Introduction
Patient care is a multi-staged process, requiring the interaction of a wide range of specialists. Doctors, nurses, healthcare technicians, pharmacists, and other intermediate parties all contribute to the goal of promoting patient wellness. Maximizing the quality of healthcare delivery, in this case, concerns not only physical or mental wellness but also the ability of clients to feel accommodated, understood, and welcome. Therefore, it is necessary for medical professionals of all calibers to be proficient in care coordination. This presentation will discuss the topic of healthcare coordination as it relates to nursing practice. The primary goal of the process is to improve the common understanding of the care coordination process, encouraging positive change in practicing nurses and expanding the public pool of knowledge. Many of the most vital aspects of the process will be covered in addition to the effect it has on the stakeholders. Additionally, change strategies and the effects of policy on healthcare organizations will become an important part of the discussion.
What is Care Coordination and Why is it Important?
First, it is necessary to properly define care coordination within the healthcare delivery system. As a practice, it determines the ability of medical professionals to organize patient care, share information and perform activities with the goal of improving the quality of care. As a whole, the process of care coordination concerns every part of the healthcare delivery process, including initial access to care, the evaluation process, diagnostics, patient education, and post-care (NEJM Catalyst, 2018). When a patient interacts with the healthcare system, a seamless series of interactions between various healthcare professionals becomes a necessity. If done successfully, the entire medical system operates with the fewest possible number of mistakes and delays, enhanced through professionalism and good communication. As outlined by NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery journal, coordinated care effectiveness is built upon 4 core principles. Easy access, good communication and transition between stages of care, a focus on the overall health of a patient, and clarity that helps patients understand the process.
Role of Nurses
As mentioned previously, nurses must play an essential role in care coordination efforts. Nurses occupy a unique position of prominence in ensuring the quality, adequacy, and comprehensiveness of patient care. As direct actors of change, nursing practitioners are able to implement care strategies into action and consider the needs of each patient in practice. As the type of medical worker that most closely becomes aware of the patient’s character, nurses have the ability to inform strategies from a cultural, ethical, and safer perspective (American Nurses Association). The information provided by nurses becomes essential in understanding each patient and transitioning between various phases of care coordination (American Nurses Association). This is especially vital when considering the cultural and religious needs of accommodating patients.
Effect of Various Needs on Care Practices
Different types of needs and considerations inform the care practices of health professionals. In order to maximize patient wellness and work in accordance with the latest principles of medical practice, cultural, ethical, physiological, safety, and policy considerations must be taken into account. Ethics always come to the forefront of medical practice, acting as a guideline of expected actions and a threshold of what is considered beneficial. Despite certain practices being more effective, they may put patients at risk or clash with their cultural preferences, decreasing the overall wellness of an individual. Similarly, each person has unique physiological needs that alter the care coordination procedures. As a simple example, the treatment of a trans individual may vary compared to their cis counterparts – a factor that needs to be considered and incorporated into practice. In their coalescence, factors not directly connected with the healthcare process heavily influence the types of strategies medical staff should employ. Each variable must be accounted for during all stages of health delivery.
Patient Collaboration, Importance, Strategies
In accordance with the statement provided in the introduction, patient involvement is a vital part of care coordination. Patients, their families, and loved ones represent the most important stakeholders in healthcare delivery, a participant that measures the effectiveness of every other through the subjective lens of experience. Therefore, it is necessary to promote patient collaboration and cooperation. In practice, the conviction towards a patient-centered approach means many things, including the use of evidence-based practice, open communication, and clarity and transparency. Actively asking for patient input, the desires and opinions of their relatives become the basis towards achieving positive health outcomes.
The most straightforward and vital way of ensuring patient collaboration is through sharing information. Being informed helps patients and their families better take care of their overall wellness and builds trust in medical professionals. In regard to specific strategies, the framework developed by the World Health Organization can be noted. The WHO notes a need to offer people-focused care instead of seeing disease as the focal point of healthcare delivery. In particular, this approach is more responsive to the individual demands of patients, more flexible, and conductive to healthcare equity. Any healthcare institution has to adopt similar practices in order to best support the diverse demographics of today. In addition, the process of adapting patient care in accordance with the cultural, religious, or other preferences of patients also falls under the category of patient collaboration. Knowing about the personal preferences of patients, it is possible to move the medical care process in the necessary direction (Cultural sensitivity/awareness in nursing 2017). For example, if a patient is against blood transfusions, nurses may be able to inform other professionals and focus on procedures that do not require this practice in order to work.
