Health Care Provider Changes and Service Delivery

Health Care Provider Changes and Service Delivery Healthcare and its finance today has been complicated by many dynamics, including the changing demographic of Western society today. Hence, it is difficult to answer a question about addressing healthcare personnel shortages effectively with "I agree" or "I disagree." There are simply too many intricate factors involved in the dynamics of physician numbers, population demographics and the types of services and specialties in healthcare on offer today.

Therefore, while it is true that a more effective doctor-patient ratio has been achieved by involving the services of non-traditional disciplines and other variations of healthcare providers, there is certainly no conclusive response to whether this will be the case in the long-term or even if greater efficacy in terms of matching expertise to patient needs has been, in fact, achieved.

In short, the way in which the population is changing in terms of demographics, along with the various professional and conceptual changes within the medical profession and the services it includes, as well as the changing demographics of service providers themselves have created a platform that offers much grounds for future investigation, but little likelihood of finding a simple solution to the question of healthcare personnel shortages. Mick and White (n.d.) mention various dynamics involved in the changing dynamic of healthcare provision, especially as concerns the demographic of providers.

Indeed, the authors cite that, for the first time, the number of female physicians in training have matched those of male providers. This, along with the social demographic of an increasing number of single-parent homes and the household duties women fulfil, according to the authors, are likely to result in more physicians available, but fewer hours during which they can make their services available. In other words, women will, by nature, not be able to work the same amount of hours as men.

I am not sure to which degree I agree with this claim. Indeed, for all of their working lives, women have managed to balance their workloads by means of employing servants and nannies to care for their homes and their offspring while also putting food on the table. Furthermore, the number of single male parents is also increasing, which would arguably result in the same conundrum for male doctors who are parents and single as the one facing females.

Far more pertinent, I believe, is the changing dynamic among general society; those who make use of healthcare services. It is a fact that, thanks to healthier lifestyles and better medical care, people today are living longer than ever before. The increasing median age of the society physicians serve has resulted in a disconnect between available and necessary healthcare services.

According to Denton and Spencer (2009), for example, chronic conditions among the older population group has become an increasing matter of healthcare concern not only in terms of long-term care, but also in terms of funding, insurance, and number of physicians available to care for these conditions in this demographic. The role of informal caregivers, such as family members, can play an important role in filling availability gaps in this regard.

Finally, technology also plays an important role in ensuring that the population has access to the healthcare needed at any given time. Interestingly, Boulos et al. (2011) mention Smartphones in this regard. The widespread availability of these devices to average homes across Western society has created a platform for medical care that is unprecedented. Such technology means possibilities such as physicians and other healthcare workers connecting with their clients at any time from any location. A mother who is also a doctor, for example, will be able to provide.