Which appropriately describes the difference in nursing practice befor

QUESTION

Which appropriately describes the difference in nursing practice before and after the Social Security Act Amendments of 1983?

1. Nursing practice changed from focusing mostly on the client to focusing more on
efficiency.
2. Nursing administrators finally were able to bill Medicare for nursing services.
3. Nurses at the beside had to discharge clients even if they were unstable.
4. Nursing practice did not change; only reimbursement for hospital services
changed.

ANSWER:

Answer: 1

Rationale: The Social Security Act Amendments of 1983 formed diagnosis-related groups in an effort to control rising health care costs. Clients were grouped according to their diagnosis, and facilities were paid based on the allotted services for that diagnostic group. Since facilities got paid the same regardless of services provided, nurses were urged to closely adhere to the timeline in the plan of care. Nursing has never been able to charge Medicare for inpatient services of the nursing staff. If clients were unstable, nurses were not asked to discharge them anyway, but were asked to keep to the allotted timeline as closely as possible. Nursing practice changed in that nurses were asked to increase efficiency while still providing quality care. In a sense, nurses were asked to do more with less time and fewer resources.