This paper examines key problems in the U.S. healthcare system as identified in Dr. Arthur Garson Jr.'s article, with particular focus on administrative burdens faced by patients and physicians. The paper explores how the full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was projected to intensify these challenges by dramatically increasing the patient population. It further addresses the anticipated shortage of nurses and physicians, a concern Garson Jr. does not fully explore, and proposes solutions including faculty incentives for nursing education and financial subsidies to attract more physicians to the field.
This paper examines key problems in the U.S. healthcare system as identified in Dr. Arthur Garson Jr.'s article, "The U.S. Healthcare System 2010: Problems, Principles and Potential Solutions." One of the most pressing of these problems — significantly impacted by the 2014 completion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — is addressed in Garson Jr.'s "Problem 4: Administrative Nightmares for Patients and Physicians" (Garson Jr., 2000). The projected increase in healthcare patients would have serious ramifications on practitioners, patient care, and the administrative side of health care. With healthcare coverage becoming effectively mandatory in 2014, a substantial increase in the number of patients was anticipated, and the most salient challenge surrounding this increase involved building an infrastructure of healthcare professionals capable of accommodating the sudden surge in demand for services.
Garson Jr. addresses this issue from the administrative side, discussing how more patients could result in longer wait times as individuals navigate multiple layers of administrative bureaucracy before receiving care. The author suggests that converting records into electronic form would help expedite the administrative process and also streamline approval and payment procedures (Garson Jr., 2000). The digitization of health records was thus presented as one practical mechanism for managing the incoming wave of newly insured patients.
However, Garson Jr. fails to address another highly significant aspect of this potential administrative backlog — one that reverberates into the patient-care sector as well. For years, individuals within the healthcare industry had been predicting a shortage of nurses and physicians to properly service patients. Until this issue is addressed, even the most comprehensive healthcare plans cannot aid people who simply need qualified professionals to treat them.
"Training more faculty to expand nursing supply"
"Using incentives to attract healthcare professionals"
It is equally possible that incentives can be used to attract a larger supply of physicians. At present, physicians face a substantial reduction in the quality and quantity of incentives to enter the healthcare field. Due to certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies are restricted from raising rates or denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions — meaning that physicians entering the field may work longer hours for comparatively less compensation. However, other potential incentives such as tax subsidies and professional benefits can help to balance this out and attract more physicians to the healthcare industry.
Until the issue of workforce shortages is addressed, all of the healthcare plans and their broad reach will not be able to aid people who simply need qualified professionals to treat them. Expanding nursing faculty, offering meaningful incentives to educators and physicians, and investing in healthcare workforce infrastructure are essential steps toward ensuring that the goals of the Affordable Care Act can be fully realized.
Connolly, M. A., Keller, V., Siela, D., & Twibell, K. R. (2008). The shortage of nurses and nursing faculty: What critical care nurses can do. AACN Advanced Critical Care, 19(1), 66–67.
Garson Jr., A. (2000). The U.S. healthcare system 2010: Problems, principles and potential solutions. Circulation. Retrieved from
Matthews, M., & Litow, M. (2013). ObamaCare's health-insurance sticker shock. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323936804578227890968100984.html
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