Impact of Healthcare Policy on Outcomes and Patient Experiences Capella 4050 Assessment 3

In this section, the specific healthcare policy provision I will highlight is the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA has provided multiple benefits to patients that improve their health outcomes and patient experiences. For instance, the health policy provision prohibits health insurers from charging higher or denying coverage to patients with pre-existing conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.

Ultimately, patients suffering financially and facing health disparities can access healthcare services to improve health outcomes by early intervention (Bellerose et al., 2022). Furthermore, patient experience is enhanced when patients with pre-existing conditions obtain health insurance coverage to treat the conditions with uninterrupted care, resulting in higher patient satisfaction levels and improved patient experience.

Similarly, the Medicaid Expansion by ACA improves patient outcomes by enhancing the number of individuals with health insurance coverage. This leads to better access to preventive care, early diagnosis and intervention, and care coordination and continuum. As a result, patient health outcomes are improved, alleviating the global burden of healthcare issues (Bellerose et al., 2022). 

Role of Nurses in Care Coordination and Continuum

This is the last part of the presentation, where I will call your attention to the nurse’s vital responsibility in the coordination and continuum of care. Nurses, being the primary caretakers of patients, must play a considerable role in promoting ongoing care coordination. We must be aware of our roles in this regard. Nurses are dedicated patient advocates who prioritize their patients’ health and communicate effectively with healthcare providers about their health needs and preferences.

Nurses are also responsible for implementing a nursing code of ethics, such as non-maleficence, beneficence, veracity, and justice within care coordination to ensure patients are provided with ethically and morally correct treatments. When the care coordination is ethically delivered, patients will adhere better to treatment plans and improve their health conditions (Bani Issa et al., 2020). Furthermore, they bridge the communication gap between patients and physicians and ensure care plans are tailored to patients’ health requirements.

Lastly, nurses promote coordination and continuum of care by collaborating effectively with interdisciplinary teams to ensure they deliver proper patient care and treatment (Luther et al., 2019). It is high time we know our roles and responsibilities in care coordination and maintenance so patients receive the necessary care treatments.

Conclusion

Care coordination is an effective way of providing patient-centered care that improves health outcomes and ameliorates patient experience. For this purpose, I discussed collaboration strategies that nurses could employ with the patient and their families, including clear communication, simple language, encouraging family support, and culturally competent communication. Furthermore, I talked about change management aspects that can drive positive health outcomes and improve patient experience.

Additionally, I shared health policy provisions of ACA that can improve patient experience, and lastly, I discussed the role of nurses in care coordination and its continuum. The key learnings from this presentation are that care coordination is efficacious in improving health outcomes, patient experience, and satisfaction. This requires the practical application of evidence-based collaborative strategies that permit patient-centered care.  Thank you. 

References

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2022). What is patient experience? https://www.ahrq.gov/cahps/about-cahps/patient-experience/index.html

Bani Issa, W., Al Akour, I., Ibrahim, A., Almarzouqi, A., Abbas, S., Hisham, F., & Griffiths, J. (2020). Privacy, confidentiality, security and patient safety concerns about electronic health records. International Nursing Review, 67(2), 218–230. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12585 

Bellerose, M., Collin, L., & Daw, J. R. (2022). The ACA Medicaid expansion and perinatal insurance, health care use, and health outcomes: A systematic review. Health Affairs, 41(1), 60–68. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01150 

Chae, D., Kim, J., Kim, S., Lee, J., & Park, S. (2020). Effectiveness of cultural competence educational interventions on health professionals and patient outcome