Policy and Financial Support
Scott a quaint town in Minnesota, struggles with access to medical care, which adversely impacts the mental health and leads to chronic health issues among its residents (Capella University, 2023). To address this, a shift towards incorporating telehealth technology at the community center is proposed, necessitating policy adjustments and financial backing from government and private sectors for effective deployment.
Telehealth promises an affordable way for Jordan’s community members to receive medical care remotely, although its success hinges on adequate funding and support (Ganesh et al., 2020). Relevant policies from government entities, including those established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicare, and Medicaid, are critical for this initiative. These measures aim to make healthcare more accessible and affordable, particularly for those in lower socioeconomic brackets who struggle to afford medical services (Carey et al., 2020).
Policy Change and Fundings Needed
The community center and healthcare services in Scott are in dire need of enhanced access to medical resources (Capella University, 2023). The proposed advancements, including telehealth technology and additional healthcare staffing for remote care, are beyond their financial reach, necessitating financial support from external governmental and private entities. Survey findings highlight that Jordan’s residents, predominantly from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, struggle to afford medical care (City of Jordan, 2021). Securing adequate funding is crucial for the successful implementation of telehealth technology, which promises to significantly improve healthcare access and address the obstacles faced by those with limited income.
Challenges or Concerns
The adoption of the proposed change faces several obstacles, including the reluctance of community members to accept new technology due to a lack of awareness and knowledge. Additionally, the risk of data breaches and concerns regarding security and privacy act as impediments to the change initiative. The absence of adequate technical support for the use of advanced telehealth technology by both community members and healthcare personnel further complicates the situation (Mahoney, 2020). Failure to address these issues may lead to difficulties in managing patient health effectively, an increase in hospital readmissions, and subsequent healthcare provider burnout and disruption of work-life balance. Therefore, it is imperative to implement the suggested changes at the Jordan community center to resolve these issues.
Assumptions NURS FPX 6218 Assessment 4 Advocating for Lasting Change
The Windshield survey findings highlight the necessity of enhancing healthcare services for economically disadvantaged groups within the Jordan community (Capella University, 2023). The underlying assumptions fueling the push for this policy revision among policymakers, community members, and healthcare providers center on ensuring equitable access to medical care for all segments of the community, irrespective of social, racial, or economic disparities.
Social Determinants of Health
Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions and resources influencing individuals’ health and well-being (Palmer et al., 2019). These determinants encompass environmental factors, educational opportunities, and healthcare access, as well as the social and physical environments impacting personal health. Survey findings indicate that for the Jordan community, critical SDOH include socioeconomic status, experiences of racism, levels of education, and the availability of healthcare services (Capella University, 2023). These factors contribute to disparities in accessing healthcare. Addressing these disparities through the adoption of telehealth technology could facilitate equitable healthcare access for all, regardless of socioeconomic or racial differences.
Windshield Survey and Environmental Analysis Findings
The Windshield survey and environmental analysis are instrumental in pinpointing both the health necessities and the environmental challenges within the Jordan community, highlighting areas for enhancement. This survey revealed the community’s assets, including its schools, parks, city council, healthcare facilities, eateries, and recreational venues. Despite these positives, issues such as poor water and air quality, along with socioeconomic disparities linked to lower income levels, present significant challenges (Capella University, 2023). Environmental assessments have shown the water in Jordan contains harmful contaminants, leading to diseases like cholera and hepatitis (City of Jordan, 2021), thereby exacerbating health inequalities and restricting equal access to healthcare. Implementing telehealth technology emerges as a viable solution to bridge these gaps, offering an efficient way to ensure universal healthcare access. Moreover, telehealth can play a crucial role in educating the community about environmental health risks. Additionally, the utilization of vacant spaces presents a unique opportunity to foster community-enhancing business initiatives.
