NURS-FPX4050 Assessment 2 Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination – Step-by-Step Guide

The first step before starting to write the NURS-FPX4050 Assessment 2 Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination, it is essential to understand the requirements of the assignment. The first step is to read the assignment prompt carefully to identify the topic, the length and format requirements. You should go through the rubric provided so that you can understand what is needed to score the maximum points for each part of the assignment. It is also important to identify the audience of the paper and its purpose so that it can help you determine the tone and style to use throughout. You can then create a timeline to help you complete each stage of the paper, such as conducting research, writing the paper, and revising it to avoid last-minute stress before the deadline. After identifying the formatting style to be applied to the paper, such as APA, you should review its use, such as writing citations and referencing the resources used. You should also review how to format the title page and the headings in the paper.

How to Research and Prepare for NURS-FPX4050 Assessment 2 Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination

The next step in preparing for your paper is to conduct research and identify the best sources to use to support your arguments. Identify the list of keywords from your topic using different combinations. The first step is to visit the university library and search through its database using the important keywords related to your topic. You can also find books, peer-reviewed articles, and credible sources for your topic from PubMed, JSTOR, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, and Google Scholar. Ensure that you select the references that have been published in the last words and go through each to check for credibility. 

Ensure that you obtain the references in the required format, for example, in APA, so that you can save time when creating the final reference list. You can also group the references according to their themes that align with the outline of the paper. Go through each reference for its content and summarize the key concepts, arguments and findings for each source. You can write down your reflections on how each reference connects to the topic you are researching about. After the above steps, you can develop a strong thesis that is clear, concise and arguable. Next you should create a detailed outline of the paper so that it can help you to create headings and subheadings to be used in the paper. Ensure that you plan what point will go into each paragraph.

How to Write the Introduction for NURS-FPX4050 Assessment 2 Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination

The introduction of the paper is the most crucial part as it helps to provide the context of your work, and will determine if the reader will be interested to read through to the end. You should start with a hook, which will help capture the reader’s attention. You should contextualize the topic by offering the reader a concise overview of the topic you are writing about so that they may understand its importance. You should state what you aim to achieve with the paper. The last part of the introduction should be your thesis statement, which provides the main argument of the paper.

How to Write the Body for NURS-FPX4050 Assessment 2 Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination

The body of the paper helps you to present your arguments and evidence to support your claims. You can use headings and subheadings developed in the paper’s outline to guide you on how to organize the body. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence to help the reader know what point you will be discussing in that paragraph. Support your claims using the evidence conducted from the research, ensure that you cite each source properly using in-text citations. You should analyze the evidence presented and explain its significance and how it connects to the thesis statement. You should maintain a logical flow between each paragraph by using transition words and a flow of ideas.

How to Write the In-text Citations for NURS-FPX4050 Assessment 2 Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination

In-text citations help the reader to give credit to the authors of the references they have used in their works. All ideas that have been borrowed from references, any statistics and direct quotes must be referenced properly. The name and date of publication of the paper should be included when writing an in-text citation. For example, in APA, after stating the information, you can put an in-text citation after the end of the sentence, such as (Smith, 2021). If you are quoting directly from a source, include the page number in the citation, for example (Smith, 2021, p. 15). Remember to also include a corresponding reference list at the end of your paper that provides full details of each source cited in your text. An example paragraph highlighting the use of in-text citations is as below:

The integration of technology in nursing practice has significantly transformed patient care and improved health outcomes. According to Smith (2021), the use of electronic health records (EHRs) has streamlined communication among healthcare providers, allowing for more coordinated and efficient care delivery. Furthermore, Johnson and Brown (2020) highlight that telehealth services have expanded access to care, particularly for patients in rural areas, thereby reducing barriers to treatment.

How to Write the Conclusion for NURS-FPX4050 Assessment 2 Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination

When writing the conclusion of the paper, start by restarting your thesis, which helps remind the reader what your paper is about. Summarize the key points of the paper, by restating them. Discuss the implications of your findings and your arguments. End with a call to action that leaves a lasting impact on the reader or recommendations.

How to Format the Reference List for NURS-FPX4050 Assessment 2 Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination

The reference helps provide the reader with the complete details of the sources you cited in the paper. The reference list should start with the title “References” on a new page. It should be aligned center and bolded. The references should be organized in an ascending order alphabetically and each should have a hanging indent. If a source has no author, it should be alphabetized by the title of the work, ignoring any initial articles such as “A,” “An,” or “The.” If you have multiple works by the same author, list them in chronological order, starting with the earliest publication. 

