Care coordination has gained significant importance in healthcare over the years. Care coordination generally refers to the deliberate organization of healthcare activities in order to achieve the desired outcomes. Nurses play a critical role in the process of care coordination.
The relevant information should always be shared among all the participants involved in patient’s care. It is important to realize that the main goal of care coordination is to achieve safer and more effective care. The motive is informed by the need to ensure the safety and welfare of patients in healthcare facilities. Furthermore, care coordination is a good strategy that has the potential to improve the safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of the healthcare system. Healthcare facilities that are keen to improve patient experience and improve the quality of care offered need to promote care coordination initiatives.
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The Important Role of Nurses in Care Coordination
Nurses play a critical role in the success of care coordination initiatives in the healthcare system. This is because quality improvement in healthcare depends on effective care coordination. The nurses play an essential role in the process of care coordination across the continuum of care (McClanahan & Weismuller, 2015). The nurses significantly help in developing and maintaining positive relationships with patients and their families. Additionally, nurses manage the medication and help identify symptoms indicative of a worsening condition, allowing physicians recommend the most appropriate medication. In case the medication is found to be ineffective, the nurses can provide important insights that can lead physicians to provide the most appropriate medication option. The nurses also help support the patient-physician relationship in the healthcare facilities, ensuring the achievement of the desired health outcomes.
The Fundamental Principles of Care Coordination
There are several principles underpinning effective care coordination programs in healthcare. The principles include;
Person-Centered Care
An effective care coordination program should be based on a personalized healthcare program. The healthcare approach should be informed by the specific needs of the patient involved. All the decisions made by the healthcare providers should be based on the values and interests of the patient. For instance, the decision regarding the appropriate treatment option should include the input of the patients and their families.
Effective Communication
All the stakeholders in the patient’s health and wellbeing should be engaged with each other and the nurses. The nurses should ensure that the patients and their families are provided with all the relevant medical information relating to the health and wellbeing of the patient. Additionally, the nurses should ensure that patient information is kept confidential and private.
Accountability
The nurses, acting as care coordinators, should be responsible for the decisions they make in order to promote trust and openness. The nurses should ensure that the decisions they propose are in line with the collective treatment goals.
Access and Equity
An effective care coordination program should be accessible and equitable. This ensures that all members of the society get access to quality care. All the patients should get access to healthcare services irrespective of gender, race, or social class. This is because the dignity of each individual patient should be respected.
Quality and Safety
A care coordination program should ensure that patients are provided with safe and high quality healthcare services. Quality and safe healthcare services help in the achievement of the desired outcomes.
Confidentiality
The care coordinators should always endeavor to keep patient health information confidential and private to promote trust. Most of the patients prefer that their health information is kept private and confidential as way of protecting their dignity.
Collaborating with Patients and Family Members
Nurses play a significant role in collaborating with patients and family to achieve the desired outcomes. The nurses should educate the patients on the importance of drug adherence.
Additionally, they should also help manage patient transitions among the various care settings.
The nurses are required to co-create care plans with patients and their families regarding goals and targeted dates for completion. The nurses are responsible for conducting face-to-face communication with patients to assess and reassess what patients cannot provide for their own care. The nurses also initiate, maintain, and lead communication between all the stakeholders of the patient’s health and wellbeing. Furthermore, the nurses should utilize data to support and evaluate patient-centered, cost-effective, and high quality health services.
Creating a Satisfying Patient Experience
The nurses are responsible for creating a satisfying patient experience by making personal connections. They should respect patient confidentiality at all times by understanding the surroundings in which they speak. The nurses should ensure that patients and families are fully engaged at all levels. Additionally, the nurses should always monitor and assess patient perspectives in order to gain insights that help in improving care processes (Zamanzadeh et al., 2015) . Nurses should realize that shared decision making empowers patients by inviting them considers the advantages and disadvantages of the various available treatment options. The nurses should make decisions based on shared information, compassion, patient empowerment, and patient values.
Promoting Ethical Decision Making
The nurses should defend decisions based on the code of ethics for nurses. The respect for human rights is central to the role of a nurse. The nurses are required to alleviate suffering, prevent illness, promote health, and restore health (Epstein et al., 2017). The fundamental principles of care coordination are in line with the ethical responsibilities of nurses. Coordinated care ensures that nurses advocate for equity and social justice in access to care, as well as in the allocation of resources.
Impact of Healthcare Policies on Patient-Centered Care
Healthcare policies have a direct impact on patient-centered care. There are several policies that influence patient-centered care such as Medicare payment policies and programs encouraging clinical practice in underserved areas. Policies and programs fronted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have historically sought to improve access to care (Hussey et al., 2015). Healthcare policies not only help in improving access to care but also increase the quality of healthcare offered. Therefore, healthcare policies support coordinated care in healthcare facilities.
Medicare Payment Policies
The payment policies help improve access to healthcare services in medically underserved areas. The policies ensure that critical access hospitals are paid depending on their current Medicare allowable costs. The government recognizes the need to ensure fair distribution of healthcare services.
Programs Encouraging Clinical Practice in Underserved Areas
The policy has ensured that community health centers (CHCs) are adequately funded to effectively provide primary care services to underserved areas (Haas & Swan, 2014). The policy ensures that community health centers are also adequately staffed to improve the quality of healthcare. The policies help patients get access to quality care wherever they are.
Communication Strategies to Lead Patient-Centered Care
There are several communication strategies that nurses can utilize to promote patient-centered care in healthcare facilities. Nurses should express empathy by naming the feeling, communicating understanding, and exploring the patient’s illness experience. Nurses should also involve patients and families in decision making. Additionally, the nurses should protect the confidentiality and privacy of patient health information. Nurses should also avoid overwhelming patients with medical information. Nurses should provide small chunks of data in repeated cycles of the “ask-tell-ask” approach (Zamanzadeh et al., 2015). Effective, patient-centered communication is critical in achieving the desired healthcare goals in the healthcare system.
References
Epstein, R. M., Duberstein, P. R., Fenton, J. J., Fiscella, K., Hoerger, M., Tancredi, D. J., ... & Kaesberg, P. (2017). Effect of a patient-centered communication intervention on oncologist-patient communication, quality of life, and health care utilization in advanced cancer: the VOICE randomized clinical trial. JAMA oncology, 3(1), 92-100.
Haas, S. A., & Swan, B. A. (2014). Developing the value proposition for registered nurse care coordination and transition management role in ambulatory care settings. Nursing economics, 32(2).
Hussey, P. S., Huckfeldt, P., Hirshman, S., & Mehrotra, A. (2015). Hospital and regional variation in Medicare payment for inpatient episodes of care. JAMA internal medicine , 175(6), 1056-1057.
McClanahan, R., & Weismuller, P. C. (2015). School nurses and care coordination for children with complex needs: An integrative review. The Journal of School Nursing , 31(1), 34-43.
Zamanzadeh, V., Ghahramanian, A., Rassouli, M., Abbaszadeh, A., Alavi-Majd, H., & Nikanfar, A. R. (2015). Design and implementation content validity study: development of an instrument for measuring patient-centered communication. Journal of caring sciences , 4(2), 165.