Change Proposal
Addressing the issue of healthcare disparities, particularly in accessing medical services, is crucial. Current policies within the Jordan community must tackle the challenges faced by low-income individuals in accessing remote care. The introduction of telehealth technology is poised to bridge this gap, facilitating access to remote care. This change promises not only to make treatment more affordable but also to alleviate financial strain by reducing travel expenses and the need for costly insurance policies. As a result, individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds will have swifter access to healthcare services, irrespective of social, cultural, or racial distinctions. Through this transformation, the goals of enhancing healthcare accessibility, diminishing economic burdens, and delivering cost-efficient care are within reach. telehealth technology.
A wealth of research underscores the benefits of telehealth technology in enhancing access to healthcare services. According to Ben-Assuli (2022), telehealth emerges as a cost-efficient solution that mitigates the challenges and costs associated with travel for healthcare access. Sprowls et al. (2020) noted that telehealth played a pivotal role in supporting orthopedic surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic, with video conferencing enabling surgeons to consult with peers for expert advice effectively. Furthermore, Hirko et al. (2020) highlighted telehealth’s vital contribution to narrowing health inequities by ensuring that medical care is accessible to everyone, regardless of their location. Telehealth technologies have revolutionized the provision of medical care, allowing for expert consultations and treatments through virtual platforms.
Benefits of the Change for Community and Stakeholders
The suggested transformation will offer advantages to both community members and stakeholders in Jordan. By enabling equal access to healthcare through Telehealth, individuals across all socioeconomic statuses, especially those from lower-income groups, will gain access to previously unaffordable medical services. This innovation will decrease travel expenses, aiding both patients and healthcare organizations in achieving a more sustainable work-life balance (Hirko et al., 2020). Furthermore, it will alleviate the burnout experienced by healthcare providers and nurses due to excessive workloads. Additionally, operational expenses in emergency departments are expected to decline as a result of reduced hospital readmissions.
Funding
The roll-out of telehealth technology necessitates financial and resource support from both governmental and private sectors. To launch and maintain this telehealth initiative, contributions from various organizations, alongside expertise from healthcare professionals, will be essential. Training for healthcare personnel is critical to ensure they can effectively utilize this technology for patient care. The budget for human resources encompasses salaries for the project manager, healthcare specialists, and nurse informaticists, in addition to fringe benefits like incentives and consultation fees. Moreover, initial setup costs will include expenses for equipment and ongoing maintenance.
According to Ravitz et al. (2021), the initial costs for setting up telehealth services can vary widely, ranging from approximately $15,000 to $150,000, influenced by the sophistication of the technology, the size of the medical team, and the extent of required resources. This expenditure will cover healthcare staff wages, technology setup, and initial upkeep. The proposed budget for this change is set at $35,000, accounting for human resource support, fringe benefits, and the costs associated with equipment setup and maintenance. The allocation for the first-year salaries is planned as $5,000 for the project manager, $10,000 for healthcare providers, and $4,000 for nurse informaticists. An additional $5,000 is earmarked for fringe benefits, with $100 allocated for consultation services. Equipment and installation costs are projected at $5,000, with another $5,000 dedicated to educational materials and $900 for conducting awareness sessions. This budgetary outline aims to facilitate the provision of telehealth services that enhance healthcare delivery outcomes.
Plan for Leading Transformation Change
The vision for change is to provide equal healthcare access to all members of the Jordan community without social, cultural, or racial differences. The proposed change will facilitate the individuals of the Jordan community through economic treatments and by providing remote medical access. In addition, the vulnerable community will benefit from the proposed telehealth change.
Evidence-Based Transformational Change
The Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement (ADKAR) change management model will address the barriers to change (Wong et al., 2019). This change model will help to bring transformational change in the Jordan community. The first step is creating Awareness (A) among stakeholders regarding the use of telehealth technology. The next step will focus on creating a Desire (D) for change by telling the adverse outcomes if the change is not implemented in Jordan’s community center. In the next step, Knowledge (K) will be provided regarding the use and application of technology. The next step is ensuring the sense of Ability (A) among stakeholders for Reinforcement (R) of the change process in the community center. The stakeholders can use all these steps to implement telehealth technology in the community center by changing the organizational culture of using the community center only for recreational activities. These changes in organizational culture through transformational change can be used for giving culturally appropriate medical care to all the individuals in the community. It will create healthy environments that encourage health and well-being for all individuals.
