Healthcare Management for Eldercare Advocacy Organization Term Paper
- Length: 8 pages
- Sources: 5
- Subject: Health (general)
- Type: Term Paper
- Paper: #85588350
Excerpt from Term Paper :
Planned change in the eldercare advocacy organizationIn the coming years, many countries will experience a dramatic shift in healthcare infrastructure due to an expanding elderly population size. However, the changes may vary across countries depending on many factors such as the kind of social welfare available in each country, the political environment which determine policies, the level of healthcare available and individual expectations in each country. Due to this wide variance, the innovations within this space will also vary greatly. What this means to the healthcare manager is that managing innovations becomes very hard (Shlutz, Andre & Sjovold, 2015 p 42). This also impacts on performance management which is fast gaining popularity in the public sector as a means to improve on accountability. Unfortunately, it has been cumbered by a series of challenges in its implementation; this is in spite of the frameworks developed over the last couple of years (Nistor, Stefanescu & Crisan 2017, p.32).
Healthcare is a strong indicator for how people experience quality of life. Just like economical issues, healthcare is a topic for debate in many countries. The healthcare delivery system is reflective of the government’s performance in most countries, hence being integral to the identity of the nation as a whole. With the execution of the planned change in the eldercare advocacy organization, the patient will receive focused care at home. This is a shift from the disease centered approach of care offered in hospitals. The patient centered medical home (PCMH) favors the delivery of care at home, seeing this as the most attractive option for the patient. This allows the patient to be a stakeholder in their own care plan. The care delivery will make use of information technology. It will also help in linking care across the community and delivering care to the patient at home. Using IT, it will be possible to track the patient in real time as a standard of clinical practice. What this means is that hospital stay will be minimized, because patients can be monitored at home and interventions carried out away from the hospital (CGI GROPU, 2014, p5)
The delivery of healthcare services is fast moving into the home and it involves a number of people, devices and technologies. It cuts across different residential environments. Spearheading this shift are a number of factors such as; the ever-increasing cost of healthcare, increasing elderly population size, prevailing rates of chronic conditions, better disease outcomes, injuries, childhood conditions and technological advancements. These together with a host of other reasons have made it necessary to move the focus of care away from the hospital setup to the home setup. The healthcare that results however still varies in terms of how safe it is, how well and how fast it is administered and how much it costs (National research council, 2011, p167).
Leveraging the power of organizational committees and teamwork
The role of the committee is to evaluate this trend in healthcare delivery and trouble shoot for problems in its implementation by analyzing human factors. Having established that this shift presents opportunities as well as threats in the delivery of services, the committee is tasked with inventing solutions to address the challenges. The approach taken by the committee is biased towards evaluating the impact of human factors that can offer solutions that will ensure safety, quality care and mutual benefit for both the patient and caregiver (National Research Council, p.167). It is the prerogative of the committee to look into these four key areas that will improve on delivery of care at home: (1) technology which includes both devices and information technology applications (2) the patient and caregiver (3) the home environment (4) existing gaps in knowledge that should be looked into. Although there are a number of issues that may not be resolved, use of human factors principles will go a long way in ensuring that delivery of healthcare at home is safe, effective and affordable. It is not the role of the committee to prioritize recommendations, but to focus on how healthcare is delivered in the home and the different constituencies affected by it (National Research Council, 2011, p.168)
For this change to be implemented successfully, team skills such as relationship building and team dynamics will have to come into play. This will help in the realization of patient centered care that is of high quality and is equitable. Bearing in mind that effective information sharing is key; the team must build on inter professional communication skills. The potential impact of a breakdown in communication could be detrimental.
Impact on human resource needs
Direct care workers such as certified nurse assistants (CNAs), home health aides and personal care aides provide an estimated 70%-80% of hands on care in geriatric homes and other community-based settings (Rowe, Fulmer &Fried, 2016, p.4). When this change is implemented, it will call for a mass recruitment of trained and competent workers from around the globe. These workers need to be equipped to meet the demands of the administration of healthcare in the home environment.
Change impact on the organization care
Programs geared towards the delivery of home-based care for people with advancing chronic conditions have been shown to be very effective by the department of Veteran Affairs and in a Medicare demonstration (Independence at Home) (Rowe, Fulmer &Fried, 2016 p.3). Evidence suggests that primary care administered in the home environment is necessary for good patient outcomes and family member satisfaction. The use of an interdisciplinary approach is essential for proper handling of complex challenges encountered when caring for a homebound patient with limited functional capabilities. This means that the team apart from having clinicians also has to incorporate other teams such as behavioral therapists, dieticians, occupational therapists and psychologists. The teams will collaborate in providing a wide array of services which include administering medications, symptom management, creating awareness, patient education, offering support to the caregiver and averting crises that may arise from chronic conditions. Home based care plays a vital role in managing hospital readmissions and long hospitalizations where it can be avoided. This helps in reducing cost and it also prevents detrimental effects associated with long hospital stays. As opposed to dialing 911 family members can rely on this system to offer help at home. The role of the home – based care provider is also to enhance communication between the hospital and the patient/family. Home – based primary care offers hope and a channel to maximize care for the sickest and frailest of patients- those who are confined to their homes with functional limitations that may not allow them to access hospitals or physicians’ offices (Klein, Hostetter &McCarthy, 2017, p.4).
Categories of people who require care at home include: frail elders, people living with disabilities and chronic conditions, war veterans with incapacitating…
