Healthy living is one of the aspects that humanity has been focusing on for quite a while as it is a vital aspect of life. Also, patient support is necessary in providing personalized care and enhancing health results. In line with this, health reform is a constant factor in the American healthcare sector. The recent focus on national health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has immense implications for both patients and practitioners. As a practitioner comprehensive knowledge of the elements of the ACA, including what is covered or not covered under Medicare and Medicaid programs, is imperative. The primary role of practitioners is guiding patients in accessing quality and safe care. The most pressing concern for all stakeholders in the health sector is the cost of care (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014). Previous ambitious plans to address care concerns made accommodations to health care providers including physicians, hospitals, and private health insurance firms. The move implied the government ceded control of the costs. Integration of patient protection and ACA intended to return control of not only the costs, but also access, quality, and delivery of care services to the federal government (Berkman, Aries & Caress, 2014). This paper explores the role of a health practitioner in contributing to safe care by advocating for the healthcare consumer in the dynamic ACA context. In addition, the implications for their role from the subsequent policy changes are also examined.
How Can You Contribute to Safe Practice?
Passage and assent into law of the ACA in 2010 ushered substantial changes in the American healthcare system (Berkman et al. , 2014). Practitioners and nurses were among the most affected because they interact directly with the patients. In my view, dealing with a patient whose condition or the required medical procedure is not covered under the national health insurance provisions, including those under Medicare and Medicaid, presents significant challenges in the delivery of quality and safe care. However, quality and safety are not optional factors in the healthcare practice. Achieving the above aspects of care is the prerogative of every doctor and nurse.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
My role as a contributor to quality and safe care revolves around the efficiency of the clinically integrated system based-approach to care. According to Belmont et al. (2011), hospital boards re-strategized following the ACA ensure conformity with the act’s provisions. The management places significant emphasis on the role of doctors and nurses in the delivery of quality and safe care. Therefore, as a nurse my role in the coordination of all patient care in all conditions is very critical. My aim is to deliver optimal results in relation to quality of care by meeting efficiency, quality, and timeliness standards. Therefore, conformity to institutional quality processes is imperative. The ACA requires a shift in focus from individual providers to functioning of the healthcare system setup. However, as an individual, I am an integral part in the systems-based approach in relation to realization of quality and safety mandates of the ACA.
I am motivated to advance the linkage between payment for acute patient care and quality of care services. The framework recognizes the hospitals ability to meet measures on quality and value of patient care effectively. Management of quality and safety entails adherence to clinical quality and safety measures and compose measures for patient experience. As a provider, my role under the ACA, is to assess and substitute wasteful or unsafe procedures with safer and more effective ones. My view on implementation of ACA quality and safety provision includes adherence to the hospital value-based program founded on the need to reduce incidence of adverse events, readmission rates, improve efficiency of patient discharge protocols, and surgical safety and checklists. These parameters form the cornerstone of most, if not all, programs seeking to ensure safe and quality care under the ACA.
Briefly Define Your Role and Tell How You Will Advocate for The Healthcare Consumer
The primary concern for patients, who are the consumers of healthcare services, is the cost of care. For patients with private insurance health coverage this may be a non-issue, but challenges emerge in situations where the patient is under national insurance coverage including Medicare and Medicaid programs. On the other hand, patient with private insurance may experience problems with their coverage. Grob, Schlesinger, Davis, Cohen AND Lapps (2013) noted that the ACA provides support to consumers who experience problems with their coverage as part of its national commitment. However, exploration of federal support for consumer-run assistance established that empowering and supporting patients was effective by reorienting state agencies to be advocates for consumers. However, it is important to understand that as a nurse, I am better placed to understand systemic challenges experienced by patients, hence informed to advocate for them.
