NURS FPX 4065 Assessment 3 Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination

Name

Capella university

NURS-FPX4065 Patient-Centered Care Coordination

Prof. Name

Date

Ethical and Policy Factors in Care Coordination

Hello, I am ——-, and I am honored to present today. I currently work as a care coordinator at the Longevity Center, where we provide education, psychosocial support, and access to essential services for individuals living with mental health conditions.

Agenda

This discussion explores ethical and policy considerations in coordinating mental health care at the Longevity Center. It covers the significance of multidisciplinary teamwork, examines federal and state policies such as the Baker Act and HIPAA, and highlights the ethical framework provided by the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics. Ethical dilemmas, including equity in access and cultural sensitivity, are also examined. Furthermore, the importance of reducing disparities through community collaboration and developing sustainable systems of care is emphasized.

Significance of Care Coordination in Chronic Disease Management

Care coordination plays a pivotal role in the management of mental health conditions at the Longevity Center. It ensures that patients receive timely, comprehensive, and continuous care across different service areas. Adults with psychiatric conditions often require services from multiple professionals and community-based organizations (Bury et al., 2022). When care is fragmented, patients face increased risks such as worsening symptoms, recurring crises, and elevated healthcare expenditures.

In Florida alone, approximately 2.8 million adults are affected by mental illness, and in 2021, nearly 40.9% reported symptoms of depression (NAMI, n.d.). This highlights the pressing need for structured and coordinated interventions. At the Longevity Center, care coordination strengthens access to care, enhances treatment adherence, and reduces avoidable hospitalizations.

Governmental Policies’ Effect on Care Coordination

Government policies at both state and federal levels shape how mental health care is coordinated at the Longevity Center.

Key Policy Influences

Policy/Act	Purpose	Impact on Care Coordination
Florida Mental Health Act (Baker Act)	Provides crisis intervention and guidelines for psychiatric care	Protects patient rights during involuntary psychiatric treatment (Florida DCF, 2024)
HIPAA	Protects patient health information privacy	Allows secure sharing of patient records across care teams (Subbian et al., 2021)
Value-Based Care Reforms	Promotes preventive care and cost efficiency	Encourages early intervention and coordinated behavioral health (Pincus & Fleet, 2022)

Additionally, community organizations such as NAMI Florida support patients by offering education, peer navigation, and advocacy services, complementing the work of the Longevity Center.

Ethical Questions or Dilemmas for Care Coordination

National Policy Provision

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded healthcare access and improved quality of care nationwide. However, ethical challenges arise when financial limitations and standardized pathways compromise patient autonomy. For example, value-based models emphasize cost-effectiveness, which may restrict individualized interventions crucial for complex psychiatric cases (Braun et al., 2023). This creates a tension between cost control and personalized care.

State Provision Policy

Florida’s Medicaid behavioral health programs provide coverage for low-income populations. While they expand access, they also create challenges: delays in referrals, limited specialist availability, and administrative barriers. These issues compromise beneficence and result in health disparities, particularly for Medicaid recipients compared to privately insured patients (Patel et al., 2025). At the Longevity Center, provider shortages exacerbate this ethical dilemma.

Local Provision Policy

At the local level, community-based initiatives aim to expand access through free screenings, peer counseling, and educational programs (NAMI Florida, 2025). However, the issue of resource allocation persists. When demand outweighs resources, decisions about who receives support raise questions of justice and fairness. Inconsistent funding for community programs often leads to fragmented services, diminishing public trust.

Impact of the Code of Ethics for Nurses

The ANA Code of Ethics guides ethical mental health practice at the Longevity Center.

Provision 2: Emphasizes the nurse’s duty to advocate for patient dignity and individualized needs.
Provision 8: Highlights collaboration to promote human rights, cultural sensitivity, and equity (ANA, 2025).

Core ethical principles—justice, beneficence, non-maleficence, and autonomy—guide decision-making. For example, when facing staff shortages, nurses are still obligated to ensure equitable distribution of available services. By adhering to these provisions, nurses foster trust and strengthen care continuity.

Social determinants significantly shape health outcomes at the Longevity Center.

Determinant	Challenge	Ethical Concern
Economic Stability	Low income and unemployment	Barriers to accessing continuous care
Transportation Access	Limited mobility to clinics	Inequitable service access
Health Literacy	Limited patient understanding of conditions	Reduced treatment adherence
Housing Security	Unstable living conditions	Stressors worsen psychiatric symptoms

Nurses guided by the ANA Code of Ethics are expected to address these inequities by providing culturally responsive and socially tailored care, thus advancing equity and improving adherence.

Recommendations for Support and Collaboration

To strengthen ethical coordination at the Longevity Center:

Expand partnerships with NAMI Florida and the Mental Health Association of Central Florida (MHACF) to enhance patient navigation and peer support (MHACF, 2025).
Advocate for equitable policies that reduce disparities in Medicaid behavioral health coverage.
Promote culturally sensitive training among staff to address diverse community needs.
Leverage technology (telehealth, electronic health records) to reduce barriers in communication and access.

By aligning these strategies with the ANA Code of Ethics, nurses can ensure patient-centered and ethically sound care.

Conclusion

Ethical and policy-driven coordination is indispensable in addressing mental health challenges at the Longevity Center. By leveraging laws, community partnerships, and the ANA Code of Ethics, nurses can navigate ethical dilemmas, reduce disparities, and advocate for equitable access. The integration of culturally sensitive practices and policy reforms ensures that mental health care is not only clinically effective but also ethically just and socially inclusive.

References

ANA. (2025). Code of ethics for nurses. American Nurses Association. https://codeofethics.ana.org/home

Braun, E., Scholten, M., & Vollmann, J. (2023). Assisted suicide and the discrimination argument: Can people with mental illness fulfill beneficence‐ and autonomy‐based eligibility criteria? Bioethics, 38(1), 61–68. https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.13243

Bury, D., Hendrick, D., Smith, T., Metcalf, J., & Drake, R. E. (2022). The psychiatric nurse care coordinator on a multi-disciplinary, community mental health treatment team. Community Mental Health Journal, 58(7), 1354–1360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-022-00945-7