Please read the discussion board post and complete a full 1-page response. Also, please elaborate on the discussion and follow the grading rubric. I do not need the title page. I have attached the discussion board post and grading rubric as a file.
Week 6 Discussion #2 – Health Policy Issue Experiences
According to Loversidge and Zurmehly, health policy refers to legislation as well as other forms of policy such as judicial opinions, regulations, guidelines, or standards that may directly or indirectly influence social and physical environments, behaviors, socioeconomic status, and availability of and accessibility to medical care services. Many nurse practitioners who practice in the state of Louisiana anxiously await the passage of House Bill 495. House Bill 495 will grant nurse practitioners in Louisiana full practice authority without the collaboration with a physician.
Shortly before the COVID 19 pandemic occurred while working solo at a satellite clinic at my employment, I encountered a mentally ill patient who presented to be harmful to himself and others. Still, he did not want to be admitted to an inpatient facility. The patient exhibited symptoms that needed further evaluation and treatment at an inpatient mental facility. After examining my patient, I consulted with the collaborating physician, concluding that the patient required further evaluation and treatment. In order to obtain a Physician Emergency Certificate (PEC), after examination if the patient is deemed to be a candidate for further assessment and treatment, the PEC form must be completed and signed by a physician. The physician instructed me to complete the PEC form and send it over for his signature. During the process of attempting to obtain the signature by the physician for completion of the PEC, the patient ran out of the back door of the clinic and was not located by police after arriving at the clinic.
Many patients who attend clinics in rural and underserved areas often deal with mental illness and chronic diseases. If nurse practitioners have full practice authority, it would significantly enhance immediate access to care for those patients who need inpatient mental services. House Bill 495 would allow nurse practitioners to sign emergency certificates for admission to an inpatient facility for at least seventy-two hours. Without the ability to practice with full authority, nurse practitioners may sometimes experience the inability to ensure that their patients receive proper care, as noted in the scenario mentioned earlier. I feel that the amount of time spent on the phone with the physician who deemed me competent to assess the patient and complete the certificate denied the patient proper care due to law requiring a physician signature to be valid. In my opinion, we failed to provide appropriate care to the patient when needed.
All nurse practitioners in Louisiana need to band together and continue to push for House Bill 495 to become law. Many state NP organizations have hired lobbyists to help bring their efforts to the front line of legislators, although the medical boards in these states have significant influence and financial power to push their agendas through. It’s time to change the focus from “us against them” to providing patients in the communities we serve with access to quality care (Peterson, 2017).
| Discussion Board Responses Rubric | |||||
| Criteria | Ratings | Pts | |||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Number of Responses
Students are expected to respond to at least 2 of their peers. |
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30 pts | |||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Substance of Responses |
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45 pts | |||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Grammar, Punctuation & APA |
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25 pts | |||
| Total Points: 100 | |||||