Care Coordination Relating to Elderly

The results of this analysis highlight the need for hospitals to fine-tune their discharge process to reduce readmissions, and support the expenditure of additional resources for this purpose as a cost-effective intervention; as an example, author cites a hospital in Iowa that implemented a rigorous post-discharge planning process for patients with heart failure and 30-day readmission rates were reduced by 3-9% during the 3-month period following implementation.

Conclusion

The research showed that many elderly patients who suffer from congestive heart failure also suffer from a wide range of comorbid conditions, including diabetes and hypertension. These patients can be reasonably expected to require periodic or even frequent treatment in emergency departments and/or hospitalizations for these conditions, making the need for effective and seamless post-discharge planning especially important. In this regard, the research also showed that there are some valuable evidence-based practice guidelines available, though, that can help clinicians better coordinate post-discharge…… [Read More]

Costs of Health Care and Quality

Health Care Cost and Quality

The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between health care cost and quality. This study will select one public agency and one private agency and differentiate their roles and major activities in addressing cost and quality in health care and analyze current and projected initiatives to improve quality while simultaneously controlling costs. This study will additionally conduct a synthesis of indications for staff nurses and advanced practice nurses, including evidence-based practice, relative to cost and quality.

There are many initiatives presently underway to meet the growing need of health care for a population that is greatly under-insured and many that are uninsured.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services eport

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2014) "Medicare is improving the way it pays for physician services. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) is exploring…… [Read More]

Cost Containment

Financing Health Care in the 21st Century

Cost Containment: the United States government

Unlike virtually every other industrialized country in the world, the United States provides medical care to its citizens through the private workplace, primarily financed through private insurance. Expenditures on such public programs as Medicare and Medicaid have increased the government's portion of the nation's healthcare burden since orld ar II. Still, the majority of health care funding still comes from the private sector. This has left millions uninsured whom are too 'wealthy' or young to qualify for public assistance, but do not work at places of employment where they receive benefits. It has also left many Americans underinsured for their healthcare needs. (News batch, 2003)

Although the United States spends far more on health care in actual dollars and as a percentage of the GDP than any other country of the world, the U.S. ranks low among…… [Read More]

Costs and Delivery Healthcare System

Introduction
The delivery health care system takes into account the assimilation of physicians, healthcare facilities, together with other medical services with plan to facilitate the provision of the total continuum of medical care for its consumers. In a whole incorporated system, the three fundamental components including physicians, medical facilities and the membership to health plans are counterpoised in terms of equating medical resources with the necessities of patients and purchasers (Coddington, Moore, and Fischer., 1994). One of the key concerns in the present delivery of healthcare is cost. Increasing costs of healthcare has been a major worry in the past number of years, making the United States to have one of the most expensive systems of healthcare. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the different costs linked to healthcare delivery system, and delineate the manner in which these costs impact different populations and how it also affects…… [Read More]

Cost and Quality Analysis

Quality Analysis

Healthcare Quality and Cost

Despite the fact that there is a comprehensive policy agreement that both cost control and quality enhancement are vital, the relationship between health care costs and quality is one of contention in debates in health care policy. One conceivable aspect is that enhancement in quality necessitates infusion of investments or on the contrary, reductions on cost could diminish quality. On the other hand, improvements in quality could decrease costs by diminishing intricacies or healthcare facility readmissions. As a matter of fact, the relationship between cost and quality possibly lies between these two ends, so that some kinds on health care costs are linked with high quality and others with poor quality. The impact is reliant on the areas the funds are expensed (Hussey et al., 2013).

Select one public agency and one private agency and differentiate their roles and major activities in addressing cost…… [Read More]

The ACA and Health Care Costs

The ACA and the U.S. Health Care System
· The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was meant to promote greater quality care through increased implementation of preventive care; but as Lichtenfeld (2011) and Moynihan (2015) have shown, the health care industry remains committed to a course of treatments and tests because both are generally subsidized by the federal government—and, frankly, preventive care does not ensure that customers will keep coming through the door to make the industry money.
· The problem with the ACA has been that it has done little to reduce the putting of profits before people mentality that plagues the health care industry.
· It idealistically identified the right objectives—increasing access to care, increasing quality of care, lowering the cost of care, and increasing preventive care (Obama, 2016).
· However, in practice it failed to ensure that a mechanism was in place to actually enable the achievement of…… [Read More]

