Care Coordination

The Academy Board approved in December 2013 the initiation of the Primary Care and Care Coordination Expert Panel to provide expertise and leadership in primary care policy and develop collaborative strategies with other panels where primary care informs the policy issues.

The rapid changes transforming health care today and increased demand for care coordination require immediate action to enable nurses and other qualified health professionals to deliver outstanding care coordination to achieve the nation's quality agenda as outlined in its 2011 National Quality Strategy. The 2011 Institute of Medicine Report on the Future of Nursing emphasized the nursing profession's long-term strength in improving the quality, access and value of health care through care coordination.

The Care Coordination Task Force was convened in mid-2014 by the leadership of the American Academy of Nursing and the American Nurses Association to review major position papers and policy briefs on care coordination published between 2012 and 2013 by both organizations. Specific and actionable federal policy priorities to improve the quality, access and value of health care through care coordination were identified. The task force presented its policy recommendations in the May 2015 blueprint for policy action report, Transforming Health Care: Enabling Nurses to Advance Care Coordination.

The Academy advocates for the design, endorsement, and use of rigorously tested care coordination measures including those central to the domains of nurse care coordination. Innovative nurse-led and interprofessional high-value care coordination models should be examined. Team-based accountability and transparency are essential. The value and feasibility of team-based care coordination measures must be evaluated long-term. 

Previously in 2012, the Academy’s Care Coordination Task Force led by Pamela Cipriano, PhD, RN, FAAN, developed a policy brief that has been shared with leadership of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and other stakeholders.

Policy 

• Policy Brief: Policy agenda for nurse-led care coordination. Nursing Outlook 63 (July 2015) 521-530.
• Policy Brief: The importance of health information technology in care coordination and transitional care. Nursing Outlook 61 (November 2013) 475–489.
• Policy Brief: The value of nursing care coordination: A white paper of the American Nurses Association. Nursing Outlook 61 (November 2013) 490-501.
• Policy Brief: The Imperative for Patient, Family, and Population Interprofessional Centered Approaches to Care Coordination and Transitional Care. Nursing Outlook 60 (September 2012) 330-333.
• ANA's Care Coordination Statement (2012): ANA Urges Recognition and Funding for Nurses' Essential Role in Patient Care Coordination

Experts:

• Primary Care & Care Coordination Expert Panel

Raise the Voice, Edge Runners:

• Mary D. Naylor - Making Transitional Care More Effective & Efficient
• Lauran Hardin - Complex Care Center