10 Jan Nurses are well positioned for reforming health care in ways that promote a healthier public and reduce healthcare cost. Discuss the role nurse plays in COVID vaccination mandate, tel

Nurses are indeed well-positioned to play a pivotal role in reforming healthcare to promote a healthier public and reduce healthcare costs. This is evident in their involvement in the COVID vaccination mandate, telemedicine, and prescription drug pricing advocacy efforts.

Firstly, in the context of COVID vaccination mandates, nurses have been on the frontlines of the pandemic, administering vaccines, educating patients, and addressing vaccine hesitancy. They play a critical role in advocating for vaccination as a primary preventive measure. Through their expertise and patient rapport, nurses can effectively convey the importance of vaccination to the public, contributing to increased vaccine uptake, reduced disease transmission, and ultimately, lower healthcare costs by preventing severe cases and hospitalizations.

Secondly, nurses are actively engaged in telemedicine initiatives, providing remote care and monitoring. They advocate for the expansion of telehealth services to improve access to healthcare, especially in underserved areas. By supporting telemedicine, nurses enable early intervention, reduce hospital admissions, and thus, contribute to cost savings in the healthcare system.

Lastly, nurses advocate for fair prescription drug pricing, drawing attention to the exorbitant costs of medications. They can highlight examples from their practice where patients face financial hardship due to high drug prices. By pushing for policy changes and increased transparency, nurses can help mitigate the burden of prescription drug costs on patients and the healthcare system as a whole.

In conclusion, nurses, with their expertise, patient-centered approach, and advocacy efforts, can effectively contribute to healthcare reform by promoting vaccination, telemedicine expansion, and fair prescription drug pricing. Their roles in these areas are rooted in their commitment to improving public health and reducing healthcare costs, ultimately leading to a more efficient and equitable healthcare system.

References:

1. American Nurses Association. (2020). Telehealth nursing practice. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/what-is-nursing/telehealth-nursing-practice/

2. Frenk, J., Chen, L., Bhutta, Z. A., Cohen, J., Crisp, N., Evans, T., … & Zurayk, H. (2010). Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world. The Lancet, 376(9756), 1923-1958.

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Access to comprehensive health care services is a precursor to equitable, quality health care. Nurses are uniquely qualified to help improve the quality of health care by helping people navigate the health care system, providing close monitoring and follow-up across the care continuum, focusing care on the whole person, and providing care that is culturally respectful and appropriate. Nurses can help overcome barriers to quality care, including structural inequities and implicit bias, through care management, person-centered care, and cultural humility.

The pandemic has had significant emotional, social, and mental health effects on older adults and their caregivers, and nurses and nursing assistants in nursing homes have borne a great burden in carrying out the front-line work of trying to keep residents healthy, care for recovered patients, and help mitigate isolation and its detrimental effects on residents. These tasks in many cases have been performed in the absence of residents’ family members and friends, who have not been allowed to visit as part of efforts to prevent the spread of infection. Inside nursing homes, the nursing staff have had to act as both caregivers and confidants, carrying out their usual tasks while also supporting many residents through confusion, depression, and suicidal ideation. In multigenerational homes, additional steps have been required to mitigate COVID-19 risk for older adults, such as using separate bathrooms, wearing masks within the household if someone is sick, or avoiding visitors. Demand for home health nursing services, inclusive of following strict public health measures (masks, handwashing, quarantining), has increased during the pandemic.

Nurses have substantial and often untapped expertise to help individuals and communities access high-quality health care, particularly in providing care for people in underserved rural and urban areas. Improved telehealth technology and payment systems have the potential to increase access, allowing patients to obtain their care in their homes and neighborhoods. However, the ability of nurses to practice fully in these and other settings is limited by state and federal laws that prohibit them from working to the full extent of their education and training.

· AAN (American Academy of Nursing). Interprofessional practice at the Vine School Health Center: A school-based nurse-managed clinic. American Academy of Nursing; Edge Runners: 2015. [June 19, 2019].  https://www​.aannet.org​/initiatives/edge-runners​/profiles/edge-runners–interprofessional-practice-vine-school  .

· AANP (American Association of Nurse Practitioners). COVID-19 state emergency response: Suspended and waived practice agreement requirements. 2020. [April 13, 2020].  https://www​.aanp.org​/advocacy/state/covid-19-state-emergency-response-temporarily-suspended-and-waived-practice-agreement-requirements  .