A state health policy that will be discussed is Controlled Substances House Bill 21. A brief overview of this state health policy is that it requires prescribing practitioners such as physicians and mid-level providers to implement changes in their practice. The tools being used to implement the policy are by way of legislation which means that there is a heightened level of regulations, reporting, and training. This new bill mandates these implementations when controlled substances are being ordered, administered or dispensed (The Florida Senate, 2018).

I think that the political climate has had major implications of the choice of policy tools and the behavioral assumptions by policymakers for many reasons. First of all, this bill was implemented due to the high death toll that the misuse of opioids has had. Other factors that led to this choice include addiction, treatment, and other comorbidities associated with opioid addictions (Guy et. Al, 2017).

Professional nursing organizations are involved in this health policy as it affects them. The Florida Association of Nurse Practitioners is continuing to train NPs as to state if the opioid is being ordered for acute vs chronic pain. It can be said that the FANP has collaborated with Florid legislatures. A few talking points that are educational and relevant among an interdisciplinary team is that opioids should only be used as a last resort (Flanp.org). That there should be other means of controlling chronic pain rather than just opioids. These are just some recommendations.

References

Guy, Gery P,Jr, PhD., Zhang, K., PhD., Bohm, M. K., M.P.H., Losby, J., PhD., Lewis, B., Young, R., M.A., . . . Dowell, D., M.D. (2017). Vital signs: Changes in opioid prescribing in the united states, 2006-2015. (). Atlanta: U.S. Center for Disease Control.

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.flanp.org/page/Archive

The Florida Senate. (2018, July 1). Retrieved from https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2019/21.

#2

The Florida House and Senate passed the HB 23 Telehealth bill providing standards of practice under which all telehealth providers must operate. Under the bill’s definition, a telehealth provider is any individual providing healthcare that uses telecommunication technology, to provide healthcare to individuals in the state of Florida. Such services include assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients in need of care (The Florida Senate, n.d).

Patients today face many challenges including lack of primary and specialty practitioners as well as the geographic distance between health care facilities. Rural communities struggle to maintain access to medical services. In the absence of healthcare practitioners, telehealth technology is improving access to care for those needing evaluation. In today’s economy telehealth technology is reducing the cost and providing more efficient access to services to patients, while providing high-quality care. Telehealth is a cutting-edge model of utilizing information and communication technologies to enable the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of those that seek care (Dinesen et.al., 2016).

An important part of health informatics is telehealth or telemedicine. Informatics is where health care and information technology meet. It is this merging of medical information and technology that has changed the way health care is delivered to patients. The goal of informatics and telemedicine is not only to improve patient care but to enhance the delivery of care throughout all medical care systems (Snyder et.al., 2011). Professional nursing organizations have welcomed this new era of technology. The number of nurses and nurse practitioners working has increased over the years and there is a need for them to initiate the use of telehealth services to ensure patients obtain the care they seek (Fathi, Modin & Scott, 2017). One talking point is whether virtual interaction will hinder the growth of telehealth in the future. I think that with the growing popularity of telehealth this may resolve itself.

Reference

Dinesen, B., Nonnecke, B., Lindeman, D., Toft, E., Kidholm, K., Jethwani, K., … Nesbitt, T. (2016). Personalized Telehealth in the Future: A Global Research Agenda. Journal of medical Internet research, 18(3), e53. doi:10.2196/jmir.5257

Fathi, J.T., Modin, H.E., Scott, J.D. (2017) Nurses Advancing Telehealth Services in the Era of Healthcare Reform. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 22, No. 2, Manuscript 2.

Snyder, C. F., Wu, A. W., Miller, R. S., Jensen, R. E., Bantug, E. T., & Wolff, A. C. (2011). The role of informatics in promoting patient-centered care. Cancer journal (Sudbury, Mass.), 17(4), 211–218. doi:10.1097/PPO.0b013e318225ff89

The Florida Senate. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2019/00023.