Care Bill Law's Impact on

In addition the effect of bill has changed the documentation awarded through the state as of a certificate toward a license and authorizes a doctor to pass on duties to a PA with the purpose of managing physician's scope of performance however Another effect of bill has enabled Indiana's doctor assistants to widen their area of the health care services and also provided an innovative average of patient care (Stephanie, Matlock (27 April, 2007). Health care bills gives right to patient to know what health care should be known by the plan as well as several limits on care, kinds of health care be not enclosed, any treatment diagram required to endorse in advance. Yearly planning about on disburse to physician and health providers, file a complaint regarding any, disagreement between patient and the plan, and also procedure to make complaint, allowance to access emergency room twenty four hours a…… [Read More]

Care Work or Social Work Akin With

Care work or social work akin with any other human endeavor has a host of different perspectives that are used either in unison or in combination to direct it.

Its dominant perspectives are the following:

ystem theory

This is the view that all systems interact and that when, for instance, one works with a patient one needs to involve the family and community too and take all of the patient "s life into consideration for each impacts the other. The whole works as a holistic whole and, for instance, the child's school can effect the child as much as the child can the teacher and so forth. ystems have interrelated parts, and tend towards equilibrium.

Care workers use this system in a practical way by forging networks between the different ecosystems (for instance between child's school, community, and family) and by drawing ecomaps and genograms for understanding the dynamics of…… [Read More]

Costing Process V Job Costing

Another example of pure job costing is web development, where the processes themselves vary hugely from project to project, meaning the cost and time involved also varies.

esponse

Dosch & Wilson (2010) do seem to do a good job of defining job and process costing, and the person who posted this seems to have understood these definitions fairly well in the abstract -- that is, the definitions provided seem reasonable and the application of these definitions to businesses chosen by the poster are explained in a way that clearly links them to these definition. At the same, the poster seems to have had some trouble accurately identifying companies where job costing might be employed, despite grasping the abstract technicalities of the definition of job costing. While it is likely that an individual laborer might be able to identify that they worked on a particular section of an airplane or wall…… [Read More]

Healthcare the Impacts of Case

"Studies of the relationship between managed care penetration in the health care market and expenditures for Medicare fee-for-service enrollees have demonstrated the existence of these types of spill over effects" (Bundorf et al., 2004).

Managed care organizations generate these types of spillover effects by increasing competition in the health care market, altering the arrangement of the health care delivery system, and altering physician practice patterns. Studies have found that higher levels of managed care infiltration are linked with lower rates of hospital cost inflation and lower physician fees are consistent with competitive effects. "Other studies demonstrate the impact of managed care on delivery system structure including hospital capacity, hospital admission patterns, the size and composition of the physician workforce and the adoption and use of medical equipment and technologies. More recent evidence has linked market-level managed care activity to the process, but not the outcomes of care" (Bundorf et al.,…… [Read More]

US Health Care Reform

Health Care Reform

FDR's New Deal and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society were early attempts for the United States government to play a broader role in creating more extensive social policies. More recently, when a recession pushed inflation to an all-time high, Ronald Reagan led a popular political campaign in which he pronounced that the federal government should have a smaller role in American society. He believed that socialism was an evil worth fighting. This sentiment undoubtedly caused the Clinton Presidency to fail when trying to enact a series of measures to reform Health Care. The debate has regained momentum with Obama who has enacted a health care reform bill known as the Affordable Care Act. Republicans who been vocal critics of the bill and have vowed to overturn in before its inception. This paper will introduce some of the economic mechanics that are responsible for fueling the debate.

Background on…… [Read More]

US Healthcare

U.S. Healthcare

The final legislation should have incorporated provisions to boost the IVD industry. On its entirety, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act must have benefited the IVD industry. This would have increased sales in a span of five years that it is otherwise seen in the absence of the law. Most significant IVD sales drivers will result from the legislation as an expansion of in the number of insured citizens and new coverage of prevention and wellness programs. If various key provisions are included in the PPACA, coupled with the population demographics, IVD product sales will be stimulated. This industry will die or live based on the number of the test procedures and hence increase in the number of persons with healthcare coverage will be appropriate for IVD. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a sophisticated legislature, virtually affecting all aspects of healthcare and the majority…… [Read More]

