Nurses role in healthcare reform.

Answer

Nurses role in healthcare reform.

Introduction

            A healthcare reform requires the effort of nurses to be implemented. This is because they are at the core of the healthcare industry. This work analyses the role of the nurse in healthcare reform. It commences with a review of the recent federal regulation to adopt an Electronic Health Record examining its effect on the nursing practice. It then focuses on the effect of quality measures and pay for performance programs on nursing practice and patient outcome. The work then shifts focus to emerging professional nursing leadership and management roles. With respect to diverse health care settings, this work calls attention to the gravity of promotion of patient safety and quality care. The work then concludes with a forecast on the techniques in which the profession of nursing will transfigure.

Impact of a New Healthcare Legislation on the Nursing Profession 

The newly implemented federal legislation instructing all hospitals to use an Electronic Health Record (EHR) has had a productive effect on the nursing profession. In 2014, all practitioners were obliged to adopt an Electronic Health Record by a government directive. The nurses’ role in the implementation of this regulation is limitless as they account for over 75 % use of an EHR. They are expected to come up with unit transfer reports, patient discharge reports and to order and refill medication. As such, their perception of the EHR system is of utmost importance. A survey was conducted and nurses who have used the EHR system were interviewed. Their response proves that the use of an EHR is advantageous. Apart from aiding them in improving how they organized their documents, the system also substantially lowered the number of duties they had to perform (Yontz, Zinn, & Schumacher, 2015). Moreover, the system enables nurses write extensive reports for patients being transferred to different units while at the same time boosting their confidence in the readiness of a sick person to be cleared from hospital. Also, the system has an exhaustive description of a patient and thus nurses make less medical administration errors. Therefore, we can confidently infer that, the newly implemented federal legislation instructing all hospitals to use an Electronic Health Record (EHR) has had a productive effect on the nursing profession.     

Impact of Quality Assurance and Pay for Performance Initiatives

From research, quality assurance and pay for performance initiatives pragmatically impact the nursing profession. However, no evidence links these programs to better patient outcomes. At the core of any quality improvement measure is the nurse who spends the highest amount of time with the patient. As such, the nurse is expected to perform certain protocols proved to have a positive effect on the quality of patient care. Moreover, they have to ensure that their daily routine is expertly blended with the healthcare-wide goal of bettering the quality of care. To satisfy the requirements of quality measures and pay for performance programs, hospitals have addressed the persistent problem of nurse staffing resulting in a better patient to nurse ratio. Also, they have incorporated the use of technology in nursing practice such as introduction of Electronic Health Records. EHR enable nurses to easily access patient past medical records and write reports. All these serve as a great boost for nursing practice. However, an in-depth investigation into previously published information establishes no direct link between the programs and better patient outcomes (Mendelson et al., 2017). Hence, it is sensible to conclude that, quality assurance and pay for performance initiatives pragmatically impact the nursing profession but there is no verification linking these programs to better patient outcomes.

Newly Developing Nursing Leadership and Management Duties   

Giving priority to verified quality and patient safety practices is a newly developing nursing leadership role. The advent of multiple providers of the same service has shifted the world towards value-based purchasing. The healthcare industry is equally following suit with patients demanding perceivable value for the money they spend in hospitals. As a nursing leader, it thus goes without saying that one needs to emphasize on the quality of care to a patient. The leader should be able to initiate an institutional tradition that emphasizes on quality in service delivery. As Melnyk et al. (2016) explains, a hospital with substandard corporate ethos which does not emphasize the use of verified nursing practices is likely to intensify the issue of poor-quality healthcare. Hence, to meet the newly developing requirements of a nursing leader, one should be able to stress the use and importance of verified quality and patient safety practices.

Another newly developing nursing leadership and management role is comprehending how technology applies in healthcare. With a government mandate requiring all hospitals to employ the use of Electronic Health Records, it is impossible to become a nursing leader without the knowledge of technology application in healthcare. Furthermore, apart from enabling easy information sharing and exemplary record keeping, technology helps to improve the quality of life. Thus, the use of technology as a nurse is unavoidable (Frau, 2015). Therefore, to sufficiently perform duty as a nursing leader in these times, one needs hands on skills in how technology applies in healthcare.

Transformation of Nursing Practice in the Near Future

Future nursing practice requires a change in knowledge, skills and outlook in nurses. In the past, nursing practice has been characterized by hierarchical care. This hinders communication and collaboration among healthcare staff. However, technological advancement, laws and incentives that stress on high quality patient care are likely to change this to team-work based care. Moreover, current nursing practice is incidental and practiced from the illness perspective. Salmond and Echevarria (2017) forecast that this will change to a wellness point of view in the future. For example, if an elderly patient presents to the hospital after falling, hospitals will only do an x-ray for the patient and solve the current problem. However, using the wellness viewpoint, extra analyses such as gait analysis will be done to prevent such an occurrence in the future. Therefore, to sufficiently perform the nursing practice in the future, a total transformation in knowledge, skills and attitudes is needed.  

Conclusion

On the whole, any healthcare reform requires the effort of nurses to be implemented as they are at the core of the healthcare industry. The nursing profession has been boosted immensely by the newly implemented federal legislation instructing all hospitals to use an Electronic Health Record (EHR). This is evident from the interviews conducted on nurses who have used the system. Quality measures and pay for performance programs have a beneficial impact on nursing practice shown by the improved patient to nurse ratio and the use of technology in nursing practice. However, no evidence links the programs to better patient outcomes. To become a nursing leader, one needs to give priority to verified quality and patient safety practices and also to comprehend how technology applies in healthcare. Finally, future nursing practice requires a change in knowledge, skills and outlook in nurses.