The aging population in the entire world is growing rapidly as the largest portion of healthcare spending come from the cost of inpatient hospital. It is expected that more jobs will be available in the community and few will be available in acute hospitals. According to The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of human and social service assistance will grow by nearly 23% between 2008 and 2018. In 2008, over 65% of employees in the medical field were in social and health care assistance industries (Zerwekh, 2011, p. 530).
The ACO’s impact in the field of nursing will be positive as it will provide many opportunities for nurses who will seemingly become not only providers of care but also managers of care. Nurses with good qualifications in client management in the field of care will greatly be demanded since hospital systems will need people to manage clients and families and that these hospital systems will also acquire physician practices. It will be coherent for nurses to understand all the care provided at each level in the field such as, negotiating with medical pharmaceutical and medical providers, maximization of insurance payments and finally engagement and support of family members. Therefore, the role of nurses will increase in importance. Nurses will have to get advanced education in care leadership and management in order to position themselves better for success.
The main purpose of the expected changes is to transform the fee-for-service which is seen as the major driver of health cost in the nation. This purpose will be accomplished through proposed initiatives such as medical homes and nurse-managed health clinics which are aimed at taking medical services to the grassroots while cutting medical cost. The proposed system that will replace fee-for-service is taking shape and it will mainly involve increased clinical and financial accountability. This initiative will not only lower cost but will also redefine healthcare as a diverse activity that will encompass far more than sick care. The objective of the proposed amendment is to improve factors that make people exacerbate their illnesses including those that make people sick. These approaches will therefore require the use of automation (Hines, 2010, p. 76).
Notably, the emergence of the concept of the patient centered home is a result of the high problems of poor coordination, high cost and poor quality of care. According to the ACO, the patient-cantered medical home which is seemingly a model of care where patients have direct relationships with providers coordinating a cooperative team of professionals in healthcare, will take several responsibilities. To start with, patient-centered medical homes will take joint responsibility for the care that is provided to patients and also arrange for proper care with other needed qualified providers. Therefore, these medical-centered homes and nurse-managed health clinics are aimed at improving care and lowering costs
Automation will allow organizations to better assess health status, population needs, demographics and resource utilization. In terms of caring for the whole population, they will be required to think critically and not just for the sake of particular patients who constantly seek care. Hospitals will have procedures decreased and revenue shifted from two ambulatory care as admissions and as part of ACOs and healthcare systems they will share in the savings. Providers, on the other hand will continue competing with each other and work together to exchange health information and coordinate care (Porter, 2011, p. 111). Organizations operational levels will change their structure and their workflow to adopt new types of reporting and automation tools in order to implement ACO proposals. These proposals will therefore require interactive participation of leadership and setting clear goals.
References
Zerwekh, J. A. G., & Garneau, A. Z. (2011). Nursing today: Transition and trends. St. Louis: Saunders.
Hines, P. A., Yu, K., & Randall, M. (2010). Preventing heart failure readmissions: is your organization prepared. Nursing Economics, 28(2), 74-86.
Porter-O'Grady, T., & Malloch, K. (2011). Quantum leadership: Advancing innovation, transforming health care. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