Social Cultural and Political Influence in Healthcare Delivery

Social, Cultural, And Political Influence in Healthcare Delivery

Social, cultural, and political inequalities are detrimental to the health and healthcare system of the U.S. This is because the U.S. is one of the most multicultural, overpopulated, diverse and undergoing rapid economic growth. The federal government has embarked on efforts geared at addressing unsustainable costs of health care in the U.S. With the leadership of the current president, Barrack Obama, initiatives of containing health care costs will evaluate and explore strategies to contain the growing costs of health care based on a system-wide while enhancing the value and quality of health care (Ubokudom, 2012). The apparent system of health care is rife with opportunities of minimizing waste, delivering coordinated, effective care, and improving well-being and health of all Americans. The government in collaboration with care providers must prioritize cost effective containment strategies with the greatest possibility for political success and non-partisan…… [Read More]

Experienced a Significant Increase in the Cost

experienced a significant increase in the cost of health care. In 2004, 16% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was spent on health care. In 2010, President Obama signed the "Affordable Health Care for America Act (HR 3962)" that has been a topic of heated debate since discussions began decades ago. Health care funding and design has been a major issue for U..

Provide a discussion that demonstrates you have an understanding of the impact the cost of health care has on the economy. Be sure to discuss the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to Forbes (2012), America does not have a debt problem; it has a healthcare one. The price of health care is eating up the economy.

Health care spending is growing to almost 1.5 times the rate of growth of its gross domestic product (i.e. The market value of all its goods and services within a certain…… [Read More]

Overall Healthcare and Economics

Healthcare and Economics:

Health care costs have continued to increase in the past few decades despite of the numerous health reform initiatives. Currently, these expenditures account for more than 18% of GDP in the United States, a percentage that is expected to continue rising significantly. Actually, it's projected that the share will rise to 34% of GDP by 2040 if health care costs continue to increase at historical rates. The increased health care costs have considerable impacts on households, insurance companies, and government budgets. For instance, households with employer-financed health insurance will have a progressively minimal portion of their total compensation in the form of take-home pay. On the other hand, a progressively larger fraction of compensation will be in the form of employer-provided health insurance. Governments will be forced to cater for more than 50% of health care expenditures if they continue to increase at historical rates. Therefore, the…… [Read More]

Health Care Reform

overwhelming connections between healthcare costs and the macroeconomic performance of the U.S. economy. The impact of healthcare industry on the macroeconomic performance is evident from the fact that in 2009 healthcare expenditure of the U.S. was 18% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country. It was also estimated that should the healthcare costs continue to grow at historical rates, 34% of the U.S. GDP will compose of healthcare spending by 2040 (Whitehouse, 2009). The major sources of funding the healthcare costs are the Federal, State, and local governments of the U.S. Medicare is a healthcare program that subsidizes healthcare for citizens above 65 years of age. Medicaid subsidizes healthcare delivery for people below a certain income level. Approximately 50% of the healthcare expenditure is bore by governments at the federal, state and local level. It is also estimated that Medicare and Medicaid spending of Federal and State governments…… [Read More]

National Health Care Spending in the United

National Health Care Spending in the United States

For several years now, health care spending in the U.S. has been on the rise. In that regard, containing the situation has become a major headache not only for the government but also for consumers and employees looking for ways of keeping up with raising costs. In this text, I explain my position on the national health care spending in the U.S. In so doing, I will review the current health care expenditures at the national level and whether the same can be said to be sufficient or insufficient. Further, I will also make recommendations on where in my own opinion additions or cuts seem necessary. Next, I will discuss how the health care needs of the public are paid for. This paper will also provide a forecast of the various health care system needs going forward and why it is necessary…… [Read More]

Illegal Immigrant and the Healthcare

There will be likelihood of lowering costs across the whole of the United States health care system through increasing the risk pool with a population that has proven less likely of utilizing health services, thus lowering the emergency medical care's costs, particularly based on the emergency Medicaid reimbursements, as well as shifting the centre of attention from expensive treatment after progressing of diseases to cheaper preventative and ambulatory care, (Sarita A. Mohanty, et al., 2005). Through extension of coverage, it can as well safe guard the health of the entire populations since there will be timely diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, hence it will bring a higher health quality throughout the lifetime of illegal immigrants for there will be protection against diseases but not just treating or managing diseases once they crop up.

