The most crucial component of advocating for patients is making sure they understand all of their rights. This is more than simply the standard list of patients’ rights that every hospital puts for them to read. Being able to get timely and understandable information on their disease process as well as treatment alternatives that the team is either considering or has already made is an important aspect of patient rights. Many patients in the acute care setting may feel rushed or as if they do not have enough time with their doctors; nurses must advocate for patients by ensuring that they have opportunity to chat with and follow up with their doctors if questions or misunderstanding arise. This is especially essential for the elderly population. With the additional stress of financial difficulties, an elderly person should not suffer as a result of inadequate communication with their medical staff. If at all possible, I would attend physician rounds to assess the level of knowledge of the patient and the quality of communication provided by the team. I would also Help the patient in contacting loved ones if they desired them to be included in communication with the medical team; if the patient wanted a family member to listen in on team rounding with the nurse, this might help improve communication as well as aid coordinate aftercare. Furthermore, if the patient had any questions after meeting with them, I would contact the medical team; I would ensure that messages were delivered to the physicians on time. I would also make certain that the patient was completely informed of her treatment options by offering information on several long-term care facilities around her friends and family. I would contact the utilization nurse manager as well as the hospital social worker to ensure that the patient has the necessary coverage. This is significant since they will be well-versed in what the patient’s insurance covers as well as what options are available to complement her insurance.
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (n.d.), Medicaid supports low-income elderly or disabled people for accommodation, board, and medical services; the services are bundled, and institutions that accept Medicaid funds must meet specified standards of care. In theory, it is a good thing that the government pays and regulates organizations that offer long-term care to the disabled and aged. According to Weech-Maldonado et al. (2019), nursing facilities with a large proportion of Medicaid-covered residents are more likely to suffer as a result of cost-cutting measures such as nursing staffing levels. It is no secret that the possibility of placing a loved one in a nursing home, or even living there oneself, is frightening.
According to Rojas et al. (2022), many long-term care institutions are motivated largely by profit and frequently discover ways to circumvent certain financial and policy limits. So far, I do not believe that the problem of elder abuse and bad nursing home care has been remedied. Working in a nursing home is always something I’m glad I did since it gave me insight into the varied levels of quality of care that elderly and disabled patients receive. I believe it is general known that nurses dislike working at nursing homes. This appears to be a conundrum that must be resolved one day.
CMS stands for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (n.d.). Medicaid.gov, Institutional Long-Term Care. https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/long-term-services-supports/institutional-long-term-care/index.html
Rojas, H. F., Ma, L., Sun, S., Steele, R., M.S., and Janis Coffin, DO,FAAFP, FACMPE (2022). Should the cost-effectiveness of long-term care facilities be considered in future Medicare and Medicaid financial policies? The Journal of Medical Practice Management : MPM, 37(6), 273-277. https://aspenuniversity.idm.oclc.org/login?url= https://www-proquest-com.aspenuniversity.idm.oclc.org/scholarly-journals/should-long-term-care-facilities-be-considered/docview/2702260842/se-2
Weech-Maldonado, R., Lord, J., Pradhan, R., Davlyatov, G., Dayama, N., Gupta, S., & Hearld, L. (2019). (2019). High Medicaid Nursing Homes: Organizational and Market Factors Associated With Financial Performance: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing. Inquiry, 56 https://doi.org/10.1177/0046958018825061
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