Technology, Care Coordination, and Community Resources Considerations
Diabetes is a lifelong health disease. Diabetes patients may also experience other health issues such as high blood pressure and heart disease. The objective of this study is to investigate into how to handle chronic diabetic problem using healthcare system, coordination of care, and community programs. In this paper, I will discuss community resources, technologies, and care coordination.
Impact of Health Care Technology
I talked about a variety of details about my patient Anne’s condition for about two hours with the patient, the medical staff, and the nursing staff. The session was very useful in identifying the best solutions for this diabetes healthcare issue. Professionals indicated that diabetes is a serious issue for patient health. Various healthcare technologies have been invented in recent years to aid medical personnel with the diagnosis, management, and observation of patients’ conditions. In order to control diabetes, both doctors and patients employ a variety of approaches. The technology and applications used by diabetic patients to properly manage their blood sugar, lessen the effects of their condition, manage diseases, and enhance their quality of life (Wherry et al., 2021). Automated pumps, pens, glucose monitors are included in technology used for diabetes management. These also enhanced self-care approaches of patients due to easy access and use (Tauschmann & Hovorka, 2018).
Diabetes technology comes in various forms, such as insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). When a doctor mentions diabetes technology, they are likely referring to technology that helps patients take insulin or technology that checks patients’ glucose. These days, the latest technologies have been introduced to reduce patients’ diabetes, such as CGM, which has replaced finger pricks, and insulin pumps, which have made insulin delivery more convenient. Patients can decide to adopt diabetes technology and consider whether it is the best option for them. The patient can discuss it with the healthcare provider. According to research, various sorts of diabetes technology and the benefits doctors can provide to help diabetes patients are being explored (Tauschmann & Hovorka, 2018).
Advantages of Health Care Technology
The newest method of treating diabetes is continuous glucose monitoring. It is also known as CGM. CGM can also assist diabetics to check their glucose levels. CGM anticipates and detects high or low glucose levels before patients experience serious consequences. Glucose levels can increase rapidly and suddenly. A CGM system may be suitable for patients who have type 1 or type 2 diabetes and need to take insulin. CGMs can even be used by children as young as 4 years old, depending on the CGM. CGMs have been found in studies to help people with diabetes maintain blood glucose levels on target without increasing the risk of severe hypoglycemia. Staying on track can lead to fewer health issues on a daily and long-term basis (Beale & Rajwany, 2022).
Barriers
Some people may conclude that CGM is not for them. Some patients have difficulty adjusting to having a sensor beneath their skin and coping with alarms. A CGM system’s cost typically starts at around $990. Annual costs can reach almost $6,000 a year, or $500 a month., depending on whether patients have insurance or not (Gupta et al., 2020). People may experience a range of barriers, such as wear discomfort, device cost, and social interests that discourage them from using CGM. Up to 20% of patients said they were unlikely to use CGM technology. CGM is also helpful for my patient Anne. CGM will help her to maintain blood glucose levels on target without increasing the risk of severe hypoglycemia (Beale & Rajwany, 2022).
Care Coordination and Utilization of Community Resources
Numerous community-based programs that use characteristics in line with the Chronic Care Model have achieved and demonstrated usefulness in enhancing outcomes specific to diabetes. The previous study shows that the care coordination model and clinical management processes are components of the Chronic Care Model (Tauschmann & Hovorka, 2018). These approaches’ crucial elements include patient self-management, the advanced drug delivery system, care coordination which includes information systems and decision support, and community resources. Self-management education is one of the core tenets of the Chronic Care Model and is linked to better clinical outcomes for people with diabetes, including reduced self-reported weight, a better quality of life, healthy coping, and lower expenses. It also improves knowledge and self-care behavior (De Groot et al., 2020).
The American Diabetes Association’s recommendations for providing the fundamental standards of care for diabetic patients. It is a great way for patients to get in touch with community resources and would be through diabetes support. The main objective of the ADA is to reduce costs for the healthcare organization and the patient while enhancing patient health outcomes. It also helps to maximize nursing personnel usage in a way that lessens duplication and improves overall organizational efficiency (Wherry et al., 2021). Several great methods have been developed and evaluated that show promise in preventing diabetes or lowering readmission rates in patients with diabetes who are hospitalized. To deliver the programs, these procedures frequently used intense interventions carried out by highly qualified nurses, dietitians, and psychologists. It is appropriate to find strategies for adapting and effectively providing interventions in patient-centered, community-based formats in the era of cost containment in the delivery of health care services. The ADA also helps professional practice in healthcare management. These are meant to guide physicians and patients based on evidence or expert opinion (De Groot et al., 2020).
System-level reorganizations have been started by organizational experts in the healthcare industry to enhance the coordination of diabetes treatment. To set patient-centered goals, track patient progress, and spot treatment gaps, clinical decision support, and electronic medical data are used. Transparent communication with patients put a positive influence on care coordination. My patient Anne also can get help from ADA to manage her diabetes treatment costs (Saeedi et al., 2019).
Barriers
Lack of patient trust, poor understanding of the care coordinator’s responsibilities, and reluctance to take leadership of patients’ chronic disease treatment have a bad impact on care coordination. Numerous barriers frequently prohibit needy families and children from receiving community support. Many people, those who are minorities or come from low-income families, in particular, hold the stigmatized belief that seeking public assistance will result in persecution or criticism, or that using community resources diminishes their worth (Wherry et al., 2021).
Standards for Nursing Practice and Governmental Policies with Health Technology
The American Diabetes Association’s initiative aims to improve healthcare professionals’ awareness of various diabetes technologies to help them implement cutting-edge diabetes technologies into their practice (Guo et al., 2020). Additionally, ADA pairs patients with the appropriate technology to help them achieve their goals. The ADA’s current clinical practice recommendations are included in the Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, which also includes basic treatment goals and standards. It also includes instruments for assessing the quality of care. My nursing career will be governed by these standards and policies. The American Diabetes Association guides patients in managing a variety of chronic illnesses, coordinated patient care, and effective technology use (Guo et al., 2020).
Local, state, and federal laws affect my nursing career in terms of coordinating care for diabetes patients, utilizing neighborhood resources, and employing various technologies. According to the research, federal programs such as the Century Cure Act promote the use of technology in patient care, research, and the discussion of health data via digital healthcare technologies (Cole & Florez, 2020). The Cure Act improvement aims to regulate events and administrative frameworks to minimize modification, produce predictable outcomes, and enhance patient, healthcare system, and organizational outcomes. The goal of this law is to include patient viewpoints in the design of medical devices and medications. Technological treatments also help to improve healthcare professionals’ capabilities to adapt clinical trial designs and the use of real-world data for patient outcome assessments. My patient Anne can also improve her health by utilizing the latest technologies to better manage her diabetes. The care model helps Anne to maintain their diabetes and also provides guidelines for proper care (Nguyen et al., 2021).
Ethical Professional Practice
By restricting the use of ineffective technology, community, state, and federal regulations enhance safety of patients and decrease the risks associated with providing care. Electronic health records (EHR) are used to manage healthcare data and coordinate patient care (Wherry et al., 2021). EHR makes it simple to track and communicate patient medical records, which effectively reduces care duplication and improves coordination. It establishes authority, which helps healthcare teams develop advanced solutions to improve patient quality of care and safety in the healthcare system. It aids in increasing the effectiveness and security of telemedicine, Medicare, and EHR technology (Wherry et al., 2021).
References
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