On the other hand there is argument that there could be a countervailing consideration that might…… [Read More]

US Health Care Reforms

U.S. Health Care Reforms

Objectives of reform of the health care system should align to improve quality, access and cost in health care. The intricacy of the health care system necessitates balancing the three variables while considering the individual's viewpoint. To achieve this equilibrium, health care programs ought to satisfy safety, actuarial and economic principles that should be under proper application and management for successful reforms. Evidently, there exist various problems within the system. These include poor price controls, over-insurance, lack of transparencies in health care cost and delivery, inappropriate actuarial risk classifications and improper safety net structures. This explication highlights health care reform principles and discusses incremental solutions for quandaries in the American health care system.

Economic Principles

Health care reforms ought to strive to encourage the fundamental economic principle of demand and supply. Over-insurance, increase of mandated benefits, control of prices, increased malpractice costs and dependence on third…… [Read More]

Evolution of Health Care Information Systems

Evolution of Health Care Information Systems

The objective of this study is to compare and contrast a contemporary healthcare facility or physician's office health care facility or physician's office operation of 20 years ago and to identify at least two major events and technological advantages that influenced current HCIS practices. The physician's office and health care facility of 20 years ago was a paper-based operation. All records were paper records, appointments were written on calendars and prescriptions were handwritten, notations on the patient's health records was done by writing on the physical paper record and all hospital orders were written by hand. During the 1970s hospital growth and expansion occurred and the expenditures for Medicare and Medicaid were on the rise. At this time mainframes were still in use and microcomputers became available and not only were they smaller but they were also less expensive. However, transformation did not come…… [Read More]

Forces of Healthcare Numerous Forces Have Changed

Forces of Healthcare

Numerous forces have changed the way healthcare has developed. Rising healthcare costs, service fragmentation, variable access and quality, poor health, high costs for disadvantaged, social and political conflict, infections, chronic diseases, and emotional and behavioral aspects have all been forces in the development of healthcare in the U.S. (Cunningham, 2003). Consumer awareness, high costs of insurance as well as health services, and chronic illness have been major contributors to the way healthcare has developed over time.

Consumer awareness has raised questions to the service quality of healthcare, more especially compared to the rising costs of the services. As a result, healthcare institutions are being challenged with the way healthcare services get delivered to the patient. Consumers are now more aware of healthcare standards and the way illness should be treated, which challenges the healthcare system in the way that service is delivered in treatment settings. This includes…… [Read More]

Flows in Health Care Since the Government

Flows in Health Care

Since the government had started the practice of handing over major departments to private sector like health care and education, these areas are now more focused on employing techniques that can draw major profit flow. On examining the three crucial aspects of profit earning such as the number of patients, quality of staff and management, we come to a conclusion that all three areas go side by side and need to be checked upon regularly (Michael, 2006 ).

The numbers of patients are important, to a hospital; patients are the customers who are taking advantage of the health care services provided by that respective hospital. Another item that is associated to the number of patients is the type of patients coming in which is directly associated with the services that a hospital is providing at that particular time. In order to earn more profit in this…… [Read More]

Health Care Profession Is Undergoing Fundamental Change

health care profession is undergoing fundamental change due in part to new laws and regulations. These laws and regulations, although well intended may result in unintended consequences for the nursing profession overall. In the future, the role of a nurse will be fundamentally altered. For one, regulation such as the Affordable Care Act will result in an entire population of insured patients needing care. As such, the role of a nurse will ultimately be predicated on a more individualized basis with specialization in certain aspects. Caring for diabetes is no different in this regard. The public is particularly prone to diabetes primarily due to dietary and lifestyle considerations. As such, the topic of proper care and prevention of this issue is paramount to community health. The population at risk, due in part to regulation, is now society as a whole. This presents interesting challenges and opportunities for the overall health…… [Read More]

Health Care Reform Recommendations to

On the contrary, a comprehensive medical care solution that tackles the main issues driving up health care costs in America is possible. The main problem experienced by the average American is that health insurance premiums are cost prohibitive for the middle-class, but being uninsured can bankrupt a family forced to deal with even a minor catastrophic illness. Therefore, a national health insurance program has to be part of the solution. However, one cannot overlook the role that unpaid medical bills and exorbitant malpractice premiums also play in the modern healthcare crises. As a result, the solution must include a way to reduce malpractice premiums through tort reform, and a way to reduce the percentage of medical bills that go unpaid. The proposed three-prong approach would tackle all of those issues, without forcing any unwilling person to participate in a nationalized healthcare program.