Change Management to Improve Care Coordination and the Patient Experience
Change management is necessary in order to prepare medical organizations to work within the new constraints of care coordination, being more capable of meeting their goals and increasing care efficiency. As outlined by research, interventions that give voices to the communities and groups plagued by specific issues have a high potential to improve local care coordination (Vargas et al., 2020). This approach will differ depending on the healthcare setting, adapting to the range of individuals and communities within an area. By listening to the people that a medical organization works to treat, it is possible to find better ways of supporting them, recognize goals in medical education, and formulate individual approaches towards improving care coordination.
Effects of Policies, Ethics on Patient Experiences
Educational resources and organizations capable of enhancing the quality of patient care play a central role in promoting care coordination. In order to improve a medical facility’s capacity for well-managed care, it is necessary to use local experts on the subject. Ethical considerations take precedence in healthcare settings, as the need to provide high-quality services increases with each year. Therefore, ethics are also necessary to consider in care coordination strategies. Ethical thinking is beneficial towards achieving the primary goals of care and finding comfortable, inclusive, and appropriate approaches towards patient interaction. Doctors and nurses are required to prioritize the wellbeing of patients, their autonomy, and wellness before all. Adhering to the practices of ethical medical practice is one of the vital problems in care coordination. As an example, nurses have a professional responsibility to keep their clients informed about the treatments and practices they engage in. Additionally, any patient must be made aware of all expected implications of treatment. The necessity of communication becomes invaluable to optimizing the speed of the healthcare process.
Another necessary facet of discussing patient wellness is policy. As mentioned previously, local and overarching government policy has a profound effect on the wellness of individuals, as well as the modes of healthcare provision. Healthcare policy changes have the potential to fundamentally change how certain medical practices are performed or bring specific methods of patient treatment to prominence. This was recently most evident with the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the effects of new legislation, a strong shift towards telemedicine and remote healthcare has occurred (Pierce et al., 2021). As a result, many organizations not only adopted more thorough methods for remote care but also optimized their systems of long-distance healthcare. Similarly, other policies shape how healthcare is performed and how medical professionals are able to organize their work process. New transparency requirements put into place for medical organizations, for example, facilitate more thorough price communications between patients and healthcare providers. Taking into account the effects of local and global policies, as well as advocating for necessary change in legislation, is what helps care coordination become more effective.
Conclusion
Overall, it can be said that care coordination plays a vital role in the medical care industry. The cooperation between all parties involved in the healthcare process, including patients themselves, is aimed at increasing the effectiveness of care, promoting equity, and promoting more positive outcomes. Nurses, as the leaders of change in the field, have a responsibility towards supporting both their colleagues and their clients, acting as an agent of change within medical institutions. Consideration for a wide range of subjects, including morality, culture, and physiology, is necessary in order to enhance care coordination. Through the implementation of specific research and evidence-based practice, it is possible to improve the quality and speed of healthcare delivery.
References
American Nurses Association. (n.d.). Care coordination and the essential role of nurses. ANA.
Cultural sensitivity/awareness in nursing. Maryville Online. (2017).
NEJM Catalyst. (2018). What is care coordination? NEJM Catalyst.
Pierce, B. S., Perrin, P. B., Tyler, C. M., McKee, G. B., & Watson, J. D. (2021). The COVID-19 telepsychology revolution: A national study of pandemic-based changes in U.S. mental health care delivery. American Psychologist, 76(1), 14–25.
Vargas, I., Eguiguren, P., Mogollón-Pérez, A.-S., Samico, I., Bertolotto, F., López-Vázquez, J., & Vázquez, M.-L. (2020). Can care coordination across levels be improved through the implementation of participatory action research interventions? outcomes and conditions for sustaining changes in five Latin American countries. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1).