Health Care Industry Has Undergone Fundamental Change

¶ … health care industry has undergone fundamental change over the last decade. Most of the changes have occurred within the underlying business operation of the healthcare industry. These changes will ultimately effect healthcare agency administration as it continues to evolve and innovate. Legislation in particular has had a profound impact on the health care industry and the agencies which govern it. First, due to the Affordable Care Act of 2010, the healthcare profession is undergoing a fundamental shift in regards to the patient experience. The U.S. health care system is now shifting the focus from acute and specialty care to that of primary care which requires a shift in business operations. Also, due primarily to that aging of the baby boomer generation, the need for primary car overall is shifting and will be needed heavily in the future. The last 10 years in particular has seen an increasing influx of retiring baby boomers that subsequently need care. Agency administration will therefore need to reflect these changes. A positive impact on the ACA legislation is that more individuals are now insured. As such, the need for primary care will also increase over subsequent years, particular within the minority population. This patient centric approach will require more care predicated on specific communities in a seamless manner. As such, three primary agencies will have a direct impact on the overall implementation of long-term care. These agencies, which are detailed below are the FDA, AHRQ, and the CMS. These agencies through emphasis on long-term care will fundamental change the overall landscape of health care for years to come (Draper, 2011).

FDA

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for the oversight of drugs, medical devices, vaccines, blood products and biologics, establishing rules for testing, clinical trials and approval of new products. The FDA monitors safety, medical errors and adverse reactions to treatment, alerting the health care industry of risks associated with treatments. The FDA also monitors food products to ensure safety of your food supply. The FDA is also responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety of drugs and medical devices.

The FDA according to its website also has other mandates not commonly known by society. For instance, the FDA is responsible for advancing the public health by helping to speed innovations that make medicines more affordable. This is particularly pertinent as wages for many baby boomers are stagnating or declining altogether. FDA also has responsibility for regulating the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of tobacco products to protect the public health and to reduce tobacco use by minors. Finally, FDA plays a significant role in the Nation's counterterrorism capability. FDA fulfills this responsibility by ensuring the security of the food supply and by fostering development of medical products to respond to deliberate and naturally emerging public health threats.

These mandate from the FDA has specific implications for long-term health care overall. As our world transforms and becomes increasingly globalized, it is vital that nations have a coordinated effort to help streamline processes and lower health care costs. Global production of FDA-regulated products has quadrupled due to globalization. As such, costs could potentially be lowed as supply of products outweighs demand. Today, FDA-regulated products originate from more than 150 countries, 130,000 importers and 300,000 foreign facilities. Fifty percent of fresh fruits, 20% of vegetables, and 80% of seafood consumed in America comes from abroad. The growth in imports has been rapid and promises to accelerate. As such the FDA will have a large role in protecting the consumers from public from harm or biological threats. American baby boomers are now becoming very old. They will therefore require more treatments and long-term health care in the future. This demand has so far been supplied by international supply. The FDA must ensure that standards are met to protect the aging population of Americans. The agency is already working to increase transparency and accountability in the supply chain, developing better enforcement and regulatory tools, encouraging greater responsibility by industry, and enhancing collaboration with international regulatory counterparts and other third parties.

AHRQ

The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality is a federal agency under Health & Human Services working to improve the quality, effectiveness and safety of health care. AHRQ gathers information in surveys; funds research projects and provide evidence-based practice guidelines for health care practitioners. The AHRQ's Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) program provides a national benchmarking database (Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 2002). The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. AHRQ supports research that helps people make more informed decisions and improves the quality of health care services.

AHRQ does this by improving care safety and quality by developing successful partnerships and generating the knowledge and tools required for long-term improvement. The central goal of the firm's research is to provide measurable improvements in health care in America, gauged in terms of improved quality of life and patient outcomes. The agency has many focus areas. Below are bullet points derived directly from the AHRQ.gov website.

Safety and quality: Reduce the risk of harm by promoting delivery of the best possible health care.

Effectiveness: Improve health care outcomes by encouraging the use of evidence to make informed health care decisions.

Efficiency: Transform research into practice to facilitate wider access to effective health care services and reduce unnecessary costs

For at least the past 10 years, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has helped the health care system reduce cost and improve quality by answering critical questions regarding the delivery of health care services. Health services research examines how people get access to health care, how much care costs, and what happens to patients as a result of this care. Controlling costs and improving the quality of Medicaid serves continue to be growing challenges for public policymakers.

The aspects mentioned above are particularly important given the rising important of health care to the overall American economy. Lower costs, providing ample research in which to make operations more efficient, and streamline processes all help the overall process of long-term care. Lower costs provide a better means of preserving life while also alleviating the burden on younger generations to subsidize older generations (Levsey, 2007).