Health Care Reform & the Future of Nursing - Essay Example

Health Care Reform Health Care Reform & the Future of Nursing How are the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and consumer expectations driving changes in health care delivery?The health care reform act has introduced a number of far reaching changes in the health care system. The reforms impact on the employment, health care, and insurance sectors. The patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have introduced changes in the health care system because they have introduced higher insurance premiums for all patients.

The act provides for health care insurance schemes for everyone in order to ensure that everyone can have access to affordable and quality health care in public health care institutions (Poskauer, 2014). The consumer expectations have led to improved service delivery as they are entitled to quality health care, which is catered fro through the universal health insurance schemes. Describe the ethical principles on which the ACA is based. The Affordable Care Act holds that all human being are entitled to medical attention as it is a basic human right, regardless of the patient’s financial position.

The ethical principle of providing quality and equal health care to everyone is upheld through the act. The affordability of health care makes it possible for everyone to access health care regardless of the person’s financial position. The protection of human rights and offering of quality health care to every citizen are upheld in the ACA (Poskauer, 2014).Briefly describe the new health care delivery models that are being developed to address the mandates and consumer expectations. The Accountable care organizations provide for grouping of patients so as to manage their medical care with the purpose of offering high quality care while cutting costs.

This is done through collaborative efforts between hospitals, medical groups, as well as other providers of health care. The amount of money saved through this initiative is kept by the health care providers. The retail clinics model is also a popular innovation. This gives immediate health care to those seeking medical care without the need to have appointments. The dual- eligible model is also gaining ground. This allows patients to receive care using Medicare and Medicaid. This is especially helpful for patients with high medical expenses.

The bundled payments are also gaining prominence as it focuses on the quality of care provided and not quantity. The concept bundles all medical costs by the patient into one payment. This ensures that the patient receives standard care for any ailments (Daly, 2013).Describe the role and skills that will be required of nurse leaders in new these health care delivery systems. The nursing leaders need to learn how to handle patients with different needs accordingly. This is because the care provides for all levels and types of care that are sought by the patients.

The nurses must learn to seek medical history appropriately so as to ensure that the medical care offered is consistent. Good customer care skills will be required to ensure that the nurses are able to cater for different kinds of clients (Mahar, 2006). The nurses will be required to also play the role of health care advisers so as to help patients understand how the system works.Describe new or expanded roles for nurses in these systems. The nurses will have more roles under the new system. To begin with, the nurses will provide advice on how best to utilise the medical care so as to get the best services.

The nurses will also advice the patients on how the system works so as to improve knowledge about the system. Nurses will also be expected to keep track on how the patients seek medical help to ensure that the patients do not seek help unnecessarily (Mahar, 2006). This is because people tend to abuse the health care system because it offers quality care at affordable rates.Describe the skills that will be required for clinical nurses in all settings under health care reform. Nurses will need good interpersonal skills so as to establish good communication with clients and offer advice.

The nurses will also require good communication skills that will enable them to clearly communicate what the patients require for improved health. Nurses will also need skills in diverse medical fields so that they can offer holistic care and advice to patients (Daly, 2013). This calls for improved training to equip nurses with various nursing skills.Postulate what nursing practice will look like in 5-10 years. Nursing practice will involve offering services to all patients while maintaining high quality.

Nurses will be expected to practice a lot of communication and have strong interpersonal skills. The nursing practice will also play more advisory roles than it currently does. This is because most of the care sought will involve offering advice on best health practices and not necessarily medical care (Reid, 2009).How and to what degree will nursing meet the goals of the IOM report on the Future of Nursing? The future of nursing is projected to play a big role in improved medical care through advisory roles that seek to improve livelihoods.

The nursing practice is thus, expected to meet these goals of the IOM as it focuses on preventive care. The future of nursing is expected to shift towards preventive care (Reid, 2009).ReferencesDaly, R. (2013). Redesigning Healthcare. New York: Crain Communications, Inc. Mahar, M. (2006). Money-Driven Medicine: The Real Reason Health Care Costs So Much. New York: Harper/Collins. Proskauer, P. (2014). Health Care Reform Task Force. New York: Proskauer Rose LLP. Reid, T. R. (2009). The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper and Fairer Health Care.

New York: Penguin Books.