Health Care Delivery Models

Federal Regulation

Healthcare policymakers in liaison with legislators have developed numerous regulations to transform the health care system and improve care quality and delivery to the people. The need to transform the care system was triggered by the surge in patient populations, changing economic dynamics, and increased chronic conditions. The Quality Improvement Act, the HIPAA Act, and the ACA are among the recently implemented health care Acts. Legislators working with nursing professionals and other health care providers are developing new policies to streamline health care delivery. These policies include the 2019 Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act. The sponsor of this Act was Representative David P Joyce (Congress.gov, 2019). The legislator postulated that the new Act would generate reforms in health care delivery across the industry. The reauthorization act aims to promote nursing education, support nurse development programs, enhance nurse recruitment, support nurses’ retention, and strengthen nursing practice (Congress.gov, 2019).

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The New Act’s Impact on Nursing Practice

Implementing the reauthorization act will significantly impact nursing practice. The Act will also have a ripple effect on the entire health care industry. The Act proposes effective programs to improve the education, welfare, and well-being of nurses. The Act acknowledges the need to support nurses at all levels to enhance nursing services delivery. The sponsors argue that increased financing of nurse-managed facilities could quickly achieve the targeted objectives. Therefore, implementing this Act will increase the government’s financial support of nursemanaged clinics. Notably, the legislation will reform nursing education and contribute to adopting newer strategies to nursing education. Nurse training institutions will embrace new information technologies to support nursing education. The industry will produce competent nurses able to deliver quality care with minimal supervision.

The Impact of Quality Measures on Nursing Practice and Patient Outcome

Literature indicates that pay-for-performance and quality measures have a remarkable impact on nursing practice and patient care outcomes. In pay-for-performance, nurses are reimbursed for quality services provided to clients rather than the numbers served. Therefore, nurses change their care delivery strategies to align with clients’ needs, thus improving chances of better outcomes (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019). Nursing professionals also adopt efficient models that support nurse-patient interactions. This approach helps nurses address all health needs, thus reducing the risk of infections and readmission to the hospital.

Notably, the value-based reimbursement models developed by Medicare and other insurance companies have incentivized nursing professionals to adhere to clinical guidelines and ethical codes (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019). Clinical guidelines stress the need to deliver appropriate care to a smaller population of patients instead of poorly serving many patients.

Nurses are, thus, left with no choice but to integrate evidence-based practice into nursing practice (OECD, 2018). Studies show that the pay-for-performance models integrate access, cost, and quality into organizational practices, structures, and outcomes.

The purpose of quality measures is to determine the suitability of structures, processes, and practices besides ascertaining the impact of these attributes on patient outcomes and satisfaction (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019). These measures help leaders determine if nurses and other providers can utilize existing resources to deliver competent care. OECD (2018) noted that quality measures set the ground on which nurses utilize evidence-based practices and personalized treatment approaches to improve care quality. Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt (2019) also argued that quality measures incentivize nurses to deliver appropriate care besides supporting patients to access healthcare.

Nursing Leadership and Management

As denoted by Korniewicz (2015), transforming the nursing industry is a complex task that requires strong leadership and collaboration among care providers. The healthcare industry is experiencing a change in dynamics, and these changes require strong leadership to ensure that targeted goals are attained. In nursing, strong leaders are defined as professionals capable of delivering excellent care, mentoring other nurses, and serving as partners in leadership, administration, nursing studies, and policy development (Weiss, Tappen, & Grimley, 2019).

Nursing education is tailored to produce nurses with suitable leadership and management skills. Over time, numerous nursing management and leadership have arisen. These roles include nurse leaders and nurse managers. A nurse manager is involved in streamlining nursing practice by ensuring nurses comply with practice standards, procedures, and ethics. These managers also make decisions on human and financial management (Korniewicz, 2015). They give directions on improving the nursing environment, improving care quality, and achieving hospital goals.

On the other hand, the nurse leader oversees patient care to ensure EBP integration to care processes. The oversight tasks of a nurse leader include gathering and analyzing treatment data, developing and managing patient care teams, and creating customized treatment plans (Weiss et al., 2019). The nurse leader also participates in disease prevention and health promotion efforts. The leader identifies the best interventions to address patients’ health needs, create a safe environment and improve population health (Korniewicz, 2015). Nurse leaders also apply critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and decision-making skills to address nursing challenges rationally.

Emerging Nursing Practice Trends

The health care industry is typified by complex trends, ethical dilemmas, and increased patient populations (Finkelman, 2021). These trends indicate that the nursing industry will experience noteworthy changes in nursing roles and practice in the future. The surge in patient numbers, including older patients, will increase the demand for health care services. Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt (2019) noted that nurses would be serving large numbers of older persons than younger ones during practice. Unfortunately, the current shortage of nurses might negatively affect health care dynamics. The high demand for health care and staffing shortage will lead to job growth for nurses.

The nursing industry will also experience a boost in implementing healthcare technology. Health care organizations will install automated systems to support care delivery to many patients (Finkelman, 2021). These systems will guarantee quality care for healthcare seekers. Nursing education will also transform to incorporate newer technologies into nursing programs

(Korniewicz, 2015). The education system will produce nurses equipped with the skills to operate most health technology systems. These nurses will use their skills to develop technologycompliant models of care delivery.

Conclusion

The increased demand for quality care amidst a surging patient population is one factor that triggers the change in the health care industry. Legislators have devised various policies to support quality improvement and sustainability. These regulations support nursing education, care coordination, and cost reduction. Nurse leaders participate in nursing transformation by guiding nurses to comply with ethics, procedures, and regulations.