Explain how care coordination and the utilization of community resources can be used to address the patient, family, or population problem. Cite evidence from the literature that addresses the benefits of care coordination and the utilization of community resources, including research studies that present opposing views. Determine whether the evidence is consistent with how you see care coordination and community resources used in your nursing practice.

 Role of Care Coordination and the Utilization of Community Resources
Care coordination aim at bridging the gap between the patient, caregivers, and health care professionals. As the main care coordinator, the nurse deliberately collects pertinent patient information and shares it with relevant providers of direct and indirect care for smooth care continuity. Practice-based models have an essential role in care coordination for asthma patients.

Unscheduled hospitalizations among asthma patients result from frequent asthma attacks and poor control of asthma symptoms. With coordinated care, these hospitalizations can reduce significantly. African American and Latino children face the highest burden of pediatric asthma. These disparities arise from low socioeconomic status and lower income (Homaira et al., 2022). Care coordination can achieve a reduction in these disparities by connecting the patients to community resources and healthcare providers to improve access to care.

The management of asthma has changed and improved over time. However, the implementation of national and international guidelines is still erratic, especially in primary care. Care coordination in the community and primary care settings can promote the implementation of the guidelines to reduce health disparities and achieve national goals (Dubaybo, 2021).

Utilization of community resources has huge cost implications for asthma patients and their families. The use of community resources such as community pharmacies makes the cost of access to medication and refills cheaper. Community resources can also reduce the burden on caregivers and the risk of unplanned caregivers because asthma patients can access community resources such as daycare services and community emergency services.

Role of Health Policies
National policies such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 are influential in the technology use, care coordination, and use of community resources to promote management of asthma.

ACA provided programs and policies that changed the roles of healthcare professionals in the hospital and the community. This ensured that patients received quality care through access to care through health insurance and engagement of hospitals to strive to reduce unscheduled readmissions. Sharing of protected patient information has been regulated by the HIPAA and HITECH policies, thus ensuring the protection of patient confidentiality and data privacy.

At the state level, state boards of nursing standards determine the scope of practice for nurses. This regulation determines what nurses can legally perform on asthma patients. Referral and care coordination are included in the practice standards and scope of practice for nurses, enabling nurses to collaborate with other healthcare professionals and patient caregivers to coordinate care and improve the utilization of community resources. Local policies by the state department of health regulate environmental health that improves asthma preventive care. This is important to nurses because these policies determine the use and distribution of community resources for asthma patients.  

Conclusion
Healthcare technology has become an integral part of the management of chronic diseases such as asthma. The various technologies discussed included web-based technology, mobile health applications, digitally-enabled technology, text messaging, and social media. The common themes from the review of these technologies were the promotion of patient satisfaction and remote care. Care coordination can reduce health disparities and reduce unscheduled hospitalizations. National and state-based regulations determine care coordination and utilization of community resources. ACA, HIPAA, and HITECH were the identified influential policies

References
Dubaybo, B. A. (2021). The care of asthma patients in communities with limited resources. Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine, 12, 33–38. https://doi.org/10.2147/RRTM.S247716