Introduction
The presentation addressed the following items:
- Policy and ethical matters in care coordination forms the core of discussion.
- Ethical principles and how they affect provision of care to homeless shelters.
- The impacts of various government policies and how they influence care provision.
- The paper proceeds to assess the topic in details as will be seen in the presentation.
Understanding Care Coordination
Care coordination refers to the proactive strategy that is essential in enabling cooperation among healthcare workers to address the requirements of a victim or patient
Coordinated care can either be simple or complex.
Care coordination seeks to improve the patient’s quality of life, lower duration of stay if admitted in hospital, and lessen cases of readmissions coupled with other indicator like reduced expenses incurred during treatment.
Understanding Ethical Policies
The government policies and code of ethics aim to make the health care providers perform their duties with care, accuracy, and in the best interest of homeless communities.
In addition to government policies, the code of ethics enables adherence to life altruism and the well-being of the affected persons.
These policies and ethics can help the health care providers to handle any arising need in a more coordinated manner that ensures the victims receive the maximum care anticipated.
Government Policies and Impact of Care Coordination in Homeless Communities
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services controls the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
The platform restructured the flow of healthcare data and outlines how personal information should be managed by all stakeholders to prevent theft, fraud, disclosing, and sharing with any third party.
HIPAA work in conjunction with the policy relating to the Protection of Human Research Subjects (PHRS). The main aim of HIPAA is to ensure the protection of patients’ data by emphasizing confidentiality to protect and avert any information breach.
HIPAA has resulted in the improved provision of health and patient safety since healthcare providers can easily access patients’ information. This is highly applicable to homeless persons whose well-being and necessary assistance depend on the availability of information that informs decisions for support.
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
Homeless Assistance Act refers to the federal law established to support the continuous education and enrollment of homeless learners.
Homeless children receive free transportation to and from school, permitting progressive learning.
To implement this policy, coordination remains a top priority to ensure the mop-up of all homeless learners.
Local, State, and Federal Policies Raising Ethical Issues for Care Coordination
While the policies are designed to safeguard patient and medical practitioners in decision-making situations, they result in ethical dilemmas and concerns during rendering of care.
At the federal level, the privacy policy addresses the issue of confidentiality.
In the course of practice, healthcare practitioners find themselves in predicament between keeping secret certain information or disclose. For example, a nurse can be in a situation where a patient requests them to keep their secret from the knowledge of their families.
Impacts of Ethics Care Coordination
Care providers operate in a technical and fast-past environment that requires making crucial decision that directly impact the lives of homeless persons.
The code of ethics becomes essential since it assists the staff in making right decisions.
Ethics enable healthcare workers to concentrate on coordinated care for enhanced safety of the victims.
Poor and old-aged destitute persons may benefit from organized medical camps that mainly aim to offer adequate care.
Social Determinants and Health Disparities
Practitioners play an essential role in offering the continuum of care to recognized homeless persons since they comprehend the patient’s social concerns.
Care providers become instrumental in handling such cases of homeless people.
Several aspects such as privacy concerns, economic stability, and level of education, coupled with other factors like age and gender can impact the management of care among homeless persons.
Policy and Ethical Issues Impacting Care
The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) run Healthy People 2030, a program created to address challenges such as patients’ social and physical concern to expand access to quality care.
Healthcare facilities should emphasize care method that meets the requirements of the homeless persons by offering necessary medical care.
Conclusion
Homelessness is a disturbing factor that is encouraging health disparities not only in the U.S. but also around the globe.
Ethical principles and government policies will go a long way in helping to shelter homeless persons and enhance the coordination of care for the affected persons.
References
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Chang, C. D. (2019). Social determinants of health and health disparities among immigrants andtheir children. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care,49(1), 23–30. Web.
Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. (2022). Care coordination and support organization (CCSO): Provider handbook. Web.
Magnusion, J., & Dixon, B. (2020). Public health informatics and information systems. Springer.
Möckli, N., Simon, M., Meyer-Massetti, C., Pihet, S., Fischer, R., Wächter, M., Serdaly, C., & Zúñiga, F. (2021). Factors associated with homecare coordination and quality of care: a research protocol for a national multi-center cross-sectional study. BMC Health Services Research, 21(1), 1-14. Web.