Each reference entry should include specific elements depending on the type of source. For books, include the author’s last name, first initial, publication year in parentheses, the title of the book in italics, the edition (if applicable), and the publisher’s name. For journal articles, include the author’s last name, first initial, publication year in parentheses, the title of the article (not italicized), the title of the journal in italics, the volume number in italics, the issue number in parentheses (if applicable), and the page range of the article. For online sources, include the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) or the URL at the end of the reference. An example reference list is as follows:

References

Johnson, L. M., & Brown, R. T. (2020). The role of telehealth in improving patient outcomes. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 35(2), 123-130. https://doi.org/10.1097/NCQ.0000000000000456

Smith, J. A. (2021). The impact of technology on nursing practice. Health Press.

An Example NURS-FPX4050 Assessment 2 Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination Follows:

Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination Presentation Notes

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to today’s presentation. My name is _, and today’s presentation focuses on ethical factors affecting care coordination. Nurses are crucial professionals in crew coordination, and they link patients to professionals and vital resources for better health outcomes. Care coordination is crucial as it ensures care continuity across the care continuum. It also allows professionals to work together for the welfare of the patients, thus improving interprofessional collaboration. This presentation will explore the effects of governmental policies (such as HIPAA) affect care coordination. It will also identify local, state, and national provisions that raise ethical questions or dilemmas in care coordination that nurses should be aware of for better care coordination. In addition, it will assess the impact of the code of ethics for nurses in care coordination and communicate key ethical and policy issues affecting homeless shelters.

Governmental Policies Affecting Care Coordination

The government heavily controls the health sector by using laws, policies, and regulations to ensure the population is healthy and safe, and some of these policies affect care coordination. These policies include HIPAA, HITECH, and the Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion. These policies are directed toward other health factors but significantly impact care coordination. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid Expansion policy Focuses on increasing access to insurance coverage nationwide. The policy is national, but states have the mandate to make decisions in the best interest of their states.

The ACA regulates information sharing and affects care coordination by increasing service access. According to Lee and Porell (2020), patients can afford care services with the expansion, which increases their care-seeking behavior and promotes care coordination. Nurses can communicate with all vital professionals in the care continuum and ensure patients’ best outcomes with the insurance covering the costs. Lee and Porell (2020) note that the ACA also expands services to areas such as homeless shelters, assisted living, and elder care facilities.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-HIPAA protects sensitive patient information. According to Hui et al. (2021), the act regulates information sharing, which many professionals and researchers report as detrimental to care coordination activities. The specific policy provision of interest in the HIPAA privacy rule. The privacy rule protects patient information and regulates care providers, business associates, healthcare clearinghouses, and health plans (including insurers). Hui et al. (2021)) note that the privacy rule institutions to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability of PHI.

It encourages institutions to implement measures to safeguard information through information such as password-protected access, activity tracking/log, or biometrics to keep patient information safe. The institutions must also input other cybersecurity measures to detect and address unauthorized access to patient information. Weiss (2023) note that care providers must also protect against impermissible use or disclosure of the information by ensuring only the allowed professionals have access to information. The restricted access to health information negatively affects care coordination.

HIPAA Impact on Homeless Shelters

HIPAA, directly and indirectly, affects acre coordination in homeless shelters. Homeless shelters are not health entities but can be considered medical associates due to the many interactions with the healthcare field. Neely et al. (2021) note that HIPAA has approved an information technology (HIPAA Complaint Homeless Shelter Software) that homeless shelters can use to collect, store, and disseminate information safely and securely. HIPAA security and privacy rules are significant in homeless shelters, and they require safeguarding information and systems and restricting access to protected patient information.

Discloser and sharing must all follow the privacy and security rules. Weiss (2023) notes that HIPAA allows the disclosure of information on various occasions, which care providers should be aware of to prevent breaching the contract. These include four judicial proceedings or law enforcement reasons. Others include information from victims of abuse or neglect or domestic violence, health oversight, government functions, cadaveric tissue donation, research (under conditions), and to prevent loss or serious threat to health safety. The restrictions eliminate homeless shelters from sharing patient information with other institutions, thus limiting care coordination significantly.

