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 _____. I am honored to have the opportunity to speak with you today. I currently serve as a care coordinator at Longevity Center, an organization dedicated to supporting individuals with mental health conditions through education, counseling, and access to essential care services.

Agenda

This presentation explores the ethical and policy considerations that shape mental health care coordination at the Longevity Center. It highlights the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration, legal frameworks such as the Baker Act and HIPAA, and adherence to the ANA Code of Ethics. Additionally, it addresses ethical challenges, including access disparities and cultural sensitivity, while emphasizing community collaboration and the development of sustainable care systems to reduce inequities.

Significance of Care Coordination in Chronic Disease Management

Care coordination is essential for managing mental health conditions effectively. It ensures timely and appropriate support across diverse care settings. Adults with mental illness often receive care from multiple professionals and community-based organizations (Bury et al., 2022). Fragmented services can lead to worsening symptoms, repeated crises, and increased healthcare costs. In Florida, approximately 2,889,000 adults live with mental disorders, and in 2021, 40.9% of adults reported experiencing symptoms of depression (National Alliance on Mental Illness [NAMI], n.d.). Effective coordination at the Longevity Center enhances access to services and improves health outcomes.

Governmental Policies’ Effect on Care Coordination

State-Level Policies

The Baker Act, formally known as the Florida Mental Health Act, provides crisis intervention services for individuals experiencing acute mental health crises. It establishes legal safeguards to protect patient rights during psychiatric treatment (Florida Department of Children and Families, 2024).

HIPAA ensures the privacy of patients’ health information while allowing secure sharing of data among care providers. This facilitates coordinated and continuous mental health services, as multidisciplinary teams—including psychiatrists, primary care providers, and social workers—collaborate on patient care (Subbian et al., 2021).

Policy Reforms and Community Support

Recent reforms in Florida have strengthened integrated behavioral health systems and value-based care models, promoting early intervention and patient-centered approaches (Pincus & Fleet, 2022). Community organizations such as NAMI Florida provide peer support, education, and navigation services that complement clinical care, reducing disparities in access and outcomes.

Ethical Questions or Dilemmas for Care Coordination

Policy Level	Ethical Considerations	Impact on Care Coordination
National (ACA)	Expands access, improves quality, controls costs	Potential conflicts between standardized care pathways and patient autonomy; ethical tension arises when cost-effective treatments override individualized needs (Braun et al., 2023; Pincus & Fleet, 2022).
State (Florida Medicaid)	Integrated services for low-income populations	Delays in care, limited specialist access, and administrative barriers compromise beneficence; Medicaid recipients may receive lower-quality services than privately insured individuals (Patel et al., 2025; Braun et al., 2023).
Local (Community Programs)	Community-based mental health initiatives	Limited resources create challenges in justice and fairness; inconsistent funding and eligibility criteria may restrict access, eroding public trust (Braun et al., 2023; NAMI Florida, 2025).

Impact of the Code of Ethics for Nurses

The American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics offers guidance for ethical mental health care. Key provisions include:

Provision 2: Commitment to the patient, prioritizing patient needs, dignity, and advocacy for patient-centered care.
Provision 8: Collaboration to protect human rights and reduce disparities, emphasizing culturally responsive interventions and equitable treatment (ANA, 2025).

At the Longevity Center, nurses uphold beneficence, justice, non-maleficence, and autonomy. By following these ethical principles, nurses enhance long-term care planning, improve treatment adherence, and strengthen patient trust in a setting with limited access to mental health services (Braun et al., 2023).

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) such as economic stability, housing, transportation, and health literacy significantly influence care outcomes. Patients at the Longevity Center face barriers including food insecurity, limited insurance coverage, and transportation challenges, which impact equitable access to care. The ANA Code of Ethics obliges nurses to address these systemic inequities by providing care responsive to individual social and cultural contexts, ultimately improving patient outcomes (ANA, 2025).

Recommendations for Support and Collaboration

Ethical and policy frameworks emphasize nurses’ roles in driving change through collaboration, community engagement, and health policy advocacy. Partnerships with organizations like NAMI Florida and the Mental Health Association of Central Florida (MHACF) provide essential services, including peer counseling, education, housing support, and access to affordable care resources (MHACF, 2025). Nurses, guided by the ANA Code of Ethics, are ethically mandated to advocate for culturally sensitive practices and ensure that mental health care is accessible, equitable, and person-centered.

Conclusion

Ethical and policy-driven care coordination is essential in addressing mental health challenges at the Longevity Center. By adhering to the ANA Code of Ethics and collaborating with community partners such as NAMI Florida and MHACF, nurses can mitigate systemic barriers, promote culturally sensitive care, and support equitable access to mental health services. Such efforts ensure improved patient outcomes and enhance the overall well-being of adults receiving care.

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