Legal and Ethical Considerations Impacting Community Care Delivery

This report delves into the legal and ethical considerations that impact the planning and delivery of community care services. It begins with an introduction highlighting the importance of ethical norms and laws in healthcare, emphasizing the need for healthcare institutions to adhere to these standar...Read More

Rehabilitation and
Community care

Table of Contents
TOPIC: ............................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Compare and contrast patient care need and experience in institution versus community.........1
Importance of referral and data sharing within the inter professional team................................2
Importance of regular Team Meetings to review the client’s case to plan and deliver care.......3
Facilitators and barriers of the chosen topics..............................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

TOPIC:
“Legal and ethical consideration that impact planning and delivering care”
INTRODUCTION
Community care services are generally meant for providing care and support to the
people who are in need and suffering from health issues. The main topic considered in this report
is “Legal and ethical consideration that impact planning and delivering care”. The reason behind
selecting this topic is that there are number of ethical norms and laws which must be consider by
health care institution so that appropriate care can be deliver to patient1. By Investigating this
topic researcher be able to develop an understanding regarding the ethical consideration as well
as legislations that are required to be follow by a health care professional (Yoder-Wise, 2014).
As per the view point of Singh Robin2, legislations are very essential for ensuring that
services must be provided with standard compliances, hence the legal as well as ethical issues are
very essential. The legal consideration ensure about the quality of care, help in avoiding the false
claim and suits as well as avoid employment and labour issue. In addition to this, ethical
consideration focus over balancing efficiency or quality of care. It cultivates a competent
workforce and resolve End-of-life issue. On the other hand, according to article published by
NCCHC (Impact and Interpretation of Regulatory, Legal, and Ethical Issues, 2019), staying loyal
to professional learning value while practising and delivering care creates a unique set of legal,
ethical and professional issue for nurse. The professionals while delivering services are
responsible for taking ethical decision about caring, patient advocacy in planning and providing
secure care to patient. In addition to this care practitioner have to consider legal implications
such as state and federal laws, professional standards, scope of practice etc. for providing
services legally.
1 Yoder-Wise, P. S. (2014). Leading and managing in nursing-E-Book. Elsevier Health
Sciences.
2 Impact and Interpretation of Regulatory, Legal, and Ethical Issues. 2019.[Online]
Available through<http://complianceandethics.org/impact-interpretation-regulatory-
legal-ethical-issues/>.
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MAIN BODY
Compare and contrast patient care need and experience in institution versus community
The primary role of health care provider is to deliver services to patient who need it and
on time by ensuring the experience of services that a patient is availing must be as per their
need3. So it is very essential for any health care delivering practitioner whether it is any
institution or community based services provider, it must ensure that the care must be deliver as
per the patient need by considering all the legal and ethical standard4. Following are the
comparison between the institution and community care:
Cost effectiveness:- Community includes delivering of services through mobile based
application which saves cost as well as time that the patients spend within hospital5. This is more
ethical as older patient get services in more convenient and quick basis. Apart from this, laws
regrading data protection and security will also be consider for performing operations ethically.
On the other side institutes generally includes services that are being offered within
hospitals. Though it involve particular policies over which each practitioner work to deliver high
quality services, but it take more time and also costs higher. But institutions generally worked
over the legal guidelines that has been fixed by government which ensure ethical work.
More choices:- Community based services allows individual to remain more independent
and have an option to make their own choices. Through this patients can maintain desired
relation with their family member while getting daily assistance they need related to their health.
Institutional care provided to physically or mentally disable person reduces their ability to make
their own choice. They restrict them to interact with their family and friends which is basically
right as per the law because these restrictions are made for avoiding any risk to society 6.
3 Biddison, L. D. & et. al., (2014). Ethical considerations: care of the critically ill and
injured during pandemics and disasters: CHEST consensus statement. Chest. 146(4).
e145S-e155S.
4 3 Major Benefits of Community-Based Services vs. Institutional Care. 2019. [Online]
Available through<https://www.integrityinc.org/3-major-benefits-of-community-based-
services-vs-institutional-care/>.
5 Jesus, J. E. & et. al., (2014). Physician orders for life-sustaining treatment and
emergency medicine: ethical considerations, legal issues, and emerging trends. Annals
of emergency medicine. 64(2). 140-144.