HITECH Regulations Significant to Homeless Shelters

HITECH regulations majorly expand HIPAA laws and are specific. Zerden et al. (2019) state that HITECH improves EHR interoperability and aims to ensure that electronic health records and other information systems meet the safety, privacy, and security standards needed. HITECH holds that institutions should not use personal information/protected patient information to fundraise. This initiative minimizes the homeless shelters’ means of collecting donations to support their patients. They cannot sell the information without the express consent of the clients.

Homeless shelters sometimes use client information to gain support from donors and the public, and they should do so with the full consent of the patients/clients. Hossain et al. (2019) state that patients have authority over data sharing with the insurer, and all information sent to insurers should be with the client’s consent. In addition, patients should be allowed to access their care data. Access to personal data improves care coordination and ensures quality outcomes. These policies restrict care coordination, and being aware of them is important to help keep them and prevent the institution from unnecessary fines.

National, State, and Local Policy Provisions Raising Ethical Questions

The patient self-determination act is one of the policies that raise ethical questions. Zhang et al. (2021) note that the act allows patients to overrule care decisions by healthcare providers. Care providers can thus not implement care interventions without patients’ consent. The act also entails the right to refuse or accept medications. The act raises some ethical concerns because people are not always in a stable condition to make the right care decisions, and their decisions are affected by various factors, including healthcare knowledge.

The policy can impede care coordination, especially when patients refuse vital care decisions despite their known or potential benefits. The California state prescription drug monitoring program for opioids is a state/local policy that raises ethical questions. Castillo-Carniglia et al. (2021) state that the policy requires all professionals prescribing opioids to use the state’s PDMP to determine eligibility and allow follow-up. It also restricts patients with a previous history of opioid use disorder from taking the drug, which can affect their pain management, considering opioid analgesics are some of the most potent drugs. These policies benefit health but should also be evaluated to prevent them from negatively affecting population health outcomes.

Impact of the Nurses Code of Ethics on Coordination and Continuum of Care

Policies, acts, and regulations guide the nursing profession. The nursing code of ethics and the nursing practice act are some regulations that greatly affect nursing. Asare et al. (2022) note that the nurse’s code of ethics outlines the nursing profession’s values. It also outlines expected conduct and care quality. Haddad and Geiger (2021) note that the nurse’s code of ethics helps address ethical dilemmas and outline courses of action for nurses.

The code of ethics impacts nurse knowledge, attitude, and practices. It dictates how nurses interact with patients, families, and care professionals and thus directly affects care coordination. The code of ethics ensures holistic care delivery- physiologic and psychological. Asare et al. (2022) note that the code of ethics ensures that nursing activities are legally and ethically acceptable, promoting care coordination. Thus, the code of ethics is significant to nurses’ conduct and care coordination across the care continuum. 

Factors that contribute to health, health disparities and care access

Several factors play a role in health, health disparities, and influencing access to care. The Healthy People 2020 framework provides information on these factors. One significant factor is knowledge level and educational inequalities. According to Healthy People 2020 (n.d.), higher education levels promote patients’ informed decisions about their health, help them engage in preventive behaviors, and help them access services such as insurance for good care access. Individual and behavioral factors also play a crucial role, as personal choices and behaviors, such as diet, physical activity, tobacco and alcohol use, and adherence to medical recommendations, can impact health outcomes.

Unemployed or underemployed individuals often face challenges in obtaining health insurance coverage and accessing healthcare services. Lower-income individuals may struggle to afford healthcare, medications, and other essential resources, leading to compromised health outcomes. According to Healthy People 2020 (n.d.), many minority groups experience higher rates of chronic illnesses, limited care access, and discriminatory healthcare practices. Addressing these factors is crucial to promoting health equity and ensuring equal access to care for all individuals.

Key Ethical and Policy Issues Affecting Care Coordination in Homeless Shelters

There are various ethical and policy issues affecting care coordination in homeless shelters. These include poor access to healthcare services. Watts (2021) notes that individuals in homeless shelters have poor access to healthcare services, primarily due to financial limitations. Homeless shelters face care continuity problems, especially those offering temporary accommodations. Patients get fragmented care which makes it difficult to provide care continuity. Watts (2021) states that homeless shelters are often underfunded and lack adequate care professionals who can cater to patient needs and form a vital link with other care professionals and care institutions to provide much-needed care.

