Effects of Contemporary Health Policy Essay Paper
Effects of Contemporary Health Policy Essay Paper
Summarize the policy or legislation
SB 1702 (titled: MHDD CD-ADV PRACT PSY NURSE) is a legislative amendment to the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code. Introduced to the Senate Chamber on 15th February 2019 and enacted as a Public Act on 26th August 2019, the legislation permits advanced practice psychiatric nurses (APRN) to order seclusion and restraints for psychiatric patients. In essence, it allows APRN to authorize seclusion and restraints for patients and complete certificates of commitment. The legislation provides that an APRN may examine a patient and execute an order subjecting a patient to involuntary admission with immediate hospitalization on an inpatient basis. In addition, the legislation defines an APRN as a nurse who has been licensed to practice within the State of Illinois as an advanced practice registered nurses as defined by the Nurse Practice Act having been certified as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner or psychiatric mental health clinical nurse specialist by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (Illinois General Assembly, 2020; Legiscan, 2020).
The legislation acknowledges that while APRN comprised a significant population of medical personnel providing essential medical services to ensure the wellbeing and health of the state residents, their value is not well leveraged. In fact, they were not allowed to provide support and oversight, and this had significance since it relegated them to the second place when considering the prestige and support that doctors working in the same field received. Effects of Contemporary Health Policy Essay Paper It particularly noted that APRN must be differentiated from other nurses as a specialty profession that requires a Master of Science in Nursing qualification. The clinical experience and coursework associated with the qualification is focused on psychiatric care provision. In addition, practicing APRN must have passed the associated examination offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Even with these features, APRN were not distinguished from other nurses with regards to their ability to provide support and oversight. The legislation acknowledges the value of APRN and leverages their value to ensure the best outcomes in mental health care delivery within the state (Matyas, 2019).
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Analyze at least one strength and one weakness of the policy or legislation
The legislation presents a strength and a weakness. APRN are at a crucial period in the development of their profession. The legislation allows them to leverage their unique knowledge, competencies and skills so that they are able to practice to the full extent of their abilities. This is important for meeting the demand for mental care practitioners even as the number of patients increases, costs rise and number of medical personnel fails to meet the growing demand. As APRN face the increasing opportunity and continuing opposition for independent practice, the legislation helps them to achieve this objective by defining their roles in the delivery of health care and establishing their professional capabilities. Besides that, the legislation helps with the delivery of quality care as APRN have this capability. Also, the legislation is economically defensible as it allows nurses to take on responsibilities typically assumed by physicians, and yet the APRN demand lower remunerations than physicians (Black, 2016). Overall, the legislation allows APRN to practice to the greater extent of their training and education.
Although the legislation allows APRN to take on more responsibilities with regards to ordering the commitment of patients and use of restraints and seclusion, it does not allow them to practice to the full extent of their training and education. The restricted practice that defines what APRN can do within a narrow scope is a barrier to accessible health care. Besides that, the continued restriction on practice sends the message that APRN are not qualified enough to have full practice authority. To be more precise, giving APRN partial authority implies that they are not qualified to handle more responsibilities as it highlights what APRN can and cannot do within the professional environment (Porter-O’Grady & Malloch, 2016).
Discuss the impact of the policy or legislation for all stakeholders, both providers and consumers
The legislation expands the authority of APRN, and this has an impact on other stakeholders. Firstly, it has an impact on nurses by improving their attitudes as they gain greater prestige in the professional environment. APRN are able to make orders that allow them to make use of their education and knowledge, thus presenting a more satisfying practice environment. Secondly, it has an impact on physicians by reducing the pressure they face in the practice environment. Rules that were previously their sole responsibility are now shared with APRN so that physicians have more time to engage in other roles and see more patients. Thirdly, it has an impact on patients my reducing the cost of care and improving health care access. It reduces the cost of health care as patients spend less when receiving care from APRN as opposed to physicians. In addition, APRN taking on these additional roles implies that patients can receive care from a larger number of medical personnel thus improving their access to health care. Finally, it has implications for health care organizations such as hospitals that will spend less on hiring medical personnel as APRN will cost less in remunerations even as they provide the same health care services as physicians (Black, 2016; Porter-O’Grady & Malloch, 2016).
References
Black, B. (2016). Professional nursing: concepts & challenges. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Illinois General Assembly (2020). Bill Status of SB1702: 101st General Assembly. https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?GA=101&DocTypeID=SB&DocNum=1702&GAID=15&SessionID=108&LegID=118917
Legiscan (2020). IL SB1702 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly. https://legiscan.com/IL/bill/SB1702/2019
Matyas, J. (2019). Illinois Defines A New Profession: Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse. https://www.1818advocacy.com/advanced-practice-psychiatric-nurse/
Porter-O’Grady, T. & Malloch, K. (2016). Leadership in nursing practice: changing the landscape of healthcare (2nd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning. Effects of Contemporary Health Policy Essay Paper
