NURS FPX 4050 Assessment 2 Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination​

Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination

Greetings, esteemed members of the American Heart Association! I’m thrilled to be here today as a nurse manager and care coordinator in community cardiovascular health. Our focus is on the ethical and policy dimensions shaping care coordination for patients with heart disorders. It’s crucial to ensure comprehensive and seamless care for these individuals, requiring an understanding of ethical and policy landscapes. I’m grateful for your interest in this vital topic, and I’m optimistic that our discussion will lead to improved care plans. Let’s delve into today’s session without delay.

Contents and Agenda 

In our upcoming session, we’ll cover the following topics:

1. Introduction to Care Coordination: We’ll briefly overview care coordination, emphasizing its importance in delivering seamless healthcare.
2. Impact of Government Policies: We’ll examine how governmental policies, at national, state, and local levels, affect the organization and implementation of care coordination and consider their ethical implications.
3. Detailed Policy Examination: This section will examine specific policies more closely, analyzing their ethical outcomes and how they shape care coordination practices across different governance levels.
4. Nursing Code of Ethics and Care Coordination: We’ll explore how the nursing code of ethics influences care coordination and highlight nurses’ ethical responsibilities in ensuring patient-centered care.

Let’s systematically examine each of these topics to gain a thorough understanding of their role in care coordination.

What is Care Coordination?

Care coordination involves purposefully planning patient care tasks and sharing information among healthcare professionals and organizations to ensure comprehensive and seamless healthcare services. Care coordination in cardiovascular diseases is crucial for optimizing patient outcomes, particularly those managing chronic conditions like heart failure or undergoing cardiac procedures. Effective coordination provides timely access to interventions, supports medication management, and encourages adherence to lifestyle modifications.

Healthcare organizations specializing in cardiovascular care coordination benefit from enhanced patient care quality through interdisciplinary collaboration and community resource utilization. They streamline care transitions between hospital, rehabilitation, and home settings, resulting in improved patient outcomes, reduced healthcare costs, and increased satisfaction among patients and providers (Porter et al., 2021).

Governmental Policies Impacting the Care Coordination Process

Now, we will delve into certain governmental policies that can profoundly impact care coordination process.

• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, stands as a critical policy in care coordination. It was established to facilitate the electronic exchange of health data while upholding the confidentiality and integrity of patients’ protected health information (PHI). Within the American Heart Association (AHA), compliance with HIPAA regulations is essential across all care coordination activities, including patient consultations and research endeavors. When the AHA collaborates with healthcare providers, researchers, or community organizations, adherence to HIPAA ensures the confidentiality and security of patient information, fostering trust among stakeholders and facilitating effective collaboration (Ezell et al., 2021). 

Capella 4050 Assessment 2 Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination

• HITECH Act: The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, has significant implications for care coordination within the American Heart Association (AHA). HITECH incentivizes healthcare providers to adopt and meaningfully use certified EHR technology. By promoting the adoption of EHRs, HITECH facilitates the digital exchange of patient health information, making it easier for different healthcare providers involved in a patient’s care to access relevant medical records. This can enhance care coordination efforts within the AHA by providing a comprehensive view of a patient’s health history across different care settings (Gill et al., 2020).