Benchmark Assignment: Evolving Practice of Nursing and Patient Care Delivery Models
The Evolution of Nursing Practice
To my colleagues, the health care system has begun a decade of transitions that, for the nursing profession, promise to change the practice of nurses, expand current nursing roles and create new ones, and provide many opportunities for nurses to participate in shaping the future delivery system. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, care delivery and financing systems are undergoing significant transformations that will accelerate in 2014, when major provisions of the legislation are implemented. The purpose of the this letter is to explain how the practice of nursing is expected to shift and to also discuss the concepts of continuum of care, accountable care organizations (ACO’s) medical homes, nurse-managed health care clinics (NMHCs). Under the Accountable Care Organizations, strategies will be developed to align the goals of health care delivery reorganizations, enhance care coordination, and improve patient transitions across the care delivery continuum. Expansion of medical care homes, NMHC’s, and enhanced coverage for preventative care services will help to shift the delivery system's current focus on acute care to a greater emphasis on prevention and treatment of chronic care conditions using health care teams and information technology. Medical homes, sometimes referred to as NHMC’s, are identified as a concept that began in pediatrics over 40 years ago. Over time, the medical home has now evolved into a health practice that encompasses a models which allows for enhanced patient care and coordination and functions more as a primary care practice, thus enhancing patient and caregiver relationships. These NHMC’s are community based, patient-centered operations who operate with a tight niched group of nurses, physicians,