My role as a healthcare provider is to ensure healthcare consumers understand the dynamics of the healthcare system and point them to appropriate agencies for support. Bases on my understanding of the system, provision of information on the cost of care services can aid patients decision-making in relation to what their insurance coverage can afford. While I advocate for universal healthcare coverage under the ACA, my role may be limited to directing patients on the type free preventative services, special enrollment periods they qualify for, and directing uninsured consumers to where they can acquire affordable health coverage. My understanding is that health consumer advocacy agencies provide a range of services including education, mobilization, and motivation to participate in improving healthcare service delivery through the ACA. I believe directing consumers to relevant agencies for help is a form of advocacy for ACA and the realization of equitable, affordable, and comprehensive care.
Reflect on Your Future Role Changing as a Result of Policy Changes
Policy changes from implementation of the ACA would results to dramatic changes in the healthcare systems, affecting the role of providers. Personally, I believe the changes have the potential to improve service delivery. However, the downside in implementation of the policy changes relates to the healthcare workforce. Reports on coverage of health insurance following the ACA show that at least 30 million Americans are to acquire health insurance (Grob et al., 2013). Observers of trends in the healthcare sector contend that the high number implies increased access to healthcare services. On the contrary, similar reports show that the American health workforce is insufficient to meet the growing demand health services from consumers. Therefore, I believe my role as a nurse would change dramatically.
Without reinforcement with extra personnel, I would be forced to work through shifts and for long hours because the hospital has goals to meet. The heightened monitoring and assessment of care provision requires strict conformity with the set standards. This aspect of practice may require dedication in terms of time and resources, a development that can limit the number of people attended to by providers. While the ACA may improve my efficacy in care delivery, it may also cause strain because of the expected increase in the workload cause by the high number of consumers who can afford care services. This has the potential for a backlash by affecting safety and quality of care delivery due to provider fatigue.
How do You See the Role of Your Chosen Profession Changing in the Near Future?
The ACA is a comprehensive policy that covers both patient and provider issues. On the patters, policy changes enacted would require synergy between training programs and practice (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014). In my view, there is a likelihood of a shift in the curriculum used to train practitioners. The ACA shifts focus from the provide to the patient, and a similar approach is likely to be adopted during training. My concern is that such an approach would have unwanted implications for the safety and quality of care at the individual level for providers. On the other hand, the requirement for hospitals to confirm with the new quality and practice standards may require retraining of care providers to meet efficiency requirements (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014). Overall, the ACA would impact the nursing profession by shifting attention to the consumer and the improvement of the healthcare, a move with the potential to neglect healthcare providers, hence, affecting their ability to perform within the new systemic framework.
Conclusion
In conclusion, health care is a very vital aspect and needs to be considered in every way. As such, the ACA presents long overdue opportunities for inclusion of majority of Americans under health insurance. This is a critical step towards the realization of universal healthcare. However, the ACA has significant implications for the delivery of care, affecting existing safety and quality measures, operational procedures, and hospital systems. Conformity to the provisions of the act require the implementation of systemic changes that may affect care delivery. Moreover, the ACA would affect the role of health providers in relation to training and work environment. The policy changes are perceived to emphasize on patients and the care system with little attention given to needs of the healthcare workforce.
References
Belmont, E., Haltom, C. C., Hastings, D. A., Homchick, R. G., Morris, L., Taitsman, J., ... & Peisert, K. C. (2011). A new quality compass: hospital boards’ increased role under the Affordable Care Act. Health Affairs , 30 (7), 1282-1289.
Berkman, E., Aries, N., & Caress, B. (2014). The Affordable Care Act: The Current Driver of Healthcare Reform. Policy and Politics for Nurses and Other Health Professionals , 65.
Grob, R., Schlesinger, M., Davis, S., Cohen, D., & Lapps, J. (2013). The Affordable Care Act’s plan for consumer assistance with insurance moves states forward but remains a work in progress. Health Affairs , 32 (2), 347-356.
Lathrop, B., & Hodnicki, D. R. (2014). The Affordable Care Act: Primary care and the doctor of nursing practice nurse. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing , 19 (2).
