Challenges for healthcare managers

¶ … Health Care Managers

Challenges for healthcare managers

Current trends show that American healthcare system has been consistently on the decline. A gloomy picture depicted by World Health Organization (WHO) is a mere reflection of the current state of affairs. For instance, in 2000, a pioneering WHO report, which assessed healthcare systems of each and every country, positioned American healthcare system at 37 squeezed in the middle of Costa Rica, at number 36, and Slovenia, at number 38 (Lander, 2000). This rapid decline has been taking place despite the fact that America's health care expenditures are by far the largest amongst the 191 members of W.H.O. It is also interesting to note that in 2004, American healthcare spending have increased to approximately $5,440 per person, totaling to almost $1.55 trillion. This accounts to almost 15% of America's GDP (Pear, 2004). This situation presents a number of challenges to the American health care managers among others. Their challenges pertain to a number of healthcare problems, namely, universal access to healthcare, use of modern technology, universal insurance, staffing, regulations, budget, consumer satisfaction and communication between physician and patient.

Accessing health care facilities is vital for all human beings. It is the essence of life as without it one cannot perform even the basic every day tasks of working, playing etc. For healthcare managers, things are not getting any simpler as complications are arising as each day passes by. As Daniels, Light and Caplan (1996) in their book assert that Americans view health care as their individual and collective right and not as a privilege. This viewpoint puts a great deal of social responsibility on the healthcare manager as they are in charge of guiding the entire workforce towards fulfilling this task. This comes as no surprise that if the commotions of ailments and wounds are not encountered with suitable medical reactions, these proceedings can disrupt even the most influential people. As the American health care managers attempt to makes changes to meet the challenges of the future, it is alarming to note that tens of millions of Americans neither have a doctor who can attend them should they fall sick, nor do they have a medical agency, which can receive them if they turn up unwell (Daniels, Light and Caplan, 1996).

Levit, Cowan, Braden, Stiller, Sensenig, and Lazenby (1998) assert that lack of universal access to healthcare is further complicated by rising costs of its expenditure. While America's health care expenses continue to escalate, the operating-expenses compensated by families have risen incredibly as well (Levit, Cowan, Braden, Stiller, Sensenig, and Lazenby 1998). Similarly, Aaron, (1994) and Acs et al. (1995) point out that there has been a steady increase in healthcare spending by both the government, as well as, business owners (Aaron, 1994; Acs et al., 1995). A number of critics have pointed out that with rising healthcare expenditure, not only government and business owners, but also insurers have been attempting to transfer their rising share of the expenses to families by enhancing deductibles, co-payments, and premiums. Furthermore, business-owners have been terminating a number of healthcare services which had been previously covered in the company healthcare packages so as to reduce costs. These trends have shifted the load of healthcare expenses to families. These trends have made it difficult for healthcare managers to consistently achieve customer satisfaction since most families leave healthcare facilities complaining about rising costs and inadequate access to healthcare (Levit et al. 1998; Paulin and Weber 1995; Rubin and Koelln 1993).

Cote and Latham (2003) is his analysis writes that one big challenge for a healthcare manager is that majority of healthcare is being financed through company-covered insurance. On one hand, corporations carry out two-way agreements with insurance companies so as to offer coverage to their workers. On the other hand, workers are given the liberty to pick an insurance company from list given by the company manager. Of late, contradicting aims and objectives have started to surface amid the parties involved. As mentioned above, the business owners want to give less coverage, the companies giving insurance want higher profitability ratio, the worker wants superior coverage and the doctor wants independence so that he can deliver his services. These conflicting goals have made it more difficult for healthcare managers to successfully manage all parties involved and keep them satisfied (Cote and Latham, 2003).

Lambrew (2004) asserts that U.S. Census Bureau's latest figures on uninsured Americans -- 45 million, or 15.6% of the total population -- is quite alarming as they continue to live devoid of any kind of healthcare coverage (Lambrew, 2004). In line with Institute of Medicine (IOM) this situation poses significant obstacles to healthcare of ordinary Americans. What is further compounding the problem is that medical dept has become the leading source of impoverishment and bankruptcy for Americans. For case in point, a recent report of IOM asserted that America looses round about $150 billion due to the approximately 18000 early deaths of Americans who have no coverage (IOM, 2003; 2004). These statistics increase complications for healthcare managers as they have to face the relatives of demised and satisfy them on a daily basis.

Another vital challenge for healthcare managers in America is the ethnic and racial exclusion. Many research studies have reported that colored Americans have lesser access to healthcare facilities than their white counterparts. Several loopholes and barriers also exist in the system for Americans originating from Latin America and Asia. Both official and unofficial bureaucratic doors create hindrances for these minority Americans. A 2003 report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proves this point. The report asserts that there is lack of medical facilities and highly skilled staff in areas where colored people and other non-white people are in majority. This trend puts a huge credibility question mark on the ethics of American healthcare system. For healthcare managers, this situation is troublesome as lack of proper staffing and adequate facilities in poor communities leaves them with fewer unpleasant choices (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003).

Unavailability of adequate medical staff to healthcare managers is further complicated by the manner in which medical schools operate. Throughout America medical schools continue to over-supply specialists and under-supply family doctors and primary-care doctors. As a result, tension on healthcare managers increases when recruiting staff as specialists demand higher salaries. The percentage of doctors in proportion to patients has increased to such an alarming rate that analysis predict that those times are quickly disappearing when doctors used to know all their patients by their first name. This trend point towards an extremely complicated relationship between healthcare managers and patients and it seems that this attrition is not going to be easy to manage (Nat'l Association of Community Health Centers, 2004).

Mahmoud and Rice (1998) summarize the significance of the use of information technology for healthcare managers, they write, "Information is essential to measure the outcome of the improved quality of administrative processes. Information on measuring the cost-efficiency of healthcare service is the most important. It can be used not only to compile data to measure outcomes but also to contribute directly to positive outcomes on key variables such as the cost to treat a particular disease (Mahmoud and Rice, 1998)."

In addition, Mahmoud and Rice (1998) argue that information technology is the means of support for the entire healthcare system. To them, technology can greatly assist everyone who is associated with healthcare profession. They point out, "To improve the quality of administrative processes, information is needed for decision making, budgeting and strategic planning. Information requirements include a complete system of revenue and cost data with simulation and forecasting capabilities as well as quality data with control charts. Using commercially available databases of demographic and socio-economic information for particular localities in conjunction with an institution's historical patient data, expert systems can forecast the demand for inpatient, outpatient and physician services (Mahmoud and Rice, 1998)."