Inadequate resources also make providing healthy environments for the client’s overall well-being difficult. Most of these facilities are also crowded, having more clients than their amenities can support. Homeless shelters must also share their information constantly with various partners, which presents a dilemma on what information to share for what reasons, and sharing sensitive information is highly regulated. These care facilities also face ethical issues of retaining family integrity versus allowing the disintegration of families for better care delivery and care coordination. These ethical and policy factors affect homeless shelters significantly, and their knowledge is crucial for their management.

Conclusion

The role of nurses in care coordination cannot be overstated. They are crucial in ensuring effective communication and collaboration among healthcare providers, promoting continuity of care, and advocating for patient well-being. The provisions of policies such as HIPAA, HITECH, and ACA, along with the ethical guidelines outlined in the nurses’ code of ethics, significantly impact care coordination practices. However, the existence of certain state policies, like the Californian State Policy on Opioid Prescription and ethical considerations surrounding patient self-determination, raise important ethical questions that must be addressed.

In the context of homeless shelters, ethical and policy factors heavily influence care coordination efforts. These factors include patient information safety, poor access to care services, and inadequate resources. It is imperative to recognize and address these ethical and policy considerations. A deeper understanding of these factors and the knowledge and application of appropriate policies and ethical guidelines will improve care coordination and, ultimately, better outcomes for homeless individuals needing care and support.

NURS-FPX4050 Assessment 2 References

Asare, P., Ansah, E. W., & Sambah, F. (2022). Ethics in healthcare: Knowledge, attitude and practices of nurses in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. Plos One, 17(2), e0263557. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263557

Castillo-Carniglia, A., González-Santa Cruz, A., Cerdá, M., Delcher, C., Shev, A. B., Wintemute, G. J., & Henry, S. G. (2021). Changes in opioid prescribing after implementation of mandatory registration and proactive reports within California’s prescription drug monitoring program. Drug And Alcohol Dependence, 218, 108405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108405

Eskew, P. (2019). Exercising Patient Rights under the HITECH Act. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, 24(2), 50-53.

Haddad, L. M., & Geiger, R. A. (2021). Nursing Ethical Considerations. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.

Hossain, M. M., & Hong, Y. A. (2019). Trends and characteristics of protected health information breaches in the United States. In AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings (Vol. 2019, p. 1081). American Medical Informatics Association.

Hui, K., Gilmore, C. J., & Khan, M. (2021). Medical records: more than the health insurance portability and accountability act. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 121(4), 770-772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2020.06.022

Lee, H., & Porell, F. W. (2020). The effect of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion on disparities in access to care and health status. Medical Care Research and Review, 77(5), 461-473. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077558718808709

Lin, Y. K., Lin, M., & Chen, H. (2019). Do electronic health records affect quality of care? Evidence from the HITECH Act. Information Systems Research, 30(1), 306-318. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2018.0813

Neely, J., Eddins, A., Lesure, N., Dee, D., Real, R., Singer, R., Croooks, N., & Singer, R. B. (2021). Privacy, or the Lack Thereof, and Its Implications for Dignity in Mobile COVID-19 Testing. SAGE Open Nursing, 7, 23779608211029096. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23779608211029096

Watts, G. R. (2021). Homelessness is an ethical issue in America. AMA Journal of Ethics, 23(11), 835-839. https://doi.org/10.1001/amajethics.2021.835

Weiss, J. N. (2023). Chapter: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). In Physician Crisis: Why Physicians Are Leaving Medicine, Why You Should Stay, and How To Be Happy (pp. 79-81). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27979-9_15

Zerden, L. D. S., Lombardi, B. M., Richman, E. L., Fraher, E. P., & Shoenbill, K. A. (2021). Harnessing the electronic health record to advance integrated care. Families, Systems, & Health, 39(1), 77. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/fsh0000584

Zhang, H., Zhang, H., Zhang, Z., & Wang, Y. (2021). Patient privacy and autonomy: a comparative analysis of cases of ethical dilemmas in China and the United States. BMC Medical Ethics, 22(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-021-00579-6

Now that you understand the ethical and policy factors to be navigated in care coordination, your next task will require to create a presentation on care coordination, which is due in NURS-FPX4050 Assessment 3, which you will present to colleagues. Feel free to engage us for further assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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