To do:

• You should respond to at least two of your peers by extending, refuting/correcting, or adding additional nuance to their posts and supporting your opinion with a reference. Response posts must be at least 150 words. Your reply posts are worth 2 points (1 point per response).
• Quotes “…” cannot be used at a higher learning level for your assignments, so sentences need to be paraphrased and referenced.
• Acceptable references include scholarly journal articles or primary legal sources (statutes, court opinions), journal articles, and books published in the last five years—no websites to be referenced without prior approval.

Reimbursement and Financing Issues

Otilia M Iova

April 8, 2021

Reimbursement and Financing Issues

Nowadays, the healthcare system is rapidly developing and constantly going through various changes, including of financial nature, which has a direct impact on the medical staff and nurses. Keeping the nursing staff updated about any changes that take place is one of the ways to ensure a healthy working atmosphere. With recent reimbursement changes in my working environment, there are a few ways used to share them with the nursing staff.

One of the methods to address reimbursement changes in my workplace is through communication. Effective communication helps explain the reason behind any decision made, possible consequences, and how this change will impact nurses. While this point may seem clear, many administrators and managers neglect it, which can lead to misunderstanding and chaos in the working place. Instead of keeping nurses wondering about changes that take place around them, administration should promptly call a meeting and presents a brief summary of recent adjustments. In addition, before announcing the change, it is important to choose a suitable time and place. Besides, it is necessary to keep in mind that a summary of reimbursement changes is not only about what it is said, but also how it is said, meaning that communicators must choose their words wisely to ensure that most nurses will welcome the change instead of resisting it.

Another point to keep in mind is that any changes related to reimbursement may create certain confusion among the nursing staff, either due to their lack of knowledge on this matter or unwillingness to accept further modifications. When such a situation occurs, addressing the change is split into several steps such as introducing the issue and providing reasoning behind it, explaining the new order of things and consequences, and eliminating a negative attitude by answering further questions (Salmond & Echevarria, 2017). If this algorithm is followed, it ensures that reimbursement, as well as other changes that will take place in the future, are welcomed by the nursing staff.

Nurses have always been a valuable asset to healthcare facilities. Introducing them to financial issues is crucial for the wellbeing of the medical institution. One of the ways to increase awareness is through education. Currently, there are plenty of courses and training opportunities presented for healthcare workers that help increase their skills and knowledge (Connor, 2015). Recently, organizing courses that promote workers’ qualifications gained popularity due to the delivery of useful information within a short period of time. Similarly, financing courses can be developed specifically for the nursing staff, taking into account their current knowledge and level of qualification. In my opinion, it will provide nurses with a great opportunity to learn about financial issues in more depth. In addition, as the course is time-effective, nurses will neither invest too much of their free time nor will they be overwhelmed with new information. It is important to note though that the nursing staff should be informed regarding any courses or cycles that are about to take place. Such meetings should be held with the purpose of proposing training and seeking feedback from the nursing staff. This step will help in understanding their level of knowledge in financing and will give a better insight into their interests in this field.

Moreover, it is recommended to explain why gaining skills in finance is important and how it can influence personal and collective performance. When nurses have a clear understanding of why they need to learn financing, they are more likely to be genuinely involved in the learning process rather than doing it because they are told so. Upon successful completion of such a course, the nursing staff should practice acquired skills in a real-time setting. Nothing can teach a person better than real-life situations, where they are exposed to actual scenarios and issues that must be solved effectively. It will not only allow nurses to implement their knowledge but will it also lead to a better outcome in further hospital operations.

Greter Acosta.

Reimbursement & Financing Issues

A good management team should ensure there is an excellent communication channeling system within the organization. Better communication strategy ensures there is no distortion of information; thus, an organization becomes more efficient in its operations. More often, miscommunications result in unwanted inconveniences in an organization. An organization’s financial issues are always critical; thus, they require keen handling to ensure everyone is satisfied at the end of any financial operations. According to Karim et al. (2018), hospitals in the United States face many challenges in changing the reimbursement policies and consequently keeping their finances viable. The decision to come up with a better way of reimbursement is possible even though it takes time and can result in unwanted changes. The many changes that hospitals would want to effect are hypothesized to impact their usual payment schemes. McWilliams et al. (2017) argue that nurses should be informed of the payment models that make a healthcare facility prone to excessive post-acute care. The knowledge should be obtained from reviewing previous payment records and the type of care that was offered.

In most healthcare facilities, employers must use a skillset to pass information to their nurses and other healthcare providers. Communication is a central component of stable partnerships, teamwork, and engagement, both of which are important clinical practice elements. The coordination between nurses and the finance office has a significant impact on nurses’ care delivery. An increase in nurse coordination can reduce medical mistakes and improve health outcomes. The healthcare system’s main changes have always been to improve the healthcare services and reduce the mortality rates that are often witnessed. One of the most effective ways that the healthcare system is trying to apply is implementing magnet recognition which plays a critical role in transforming healthcare services for the better (Karim et al., 2018). The Magnet Recognition program enables the nurses to access better education and development platforms to develop their careers significantly. Magnetic recognition is always awarded to the qualified organizations that have met all the ANCC standards, which is defined by the excellent nurse’s efforts, quality patient care, service delivery across the healthcare system, and better innovations in the nursing sphere.

The nurses need to be aware of the healthcare costs and other financial issues interlinked with the healthcare system. For nurses, therefore, to be up to date about any issues pertaining to finances in the healthcare systems, they can ensure their department stays on the budget. They should do so by ensuring a follow-up is done to any cost incurred and is not recorded. Also, the nursing department should develop an effective way that can be used to produce, send, and store critical information, including the patient’s profile, in an electronic system. Achieving the same would help them monitor the payment records as the clients have made them. Cunningham et al. (2016) argue that previous research has reported private insurers paying more than Medicaid, which receives more. Reducing such costs and work with private insurers would be beneficial to the healthcare system. Again, most expenses incurred in the healthcare facilities are used in care at the hospitals, to purchase medications, and in the human resources department. Nurses should therefore be informed of the main transactions that occur in the departments mentioned above.