6 Cohen, I. G. & et. al., (2014). The legal and ethical concerns that arise from using
complex predictive analytics in health care. Health affairs. 33(7). 1139-1147.
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Importance of referral and data sharing within the inter professional team
Data sharing plays an essential role in action or activities performed by a professional
team during delivery of health care related services to patients. Therefore, data sharing and
referrals are very essential for the activities performed within a health care centre, as sharing of
data support practitioners in exerting their services effectively. Following are the importance of
referral and data sharing within inter professional team:
Data sharing within inter professional team will help a health care organisation to deliver
more customer centred care which provide better result and beneficial for the health of patient 7.
By maintaining a regular medium of communication and data sharing between inter professional
team, health care centre will be able to maintain a standard code of services. It is also beneficial
for delivering of services in an informed and ethical manner that leads to better care of patients.
In most of the health care patient Inter professional team generally follow a formal
channel of communication in order to share knowledge, keeping colleague informed and
discussing over treatment8. On other hand General practitioners give more value to such
meetings as it help in boosting up their confidence and make them feel like they are needed. On
framework facilitator, a GP has reflected over the value of framework that “meetings are
basically conducted for nurses to make them inform about what is to discuss with patient on
register and also provide them with a timetable of practice meeting so that patients could be
attained effectively”(Doherty and Purtilo, 2015). The information shared over such meetings
with an aim to make all the staff members aware about patient receiving moderating care and
encourage a multi disciplinary approach of management. But it has been communicated by
another general practitioner that it must be a whole practice approach and because of which it
must not be just depend over the nurses rather it must include whole primary healthcare team
(Bosslet and et. al., 2015).
This reflect that a patient is just not required to attend at reception or records, rather it is
very essential for a health care centre to indulge its over all management team, as well as other
staff members to remain active for attaining patient. Hence, communication held within the
7 Doherty, R. F., & Purtilo, R. B. (2015). Ethical Dimensions in the Health Professions-
E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
8 Bosslet, G. T. & et. al., (2015). An official ATS/AACN/ACCP/ESICM/SCCM policy
statement: responding to requests for potentially inappropriate treatments in intensive
care units. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 191(11).
1318-1330.
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formal meetings help in smoothing the processes that are performed by General Practitioners that
are generally faced by them in day to day practices. In addition to this it also help in developing
a knowledge regarding the ethical norms and laws that must be consider by a practitioner or
nurses while taking care of a patient and delivering service to them9. This support in ensuring
that the clinics or other health care centre involve practices that are performed through ethical
consideration. This includes giving training to nurses and general practitioner regarding the way
in which they must treat, plan and deliver services to patient. This includes taking care of patient
with respect which it deserves and ensure that any action performed by them should not harm
patient and telling truth to patients10. These all are ethical practice that are being informed to
general practitioners as well as resident nurses in order to ensure its implication within the
practices performed by them.
Importance of regular Team Meetings to review the client’s case to plan and deliver care.
For delivering care as well as treatment to the patient it is very essential for an
association, clinic or care centre to ensure that the actions performed by staff members must be
effective and doesn't lead to any negative consequences that may harm patient in any way 11.
Apart from this it is also very essential to ensure that the practices performed by them while
delivering care services must be ethical and performed by considering all the legislations
imposed by government. Therefore, in order to perform activities effectively and ensuring that
the care deliver to the patient in an ethical manner then healthcare centres must focus over
arranging regular meetings over client's case. These meetings will be beneficial to them as it help
in deciding the actions that must be taken which provide better care to patient. Following are the
importance of regular team meeting for reviewing client's case:
Regular team meetings help in improving the quality of services provided to patient as it
involve integrations of knowledge which in turn support the practitioner to performing their
9 Martinez, O. & et. al., (2015). Evaluating the impact of immigration policies on health
status among undocumented immigrants: a systematic review. Journal of Immigrant
and Minority Health. 17(3). 947-970.
10 Lubbe, J. C., & Roets, L. (2014). Nurses’ scope of practice and the implication for
quality nursing care. Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 46(1). 58-64.
11 Lawrence, A. T., & Weber, J. (2014). Business and society: Stakeholders, ethics, public
policy. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.Thorpe, G., McArthur, M., & Richardson, B.
