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, my name is __________, and I am pleased to present on this important topic. I currently work as a care coordinator at the Longevity Center, an organization devoted to supporting individuals with mental health conditions by providing education, care navigation, and access to essential resources.

Agenda

This presentation focuses on ethical and policy dimensions that influence mental health care coordination at the Longevity Center. It discusses the importance of multidisciplinary care, reviews critical regulations such as the Baker Act and HIPAA, and highlights the relevance of the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics. Furthermore, it identifies challenges such as cultural sensitivity, access to care, and disparities in treatment, while emphasizing collaboration and sustainable community care models.

Significance of Care Coordination in Chronic Disease Management

Coordinated care plays a vital role in the management of chronic mental health disorders. At the Longevity Center, it ensures that patients receive timely and continuous services across different healthcare domains. Adults with mental illnesses often require input from psychiatrists, social workers, primary care providers, and community organizations (Bury et al., 2022).

When these services lack coordination, patients experience fragmented care, leading to relapse, recurrent crises, or avoidable hospitalizations, all of which increase healthcare costs. In Florida alone, approximately 2.8 million adults are living with a mental health condition, and in 2021, nearly 41% reported symptoms of depression (National Alliance on Mental Illness [NAMI], n.d.). Effective care coordination at the Longevity Center helps bridge these gaps and ensures patients gain access to consistent support.

Governmental Policies’ Effect on Care Coordination

Mental health service coordination in Florida is heavily shaped by both state and federal regulations. Two key policies stand out:

Policy	Purpose	Impact on Care Coordination at Longevity Center
Baker Act (Florida Mental Health Act)	Provides emergency psychiatric interventions and safeguards patient rights during crisis care	Ensures timely crisis stabilization and protects legal rights of patients requiring involuntary admission (Florida Department of Children and Families, 2024)
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)	Protects patient privacy while allowing secure information sharing	Supports safe and confidential communication among psychiatrists, primary care providers, and social workers (Subbian et al., 2021)

Recent reforms in Florida have expanded integrated behavioral health systems and value-based models, encouraging preventive care and early intervention strategies (Pincus & Fleet, 2022). Partnerships with community organizations, such as NAMI Florida, further strengthen coordination by providing education, peer support, and resource navigation.

Ethical Questions or Dilemmas for Care Coordination

National Policy Provision

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased access to healthcare and promoted quality improvement across the United States, including services at Longevity Center. While beneficial, it introduces ethical dilemmas. Cost-containment efforts under value-based models sometimes limit patient autonomy by prioritizing standardized, cost-effective treatments over individualized approaches (Braun et al., 2023). This raises questions about how to balance efficiency with personalized mental health care.

State Provision Policy

Florida’s Medicaid behavioral health programs aim to support vulnerable populations, yet systemic issues remain. Patients often face treatment delays, limited access to specialists, and administrative hurdles (Patel et al., 2025). These barriers undermine beneficence and justice, as individuals from low-income groups receive reduced support compared to privately insured patients. At the Longevity Center, provider shortages and strict managed care protocols contribute to service gaps and exacerbate disparities.

Local Provision Policy

At the community level, programs such as those offered by NAMI Florida provide free screenings, education, counseling, and peer support (NAMI Florida, 2025). While beneficial, the demand often surpasses available capacity. This creates ethical concerns about fairness and justice in the distribution of limited resources. Inconsistent funding also threatens sustainability, leading to fragmentation and reduced trust in community-based mental health systems.

Impact of the Code of Ethics for Nurses

The ANA Code of Ethics serves as a guiding framework for ensuring ethical care delivery at the Longevity Center.

Provision	Description	Application at Longevity Center
Provision 2	Nurses prioritize the patient’s needs, dignity, and rights	Guides advocacy for patient-centered care and respect for autonomy
Provision 8	Nurses collaborate to promote human rights and reduce health disparities	Encourages partnerships with community organizations to minimize inequities (ANA, 2025)

The ethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice remain central. By following these provisions, nurses at the Longevity Center build trust, safeguard rights, and ensure patients—especially those in underserved areas—receive equitable, culturally competent care (Braun et al., 2023).

Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity

The role of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) is significant in mental health outcomes. At the Longevity Center, patients often struggle with issues such as food insecurity, housing instability, transportation barriers, and limited health literacy. These challenges disproportionately affect access to care and compromise the principle of justice. Nurses, guided by the ANA Code of Ethics, are responsible for addressing these inequities by tailoring care to patients’ social and cultural contexts (ANA, 2025). Enhancing health equity leads to better treatment adherence and improved long-term outcomes.

Recommendations for Support and Collaboration

For effective ethical practice, collaboration between healthcare providers and community organizations is essential. Partnerships with NAMI Florida and the Mental Health Association of Central Florida (MHACF) offer education, peer support, housing resources, and affordable care (MHACF, 2025). Nurses play a pivotal role in advocating for culturally competent practices and dismantling institutional barriers. These collaborative strategies ensure care delivery at the Longevity Center is sustainable, equitable, and patient-centered.

Conclusion

Ethical and policy factors strongly shape mental health care coordination at the Longevity Center. Guided by the ANA Code of Ethics, nurses serve as advocates for patient-centered care while addressing disparities influenced by social determinants of health. By fostering community collaboration and supporting policy reform, the Longevity Center can provide equitable, sustainable, and culturally responsive care for individuals with mental health conditions.

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

Florida Department of Children and Families. (2024). Baker act | Florida DCF. https://www.myflfamilies.com/crisis-services/baker-act

MHACF. (2025). About us. Mental Health Association of Central Florida. https://mhacf.org/learn-more/