Capstone Nursing Report: Factors Impacting Healthcare Economics

This capstone nursing report delves into the economic environment of healthcare, exploring two key factors: poverty and the strength of the public sector component. It highlights how financial barriers due to poverty limit access to healthcare services, and conversely, how a robust public sector can improve access. The report also analyzes the influence of economic issues on bedside nursing practice, including value-based purchasing, staffing challenges, and reimbursement issues. Value-based purchasing is presented as a method to improve quality and patient satisfaction. Staffing issues, such as understaffing, are shown to negatively affect patient care due to increased workloads. Furthermore, the report discusses how reimbursement issues impact nurses' morale and compensation. The report concludes by emphasizing the significance of these economic factors in shaping healthcare delivery and nursing practice.

Running head: CAPSTONE NURSING 1
Capstone Nursing
Name
Institution
Professor’s Name
Date

CAPSTONE NURSING 2
Introduction
Individuals usually use healthcare services to diagnose, cure injury or disease, to
maintain or improve function as well as to acquire information regarding their health status.
This paper aims to discuss two factors that change the economic environment of healthcare,
which are poverty and the strength of the public sector component of the health care system.
The paper also discusses how economic issues influence the practice of a bedside nurse.
1. Two Factors that Have Changed the Economic Environment of Health Care
a. Poverty
Poverty has changed the economic environment of health care as people, especially the
low-income earners, are unable to afford health care services and health insurance due to
financial barriers. For instance, people without health insurance coverage have worse access to
healthcare than insured individuals. Majority of uninsured people, therefore, go without
essential medical care due to its high cost and unaffordability (Terry, 2011).
b. The strength of Public Sector Component of Healthcare System
A healthcare system with a robust public sector component allows citizens to access
health services easily. The system of healthcare delivery has three levels. The first level
involves the Ministry of Health and Medical Education which offers free services of Primary
Health Care (PHC). The second level involves district health facilities, while the third level
involves rural health centers (Zaccagnini & White, 2010). The health status of individuals has
improved over the past years due to free healthcare services. For instance, rural residents have
unlimited access to PHC services.
2. How Economic Issues Influence the Practice of a Bedside Nurse

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Bedside nursing practice aims to attend to the basic needs of patients to quicken their
recovery. Economic issues such as value-based purchasing, staffing, and reimbursement issues
affect bedside nursing.
a. Value-Based Purchasing
Value-Based Purchasing has improved the quality of bedside nursing, thus increasing
patient satisfaction. Through Value-Based Purchasing, bedside nurses can achieve modest
quality improvement by adhering to recommended care processes (Terry, 2011).
b. Staffing Issues
Staffing issues also influence bedside nursing. For instance, under-staffing of nurses
leads to low staffing ratios and increased workload for nurses. The lack of a sufficient number
of nurses to take care of admitted patients has a negative influence on bedside nursing. The few
nurses available are unable to offer adequate attention to all the admitted patients (Delves-
Yates, 2015).
c. Reimbursement Issues
Reimbursement issues have a significant influence on bedside nursing practice. For
instance, health centers and hospitals require sufficient financial reimbursement from private
insurance companies and the government. When hospitals face severe financial constraints, they
cannot offer nurses good salary packages by Pay-for-Performance. Poor reimbursement
demotivates nurses and lowers their morale to serve patients better since they know that their
excellence performance would not earn them extra compensation (Hood, 2013).

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Conclusion
People often seek health services for disease diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.
Factors such as poverty and the public sector component of the healthcare system have changed
the economic environment of health care. Also, Value-Based purchasing, staffing, and
reimbursement issues influence the practice of bedside nursing.

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References
Delves-Yates, C. (2015). Essentials of Nursing Practice (3rd ed.). London, England: SAGE
Publications.
Hood, L. (2013). Leddy & Pepper's Conceptual Bases of Professional Nursing (2nd ed.).
Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Terry, A. J. (2011). Clinical Research for the Doctor of Nursing Practice (2nd ed.). Burlington,
MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Zaccagnini, M., & White, K. (2010). The Doctor of Nursing Practice Essentials (3rd ed., Vol.
1). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.