some respects, this strategy enhances patient outcomes by encouraging doctors and nurses to provide high-quality care. However, because it encourages patients to leave, this reward system carries a risk of adverse patient outcomes. There is an increased risk that complex patients will be referred to other healthcare units to avoid potential complications (Wasserman et al., 2019). Patients affected by this practice often experience poor outcomes due to the lack of timely medical care.
Generally, it is expected that the regulation will have a positive impact on nursing practice. First, to achieve better outcomes and indicators, nurses may shift towards the broader use of technological advances and engage in specific training (Chism, 2021). Using innovative solutions may help achieve better outcomes and, in the context of regulation, lead to rewards.
Furthermore, health workers might improve supervision through innovation to avoid poor outcomes (Konttila et al., 2019). As a result, it is possible to expect changes in responsibilities as more tasks are required to ensure the desired results are achieved. However, supported by pay-for-performance practices, nurses might be motivated to engage in new activities.
Nurses’ Leadership and Management Roles
The focus on eliminating disparities and providing care to all vulnerable groups makes the theme of professional nursing leadership more important. The new framework suggests that health workers move beyond passive roles and adopt new ones, emphasizing their active participation in closing health service coverage gaps (Anders et al., 2021).
Nurses should communicate with patients and communities to understand existing needs and guarantee they are fulfilled by using resources provided by Medicaid or other programs (Anders et al., 2021). In this way, emerging trends are cultivating the enhanced importance of leadership roles among health workers and the integration of managerial functions into their work.
Emerging Trends
The use of medical robots in procedures such as surgery is a novel development in healthcare. If a surgical emergency prevents the surgeon from continuing the procedure, the profession mandates that practitioners learn how to operate robots (Konttila et al., 2019). Additionally, the nurse must learn to set up the device and identify when it malfunctions. The duties of nurses will thus alter to incorporate technology operations in healthcare settings as a result of this development. Because nurses can save lives in some emergencies, they will be responsible for learning to operate hospital technology.
Telemedicine utilization is another new development in healthcare. Given the advancement of technology in the modern era, telemedicine is growing. The use of telemedicine techniques in nursing practice will alter their position. As nurses must be accessible to their clients via telemedicine systems, telemedicine will strengthen nurses’ roles as communicators (Konttila et al., 2019). Since the nurse and patient no longer interact face-to-face, the nurse should improve their communication skills by speaking clearly, ensuring timely communication with their patient, and communicating promptly to allow them to care for other patients.
Changes in the Practice
Based on the information above, it is possible to predict two ways in which nursing and nursing roles will change in the future. First, a shift towards the widespread use of technology can be expected. Telemedicine, surgical robots, patient monitoring devices, and other innovative approaches will significantly transform nursing practice and enhance patient outcomes.
Second, it is possible to forecast that nurses will play leadership roles and become active participants in processes within a given sphere. In other words, the upcoming trends lay the groundwork for strengthening the nurse’s position and making it more important in policy-making and healthcare reform.
Conclusion
Thus, the nurse’s role is changing and includes those who require intensive use of technology. For patients to receive the treatment and support they need to enhance their well-being, it is essential to develop their knowledge of resources throughout the entire process and within the community.
Nurses can provide leadership in all facets of healthcare, as they are the medical professionals most involved in delivering direct patient care. This includes creating mechanisms to reduce medical errors, improve quality, ensure better treatment coordination, expand access to treatment, and prevent staffing shortages.
References
Anders, R. L., Jackson, D., Davidson, P. M., & Daly, J. P. (2021). Nursing leadership for 21st century. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem, 29, e3472.
Chism, L. A. (2021). The Doctor of Nursing practice: A guidebook for role development and professional issues. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Khatana, S. A. M., Bhatla, A., Nathan, A. S., Giri, J., Shen, C., Kazi, D. S. & Groeneveld, P. W. (2021). Association of Medicaid expansion with cardiovascular mortality. JAMA Cardiology, 4(7), 671-679.
Konttila, J., Siira, H., Kyngäs, H., Lahtinen, M., Elo, S., Kääriäinen, M. & Mikkonen, K. (2019). Healthcare professionals’ competence in digitalization: A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 28(6), 745-761.
Wasserman, J., Palmer, R. C., Gomez, M. M., Berzon, R., Ibrahim, S. A., & Ayanian, J. Z. (2019). Advancing health services research to eliminate health care disparities. American Journal of Public Health, 109(1), 64-69.