(2014). Healthcare experiences of patients following faecal output stoma-forming
surgery: A qualitative exploration. International journal of nursing studies. 51(3). 379-
389.
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actions with due care12. Discussion over client's case with senior member help in formulating
plan to deliver care in an effective manner by avoiding the ethical dilemma among practitioner
which sometimes result in actions that may lead to breaching of some law.
These meeting also help practitioner to take up an informed decision which secure health
care centres from getting trapped into legal issues13. As these meeting result into formation of
plan of conduct to cater the need of patient which also includes the standard of care and
competence that are required to be consider while practising their services. It help in minimising
legal risk of litigation that not only affect the health of patient but also influence the image of
institution.
Another major advantage of arranging regular meeting for reviewing client's case is that
it help in concerning the drugs that are required to be given to patient which further support
toward reducing the chance of error. This further support in delivering the care or services to the
patient as per the guidelines of senior staff members over the standards that are fixed by the
health care institutions like NHS (World Health Organization, 2015).
Facilitators and barriers of the chosen topics
Ethics and legal considerations plays an essential role within the planning and delivering
of care to patient. There are some standards which are fixed over the practice performed by a
health care professional that they must be consider while handling any patient14. So it is very
essential for each health care centres or organisations to follow ethical norms as well as laws in
order to deliver better care to patient. There are number of facilitators that promote such
practices:
Knowledge regarding the legal standards:- It is consider as one of the most essential
factor that foster a health care staff member to perform its practices along with legal and ethical
standard that a person belong to this profession must consider15. The knowledge regarding the
12 World Health Organization. (2015). Core competencies in adolescent health and
development for primary care providers: including a tool to assess the adolescent
health and development component in pre-service education of health-care providers.
World Health Organization.
13 Creasy, K. R., Lutz, B. J., Young, M. E., & Stacciarini, J. M. R. (2015). Clinical
implications of family‐centered care in stroke rehabilitation. Rehabilitation Nursing.
40(6). 349-359.
14 Nelson, R., & Staggers, N. (2016). Health Informatics-E-Book: An Interprofessional
Approach. Elsevier Health Sciences.
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legal standards and ethics help in creating an inner urge with a practitioner to perform action
with in a specific direction.
Proper communication of policies:- This is consider as a main promoter of practising
ethical as well as legal actions while treating a patient. As when a health care organisation
strictly consider ethical as well as legal practice then the actions performed by its staff member
are also performed over ethical platform. In addition to this proper communication and guidance
of ethical or legal norm to staff member also act as a facilitator to let them work in that direction.
These both are the facilitator which influence a health care professional to perform action
within a specific direction. But in addition to this there are some barrier which restrict in
performing action and these can be better understood using following point:
Lack of employees involvement:- This is one of the most common barrier which is
usually faced by the health care organisations where most of their staff member doesn't provide
much consideration over ethical practices as that make it harder to perform their operations and
offer quality care to patients16. So most of the employee voice against the implication of these
legal as well as ethical consideration as by following those they get stuck into dilemma which
affect their performance.
Less guidance to practitioners:- Another major barrier to ethical and legal practices is
poor guidance or lack of knowledge regarding these standard to practitioners17. This result in
unethical practice that sometime leads to litigation within the practices perform by the nurses or
practitioner as it is not as per the standards specified by government.
CONCLUSION
From the above given report it can be concluded that health care related services must be
planned and review effectively before practising it. This help in ensuring that the actions
performed by a person while delivering care to patient must be performed as per standard fixed
over practitioner's performance. But in order to ensure this, regular team meetings must be
15 Fortinash, K. M., & Worret, P. A. H. (2014). Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing-E-
Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
16 Hyder, A. A. & et. al., (2014). Ethical review of health systems research in low-and
middle-income countries: a conceptual exploration. The American Journal of Bioethics.
14(2). 28-37.
17 Haber, J., & Singh, M. D. (2014). Legal and ethical issues. Nursing Research in
Canada-E-Book: Methods, Critical Appraisal, and Utilization, 112.
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organised for discussing about the client's case as well as code of practice that must be perform
while delivering care. This help an health care organisation to ensure that the experience of a
patient must be as per their need and performed by considering all the ethical as well as legal
considerations.
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