LA+7

LA 7

1a) Federal Canada Health act states that health care should be accessible to everyone. This affects our scenario because we are trying to increase accessibility through the use of telehealth technology to those who have limited access to home care, whether it be from living in a remote place or lack of transportation.

Provincial Provincial Health Services Authority policy ensures planning, coordination, accesibility, quality, efficiency, and effectivness of province wide heatlh care programs and services.

Local Fraser Health home and community care: home is the best place to recover from illness and injury, manage chronic conditions, and live out final days. Everyone should have information they need for lifestyle and care. Services will complement and supplement but not replace efforts to care for self. Patients have rights to make own care decisions. This affects our scenario because it states the importance of delivery home health services.

1c) Yes, there is consistency because federal guides the provincial which guides the local level policies. Providing quality patient care is central to all the policies.

1d) Gaps in the policies include specific policies on eHealth. There is a lack of specific policies which allows information to be interpreted differently. For example, who qualifies for telehealth and what is considered accessible? Individual policies need to be created for the program. This will ensure that standard of care is met.

2. In order to make a policy we need to address all the social determinates of health to “ maintain and promote health, to prevent disease, and to restore health and function contribute to population health ”(Public Health Agency of Canada, 2003), such as: Income- due to limited financial means, individuals may not have access to transportation Health services- individuals would not have to wait long to see a HCP -easier accessibility -nurses are able to see more clients Social support- individuals may not have social support to assist them to see a HCP Education- there may be language barrier, with e-health there would be an easier access to have a HCP speaking the same language -HCP are able to provide education with fewer distractions/stress to the client at the comfort at their own home, for example the client may be stressed/flustered from travelling to see the HCP and having to wait for a long period of time to see the HCP.

3. To address the identified policy gaps for your scenario, brainstorm which steps of the policy design process would be important for nursing input in developing a new policy to address these gaps and help achieve your scenario goals: a. Identify Issue: à Increase accessibility of tele-health for older adults receiving home care. b. Set priorities: à To provide education regarding tele-health to staff and clients, to increase accessibility to home care nursing. c. Uncover the evidence: à Currently there aren’t many options available to the public in terms of tele-health. So therefore literature searches can be conducted to identify the pros and cons of the service to provide to the public and government. d. Choose instruments for policy formulation: à Conducting literature searches -Gaining support from public -Reviewing other policies e. Adopt and implement the policy à Determine the number of older adults receiving home care and ensure that they aware of tele-health, so they know they are able to access home care nurses via tele-health f. Communicate policy à VIA social media à Advertisements via posters, pamphlets in health care facilities à In-services regarding the new program g. address barriers to implementation à Lack of approval from government à Expensive à Disinterest from public h. Evaluate the outcome à Increased accessibility for older adults who are not able to access health care due to constraints I. Policy revision à Involve all stakeholders, and identify what needs to be changed, à Create public support à Advocate for public