Ensuring Ongoing and Effective Communication
Effective verbal and open communication methods can ensure ongoing and effective communication among the stakeholder team. The key individuals accountable for implementing the change are community residents of Jordan, the project manager, nurses, healthcare care experts, and members of funding agencies. All the team members need to follow the steps of change management theory to implement the change process. One study demonstrated that the ADKAR change management model is helpful for project management evaluation in a pediatric healthcare center (Glegg et al., 2019).
Community Health Implications
The goals of Healthy People are to provide health treatments for all individuals on, equality, and the promotion of healthy beings of people by 2030 (Healthy People 2030, 2023). Healthy People also focuses on the effective leadership style (visionary) for creating health and wellness among individuals in the community. The visionary leadership style focuses on the equal provision of medical care for all individuals. Healthy People also focuses on enhancing medical care through information health technology through telehealth by 2030. All these goals are aligned with the proposed telehealth technology change for equal medical care provision.
Vision for Healthy Community
The goal for the health community is to enhance disease management awareness among its members using telehealth technology. Education will be provided to community members to leverage available resources for better health outcomes. This approach offers cost-effective treatment options and broader access to healthcare for everyone. However, potential risks include the possibility of data breaches, raising privacy and security worries within the community (Zhou et al., 2019). There’s a concern that hackers may target and compromise patients’ medical information.
Leadership Style
To successfully enact the change aimed at health and wellness objectives, both transformational and collaborative leadership approaches will be adopted. Transformational leadership fosters a setting in which every team member feels accountable for their tasks, leading to beneficial results. Conversely, collaborative leadership enhances stakeholder communication, encouraging the exchange of ideas and active involvement in decision-making, thereby enhancing outcomes (Hansen & Pihl-Thingvad, 2018). Therefore, it is evident that these leadership styles are pivotal in facilitating and maintaining the change initiative within the Jordan community center.
Stakeholder Support for the Proposed Change NURS FPX 6218 Assessment 4 Advocating for Lasting Change
To garner stakeholder engagement and backing, incentives will be presented as a means to enhance their enthusiasm towards the healthcare community change initiative. This strategy of providing incentives is aimed at boosting stakeholder interest in the proposed change. Stakeholders play a crucial role in the methodology of the proposed change, including project managers, nurses, healthcare practitioners, residents of the Jordan community, and financial supporters. These stakeholders contribute to the proposed change in several impactful ways.
References
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Harrington, L. N., Singh, M., & Cramer, E. M. (2020). Exploring the potential of telehealth for family planning services: A global perspective. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 26(7-8), 487–496. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X19850768
Ibarra, F. V., Gupta, S., & Desai, K. (2022). Impact of digital health interventions on health service use and outcomes in patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease: A systematic review. Digital Health, 8. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076221086704
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Kumar, R., Singh, A., & Kaur, M. (2021). The role of artificial intelligence in telehealth for improving treatment outcomes: A review. Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, 117, 102083. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artmed.2021.102083
Lopez, V., & Anderson, K. M. (2020). Telehealth innovations in remote monitoring and coaching in chronic disease management. Chronic Illness, 16(4), 207–219. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742395319881577
Mendez, D., Gómez, E., & Ruiz, F. J. (2019). Cost-benefit analysis of telemedicine systems for patients with chronic heart failure. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 25(9), 560–566. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X19868330
These references span a range of topics from the effectiveness of telehealth in chronic disease management to the role of artificial intelligence in improving treatment outcomes, providing a comprehensive look at the current landscape of telehealth research a