The Role of Nurses in Improving Health Care Access and Quality Essay

In your follow-up responses, you should do the following:

Pick two peer posts outside of your discipline.
Identify and comment on how changes in your peers’ disciplines may have impacted your workflow or productivity.
Suggest how better communication may have improved processes for both disciplines. The Role of Nurses in Improving Health Care Access and Quality Essay

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Peer post:

Unit 3 Week 8: Is it easier to seek mental healthcare knowing the treatment limitations and financial requirements are no more restricted than medical/surgical care?
Receiving mental health care can be seen as a privilege due to the increased costs associated with it. In 2008, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act [MHPAEA] was signed into law. It made sure that the financial requirements and treatment limitations for mental health and substance abuse are not more restrictive than medical or surgical benefits in insurance policies (Frank et. al., 2014). This federal healthcare policy allowed for group insurance to make mental healthcare available and affordable to the public. Combined with the Affordable Healthcare Act of 2010, it was successful in safeguarding behavioral health coverage (Stewart et. al., 2018). When the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act was signed into law, healthcare providers, including nurses, saw a decrease in mental health crisis situations and an increase in mental health care availability. The Role of Nurses in Improving Health Care Access and Quality Essay

As nurses, we see a lot of patients come into the emergency room getting mental health care unwillingly because they have not sought out voluntary care. Their conditions could have been prevented if the person had been able to receive proper mental health care on an individual basis. Prior to the enactment of the MHPAEA, people with mental health concerns would not pursue care due to its high costs and would often end up in severe mental health distress (Drake et. al., 2019). In fact, millions of Americans were uninsured and of those who were, only 2% had mental health care coverage (Frank et. al., 2014). In the hospital, nurses would get injured on the job because patients would be in heightened emotional states and often lash out at those providing care. This led many away from mental health nursing due to the fear of being injured by patients who could not control emotional outbursts. A decrease in mental healthcare nurses and advanced practice nurses was evident. Going to see a mental healthcare provider in an office was unaffordable for most people, leaving many to have untreated conditions. After the enactment, the availability of care was increased due to the law’s consumer driven and recovery-oriented system of care (Hanrahan et. al., 2010). Suddenly, mental healthcare became an option rather than a luxury. The Role of Nurses in Improving Health Care Access and Quality Essay

MHPAEA positively increased mental and substance use disorder outpatient services because they became affordable and attainable to the public (Mulvaney-Day et al., 2019). People were willing to see providers before conditions became unmanageable. A decrease in severity in mental health disorders was seen with the availability of care. The nursing profession was able to care for patients without fear of hostility and that led to an increase in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners coming into practice. Services from PMHNP’s would be covered by most insurance, allowing patients to comfortably seek care and the NPs to be paid properly for services as well (Chapman et. al., 2018). Decreased hospitalizations for mental healthcare as well as increased nursing and provider care lead to a higher quality of care. There has been less mental health distress in communities and more willingness to look for the care needed. Overall, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act created more positive outcomes for those in need of mental health services.

Hello, I appreciate your insightful discussion. Changes in healthcare policy, such as the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), have undoubtedly impacted various disciplines within the healthcare sector. For instance, in the field of psychology, the increased accessibility and affordability of mental health care resulting from the MHPAEA likely led to shifts in patient demographics and treatment modalities (Mulvaney-Day et al.,2019). Psychologists may have observed a higher influx of patients seeking voluntary mental health care, as financial barriers were reduced. The Role of Nurses in Improving Health Care Access and Quality Essay This could have impacted psychologists’ caseloads and treatment approaches, necessitating adjustments in their workflow to accommodate the changing patient needs. Additionally, the decrease in mental health crisis situations mentioned in your post may have influenced collaboration between psychologists and other healthcare professionals, requiring more proactive and preventive interventions rather than reactive measures.

In terms of communication improvements, interdisciplinary collaboration between nurses and psychologists could have been enhanced to ensure a holistic approach to patient care. The Role of Nurses in Improving Health Care Access and Quality Essay For example, better communication channels could have facilitated the identification of patients in need of mental health services at an earlier stage, allowing for timely interventions and potentially reducing the burden on emergency room staff, as mentioned in your post (Flaubert et al., 2021).  Moreover, establishing clear communication pathways between healthcare providers and insurance companies could have facilitated the implementation of the MHPAEA and ensured that patients were aware of their rights to mental health coverage (Wu et al., 2021). This could have helped mitigate misconceptions or hesitancies surrounding mental health care affordability, encouraging more individuals to seek the necessary treatment. Effective communication between stakeholders is crucial for the successful implementation of healthcare policies and the equitable distribution of resources, ultimately benefiting both patients and healthcare professionals alike. The Role of Nurses in Improving Health Care Access and Quality Essay

References

Flaubert, J. L., Menestrel, S. L., Williams, D. R., & Wakefield, M. K. (2021). The Role of Nurses in Improving Health Care Access and Quality. In www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573910/

Mulvaney-Day, N., Gibbons, B. J., Alikhan, S., & Karakus, M. (2019). Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the Use of Outpatient Behavioral Health Services in the United States, 2005–2016. American Journal of Public Health, 109(S3), S190–S196. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2019.305023

Wu, A., Roemer, E. C., Kent, K. B., Ballard, D. W., & Goetzel, R. Z. (2021). Organizational Best Practices Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace. Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 63(12), e925–e931. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8631150/ The Role of Nurses in Improving Health Care Access and Quality Essay