Verified Document

Hospitals Health Systems And Long-Term Care Essay

Health Care Changes Over the past two to three decades there have been dramatic changes in the healthcare system globally, largely due to the improvements in technology, stakeholder expectations and increased globalization and access to care. Many of these changes have been the result of the costs associated with healthcare and their continual rise, changing demographics and psychographics, and new attitudes and media attention towards the industry. Overall, the healthcare industry has changed in terms of its previous overt reliance on hospital-based care to more private and emergency clinics based on neighborhoods, more home based and nursing services, and even a greater dependence on managed care (Williams, S., et al., eds., 2008). Much of this is a direct statistical cause of the aging Baby Boomer population and the global percentage increase in older adults needing more and more healthcare. Most experts see this aging population as a key influence on health care in both developed and developing countries causing the usage patterns for care to rise as well as greater pressure on individual and governmental spending on health care paradigms (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012).

One of the most noticable changes in healthcare has been is the cost of care, machinery and medicines. For instance, in 1990, the cost per person was approxiomately $2,800/year in the United States. This rose to $4,700 in 2000 and then $7,500 in 2010, with recent estimates of over $10,000/annum. In addition, in 1990, 14% of all Americans had no insurance, rising to 16.3% or an additional 50 million individuals by 2010 (Ritholtz, 2010). Certainly, costs are concerns, but it is also important to note the viral changes and improvements in technology in the last few years -- innovations that have changed the lives of all stakeholders within...

For instance, physicans can now turn their Smart-Phones into an EKG monitor to transmit data in real time to a cardiologist; use this same smartphone to remotely diagnose rural patients, set up electronic alters, use new materials for organ and tissue repair, and innovative technologies like sound and electricity to speed healing (Chideya, 2012).
Most medical scholars actually see changes in technology contributing to both cultural and medical evolutions that have revolutionized healthcare. While computers were available two decades ago, the Internet and massive memory processing had not arrived for the general public. Less than 20 years ago only academics and scientists used the Internet. Yet today, electronic communication and data storage is a major contributor in data access, research, healthcare networking and monitoring, and personal and professional medical needs. This is particularly true when one looks at the manner in which data is used in the medical field. Two decades ago most medical offices still used cumbersom paper records. The modern use of data now includes the abiulity to computerize the office through telemedicine, administration, education, and particularly, electronic medical records (ERM). These changes allow for information systems in administration, primary care, insruance, individuals and specialists to interact in a more holistic…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Chideya, D. (2012, July 2). Healthcare - 5, 10, 20 years in the past and future. Retrieved from Forbes Magazine: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/12/u-s-health-care-costs-since-1980/Chid" target="_blank" REL="NOFOLLOW" style="text-decoration: underline !important;">http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/12/u-s-health-care-costs-since-1980/Chid

Daschle, T., & Frist, B. (2013, August 14). Technology and the Changing Business of Health Care. Retrieved from Health Affairs Blog: http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2013/08/14/technology-and-the-changing-business-of-health-care/

Gunn, S. (2005). Understanding the Global Dimensions of Health. New York: Springer.

Ritholtz, B. (2010, December 4). U.S. Healthcare Costs Since 1980. Retrieved from The Big Picture: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/12/u-s-health-care-costs-since-1980/
Rowley, R. (2012, April 10). As Healthcare Changes, So Must Its Technology. Retrieved from HER Bloggers: http://www.practicefusion.com / ehrbloggers/2012/04/as-health-care-changes-so-must-its-technology.html
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2012, March 28). Global Health and Aging. Retrieved from nia.nih.gov: http://www.nia.nih.gov/research/publication/global-health-and-aging/assessing-costs-aging-and-health-care
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Long-Term Care to What Degree
Words: 1224 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Medicare, as long-term care policy, is not a key component for long-term care. Medicare covers only sensitive care costs and its skilled home health and nursing facility care aims at offering short-term health coverage for post- acute care after hospitalization of a beneficiary. On the other hand, private long-term care insurance is a policy that covers a small portion of a patient's bill. 2. Medicare offers an array of coverage

Risk Factors for MRSA in Long-Term Care Facilities
Words: 2999 Length: 8 Document Type: Research Proposal

Looking more generally at how the spread of resistant bacteria has advanced over the last few years one study traces the historical precedence of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. This work offers a plethora of good information about the seriousness of the problem with MRSA as well as other less common but equally serious bacterial strains and how antibiotic over-utilization and patient non-compliance has added tot the problem. In Hughes,

Health Systems Issues and Strategic Planning
Words: 3151 Length: 10 Document Type: Research Paper

Health Systems Issues and Strategic Planning The delivery of high quality healthcare services requires a sophisticated health system infrastructure that provides a multidisciplinary team approach. This health system infrastructure varies from country to country, but there are some common features that characterize health systems that can be used to identify best practices and current trends in healthcare delivery and administration in general and for an elderly American patient in particular. As

LTC of the Future Long-Term
Words: 2900 Length: 10 Document Type: Research Proposal

Often home-based caregivers, either a spouse or adult child, rely on institutional care only as a choice of last resort, and this is often reported only after their own health and well being begins to be perceived as degraded by caring for the individual in the home, relevant to supplemented home care services as well. (Ducharme et al. 2007, p. 3-31) Researchers in fact contend that individuals will employ

Analyzing Chair and Bed Alarm in to Help Reduce Falls in Short Term...
Words: 2707 Length: 6 Document Type: Article Review

Bed and Chair Alarm in to Help Reduce Falls in Short-Term Care Facility In long-term care facilities (e.g., assisted living centres and nursing homes), a fall is one of the single most devastating category of unpleasant events. In consequence, there is need for long-term care facilities to pay attention to issues of resident falls. To a significant extent, adequate fall prevention depends on the ability of caregivers to hold on to

Health Care A the Different
Words: 2409 Length: 9 Document Type: Term Paper

Day treatment programs can provide services at less cost because the patient goes home at night after being treated during the day, which often is used for rehabilitating chronically ill patients (Sharfstein, Stoline, & Koran, 1995, p. 249). The mere fact of having more choice benefits some patients by giving them more say in their care. Patient-focused care involves a method for containing in-patient costs for hospitals and for improving

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now