Care coordination is the systemic organization for the provision of healthcare services. The process involves different parties such as the medical personnel, the patients, their families, and the general community. The coordination is essential since it provides a wholesome and satisfying experience to the patients, while also exploring the treatment procedures that yield the best results. Therefore, healthcare providers should coordinate care by aligning it with the ethical standards and professional strategies to achieve patient-centered care.
Healthcare providers should collaborate with the patients and their families to achieve the most favorable outcomes for the sick. The professionals should consult patients and their family on their medical preferences and aversions. For a successful collaboration, the nurses must understand their patients’ needs and respect their choices. For example, some families do not approve specific medical procedures. Therefore, nurses should use alternative treatment methods that will not violate the patients' beliefs and dignity. Moreover, the nurses should educate the patients on the risks of various drugs and treatment procedures, so that they may provide informed consent. They should also offer unbiased information with the patients and their family members reassuringly and practically. They can then make timely and effective decisions (NEJM Catalyst, 2018). The nurses can also coordinate with the family members to support the patients emotionally and in making tough decisions. While the professionals may be affectionate towards the patients, family members can relate with them at a level that nurses cannot reach. They are also more likely to bear sad news better if they learn it in the presence of their loved ones. Finally, the nurses can collaborate on care provision during and after the patients' discharge from a facility (Phillips and Mohta, 2016). For example, they can train family members of care techniques such as nutrition, assessment, and administration of drugs.
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Care coordination should lead to higher satisfaction among patients. Patient satisfaction is a measure of the level of the patients' happiness while under the direct care of the nurses and afterward (Bean, 2017). Nurses must learn to identify the parameters of patient satisfaction, apply them to the individual cases, and later evaluate the results of their actions and make any necessary adjustments. Privacy is an essential pillar of patient satisfaction since it prevents unnecessary overexposure of the patient's ailments. The nursing fraternity can maintain confidentiality by assigning a specific team to a client. Therefore, only a small number of healthcare providers in the institution will know the details. Informing the patients of their privacy may make them more likely to share confidential information and experiences, which would assist in their recovery. Similarly, the nurses should provide the patients with complete information on their conditions, and the available treatment procedures (Bean). Patients will be happier if they fully understand their situation since they will be in total control of their treatment. The nurses should also ensure that the patients are as comfortable as possible. Nurses should regularly sharpen their skills on intrusive procedures so that the pain and discomfort are minimal. Finally, the nurses’ empathy significantly improves the patients’ experience. When they can feel the affection of the healthcare providers, the patients trust their actions and decisions. They are also at ease, knowing that their caregiver is genuinely concerned with their well-being. Patient satisfaction reflects on their perception of the nursing experience. Therefore, nurses must ensure that they offer the best care possible to promote the public's view of the profession and its role in their health.
The nursing code of ethics provides a framework for the care coordination between nurses, hospital management, patients, and their families. The four most critical pillars of nursing ethics are autonomy, beneficence, justice, and non-maleficence. Therefore, nurses must align care coordination with the four principles. Autonomy is the ability of the patients to make independent decisions. Nurses should not unduly influence patients’ decision and must respect it, even if they do not think it is the most appropriate. Secondly, nurses should adhere to the principle of beneficence. Their coordination efforts should benefit the patient through prompt recovery, comfort, and discretion (Nelson, 2018). The concept of justice demands that nurses should be fair to all patients. Coordination is paramount to the administration of justice by ensuring the equal distribution of resources among different patients. The nursing fraternity at any one institution should work with the administration and other professionals to ensure that each patient gets the resources that they require. Finally, nurses must adhere to the principle of non-maleficence in care coordination. They should not deliberately act in a manner that contravenes the needs of the patients and their families. The interrelation between nursing ethics and care coordination results in a systematic working environment that eases the nurses' execution of duties and improved the patients' experiences.
Healthcare policies influence the dynamics of patient-centered care. One such policy is the provision and regulation of insurance (Bachman and Jankovsky, 2015). The government can provide affordable insurance covers, especially to special groups such as children, while also regulating the premiums of private insurers. The provision of affordable insurance alleviates the patients’ concerns on the costs of medical attention. They can afford expensive treatment options without financial inhibitions. Therefore, nurses can adhere to the principle of beneficence by ensuring that the patients receive the most effective form of care. Also, licensing policies ensure that the nurses are qualified to offer specialized care. Their competence will allow them to efficiently attend to the patient’s needs. Qualified nurses will understand the importance of patient-centered care, and the clients will report a higher level of satisfaction. The community also provides nurses with legal protection for their actions. For example, Advisory Board (2017) reported an incident in which police officers arrested a caregiver for failing to administer a blood test without a warrant or the patient's consent. The law was useful, since the police officers eventually had to release the professional, and receive an official reprimand. Finally, professional nursing associations as well as hospitals offer regularly education and training sessions for their members. The courses allow the nurses to sharpen their skills and expand their knowledge base. They remain relevant on modern procedures and practices. Healthcare policies enhance the provision of patient-centered care. Hence, the various stakeholders should involve all the parties when formulating the policies to ensure they improve the nursing experience.
Care coordination is a vital aspect of nursing. Nurses should collaborate with patients, their families, the hospital administration, and one another to ensure that the patients receive attention in the manner that they wish and is most beneficial to the. The proper implementation of coordination improves the patients’ level of satisfaction, adhering to the core principles of the nurses’ code of ethics. Finally, stakeholders should create policies that will positively influence the provision of patient-centered care. Therefore, each member of the nursing fraternity should understand their role and act accordingly to achieve effective care coordination.
References
Advisory Board. (2017). A nurse was arrested for protecting an unconscious patient's rights. Here's how her hospital is responding. Retrieved December 24, 2019, from https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2017/09/05/utah-nurse
Bachman, S. S., Comeau, M., & Jankovsky, K. M. (2015). The Care Coordination Conundrum and Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs [PDF]. Available from http://cahpp.org/
Bean, M. (2017). The Importance of Care Coordination in a Value-Based World: Best Practice Approaches from Spectrum Health. Retrieved December 24, 2019, from https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/the-importance-of-care-coordination-in-a-value-based-world-lessons-learned-by-spectrum-health.html
Phillips, A. C., and N. S. Mohta. (2016). Care Redesign Survey: Strengthening the Post-Acute Care Connection. Retrieved December 24, 2019, from https://catalyst.nejm.org/strengthening-post-acute-care-connection/
NEJM Catalyst. (2018). What is Care Coordination? Retrieved December 24, 2019, from https://catalyst.nejm.org/what-is-care-coordination/
Nelson, A. W. (2015). Making Ethical Decisions. Healthcare Executive, 30(1), 46-48.
