DNP 840 Political Activism

Sample Answer

Political Activism

Government policy, regulation, or laws, especially those related to healthcare, usually affect the healthcare sector and how patient services are offered or accomplished. Therefore, it is important for the relevant stakeholders to actively participate in the legislation process and the political processes associated with the process.

By the nature of their training, DNP-prepared nurses are expected to actively participate in various processes, such as patient advocacy, and apply the necessary and available strategies and channels to influence laws or regulations to favor service delivery and improve patient outcomes (McCauley et al.,2020).

As such, the purpose of this paper is to locate a recent policy within the stage and use appropriate evidence to offer a stance on it. In addition, a letter will be drafted, addressed to a relevant legislature, explaining how they should consider the policy.

The Current Health Care Policy
The District of Columbia has had several policies in recent times seeking to make reforms on various aspects of patient care and service delivery. The proposed policies are in various stages, and some are likely to become laws soon. One of the most current policies in the District of Columbia that deserve attention is B25-0125- The Uniform Telehealth Act of 2023.

This is a bill that seeks to address issues regarding telehealth (“District,” 2023). It seeks to ensure that licensed health practitioners in the District offer health care through telehealth. The policy also seeks to expand the circumstances under which practitioners who got qualifications out of the state can be allowed to offer telehealth services to patients in the District of Columbia. This policy was introduced by Mendelson, the chairman, upon formal request by the Uniform Law Commission.

According to the proponents of the policy, this policy will play a critical role in promoting health equity and enhancing improved and widespread access to effective and timely healthcare services to people who may find it physically or financially burdening to honor healthcare appointments.

This policy has two major goals. One of them is to offer a provision that licensed healthcare professionals allowed to offer healthcare services within the District of Columbia are allowed to go ahead and offer telehealth services while observing other rules and the requirements as defined by the scope of practice (“District,” 2023).

The other aim is to expand the circumstances under which healthcare professionals who got qualifications out of the state can be allowed to offer telehealth services to patients within the District of Columbia.

This policy also outlines that a healthcare professional such as a practitioner can only offer the intended telehealth services to patients within the District of Columbia if the services to be offered fall within the particular practitioner’s scope of practice and are within the laws of the district and federal laws.

Telehealth services can also be offered only if they are applicable to the District’s professional practice standards.
Personal Stance on the Policy Based on Current Evidence
The policy is a current one and has been aligned to make the District move with the current health requirements of every population.

The coming of Covid-19 pandemic exposed the soft underbelly of various healthcare systems, and it was evident that every healthcare system needs to adjust various aspects if they are to perform any better in similar situations in the future.

Indeed, it was during the coming of the pandemic that the use of telehealth saw an immense rise as people’s movements were restricted to curb the spread of the virus (Monaghesh& Hajizadeh, 2020). It is important to note that individuals with various chronic conditions still had to get the healthcare attention they needed, and therefore, there was no better strategy to use than telehealth.

Telehealth has been shown to improve access to care even for individuals in remote locations who find it difficult to physically access the care they need. Therefore, this policy that seeks to expand the use of telehealth in the District of Columbia will have several benefits. The residents will be able to have improved access to various healthcare services in the comfort of their homes.

In addition, the strategy is expected to significantly reduce the cost of healthcare as individuals will not have to travel far unnecessarily to access care (Gajarawala& Pelkowski, 2020).

Letter to the Legislator

To,
Council Member Brianne K. Nadeau
Ward 1
District of Columbia
Dear Madam,

Re B25-0125- The Uniform Telehealth Act of 2023
My Name is Carolyne, a Doctor of Nursing Practice student at Grand Canyon University. My interest and practice have drawn my attention to the policy stated in the reference. I am writing to let you know my stance on this law and persuade you to kindly support it.

This policy is long overdue as telehealth plays a critical role in improving patient care services and quality of care by improving access to care. I believe that your passion for affordable housing means that you have the health of individuals at heart.

Therefore, I strongly believe that you will be in a position to support this legislation. Since the policy is still in its early stages, I offer my piece of advice that you help rally other officials to support it since it will help improve the health of individuals in the District of Columbia as appropriate. Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Carolyn

References
District of Columbia. (2023). Uniform Telehealth Acthttps //lims.dccouncil.gov/Legislation/B25-0125
Gajarawala, S. N., & Pelkowski, J. N. (2021). Telehealth benefits and barriers. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 17(2), 218-221. https //doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2020.09.013
McCauley, L. A., Broome, M. E., Frazier, L., Hayes, R., Kurth, A., Musil, C. M., … & Villarruel, A. M. (2020). Doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree in the United States Reflecting, readjusting, and getting back on track. Nursing Outlook, 68(4), 494–503.https //doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2020.03.008
Monaghesh, E., & Hajizadeh, A. (2020). The role of telehealth during COVID-19 outbreak a systematic review based on current evidence. BMC Public Health, 20, 1–9. Doi 10.1186/s12889-020-09301-4