Annotated bibliography and healthcare case study

Annotated bibliography

1. Coombs, N.C., Campbell, D.G. & Caringi, J. A qualitative study of rural healthcare providers’ views of social, cultural, and programmatic barriers to healthcare access. BMC Health Serv Res 22, 438 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-07829-2

This resource details the barriers to entry that many middle- and lower-class Americans face with access to healthcare. Here, the resource details the rising cost of healthcare. Here the article provides detailed insights into the rising cost of healthcare relative to inflation. Currently, healthcare costs are trending higher than inflation which is placing further pressure on both middle and lower cost households. As of 2022, healthcare costs are roughly 18% of GDP or roughly $4 trillion. By 2030 this figure is expected to be 20% of GDP or roughly $5 Trillion dollars. These cost increase, per the research, is unsustainable given the stagnating wages of the middle class, higher inflation that diminishes the value of the dollar, and corporate cost increase to consumer staples. All of these elements contribute to the affordability of healthcare which continues to outpace those of other developed countries. Here, the barriers to entry are heavily related to costs, quality of care and availability of care.

2. Hewitt, S., McNiesh, S., & Fink, L. (2019). Barriers to Primary Care Access in Rural Medically Underserved Areas. Online Journal of Rural Nursing & Health Care, 19(2), 127+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A675461814/HRCA?u=anon~39161fc9&sid=googleScholar&xid=fe89d0d

Here, the article discussed many of the barriers to entry as it relates to rural participants within the healthcare field. Rural consumers suffer from lack of access to quality care due primarily to their location. As these consumers are often further out from the primary healthcare infrastructure, overall quality of care is diminished significantly. Services that rely on speed of service or timeliness are ultimately negatively impacted. Likewise, the overall availability of critical services is lacking in rural areas. As discussed in detail with the journal, rural communities can only support a few healthcare providers profitably. If more providers enter the market, it would detract from the profitability of the other firms thus make the industry unviable overall. This occurs, as the population in rural communities are not enough to support a vibrant healthcare community with varied goods and services. Rural communities are often very small and as such often have limited resources to support economic development. Healthcare facilities are no different in this regard and as such, require a large community to profitably support the business. Niche healthcare providers therefore, rarely find the rural communities profitable and instead elect to travel to more populated cities where the customer base is much more robust. This ultimately adversely impacts the healthcare services provided to rural communities.

3. Smith, Dean. (2008). What?s In It for You? Understanding the Plight of the Uninsured. Journal of healthcare management / American College of Healthcare Executives. 53. 146-8. 10.1097/00115514-200805000-00003.

Uninsured populations are under intense pressure from both a personal and societal perspective. The article details the plight of the uninsured as it relates to their ability to remain healthy and viable within the labor market. Here, uninsured individuals often don’t have access to the same quality of care as insured populations do. Here many will need to pay for services directly as they are not covered by an insurance provider. This in turn could have grave financial consequences for the uninsured as they are having to pay for high cost goods and services “out of pocket” as oppose to having coverage with an insurance provider. Given that nearly half of Americans can not afford an emergency $400 expense, this is ultimately very detrimental. The research outlines many of the causes associated with the severe lack of insurance that many poor and middle class families must endure.