orks Cited

American Tort Reform Association. "Medical Liability…… [Read More]

Healthcare Institutions Are Seeking New

Cost is one of the primary issues -- it is cheaper to go to an RN than a doctor, and walk-in clinics have lower overhead costs than physician's offices, which is of great concern to uninsured or minimally insured patients. ait time is another concern -- clinics provide immediate treatment, patients do not have to wait for appointments for a brief, routine procedure, which insured patients may balk at if they merely wish to get a routine culture for strep throat. Using the Internet to access information about insurance and care results in lowered administrative costs for providers, less need for phone operators to provide advice, and results in additional speed for the consumer, in accessing records.

For a patient without insurance, ordering drugs online and not having to pay for a 'live' consult may be more cost-efficient, despite the higher costs of the drugs. Healthcare companies' desire to make…… [Read More]

Present American Healthcare System Is in Need of Reform

Healthcare Reform

The subject of healthcare reform set the country ablaze last year, proving to be one of the most contentious issues that has swept through American political discourse in recent decades. One reason that healthcare reform might have proven to be such a contentious issue -- bringing out the worst and shrillest elements of the American public -- was that healthcare is one of the most important issues in the lives of many and even most Americans (Christensen and Jason, 2009).

All of us will face serious illness at some point in our lives, whether our own or that of a loved one. The fact that so many Americans do not have any healthcare at all or have very limited access to healthcare makes the issue a personal one, and this alone should have made it central to the public discourse. However, while the above was no doubt the…… [Read More]

Second Opinions for Tough & Smart Care

Second Opinions for Tough & Smart Care

FLA, FECA, H2457

The federal government (under most current administrations) has tried to address the issue of the nation's need for better healthcare by focusing on improving what is already in place. Two of the regular efforts at this are the FLA (Family Leave Act) and the FECA, or Federal Employees' Compensation Act (DOL, b). The purpose of the first is to provide structured and economically efficient ways for people to be able to leave their positions, without risking their jobs, when they are dealing with either the birth of a child or a critically sick immediate relative. It is also seen as one effort to seek to protect men and women against the problems of gender injustice that can come about if women are challenged in keeping healthcare because of the choice to have children. FECA, on the other hand, seeks to…… [Read More]

Economic Evaluation in Health Care

Healthcare Economics Evaluation

This report is about a proposed healthcare economics investigation. Some early research has been done and will be described based on what was found and how it was found. The report will conclude with a proposed plan for further economic evaluation on that same topic with a great deal the expected and proper form and function of that research to be described in that section. A conclusion will wrap up the report.

Critical Appraisal of the Evidence

Topic Selected

The author of this report has chosen how to make health care affordable and have the most amount of people possible covered in the United States as this is one of the more omnipresent issues and matters in American society in the modern time. Health care being at the forefront of the American news cycle is nothing new as it is has been a huge part of the…… [Read More]

Health Care Policy or Delivery System Challenge

Healthcare Delivery System Challenges

The American healthcare system has been criticized as favoring the middle and upper classes while ignoring the lower classes. Based on these speculations, the federal government has constantly tried to institute reforms in the healthcare sector though some of the proposals have failed to overhaul the industry. With rising insurance costs, the number of citizens barred from accessing quality healthcare has increased to more than 45 million uninsured Americans. On the same note, it is hypothesized that with time, the problems currently witnessed in the industry are likely to increase and finding solutions to them will be a tall order for the government (Stolberg & Pear, 2010). Despite the advent of new technology in the sector, which is likely to improve service delivery over the years, it is speculated that the cost of new tests and treatments will outweigh the savings. With the better technology, physicians…… [Read More]

Compare and Contrast U S and Norway Healthcare Systems

U.S. & Norway Healthcare Systems

healthcare system has many advantages and disadvantages which are most revealing when compared to the other health care systems of the world. An analysis between the U.S. healthcare system and a government run healthcare system of Norway provides a deeper understanding of the similarities and differences in the two systems.

Almost every other developed nation in the world has some form of universal coverage which reduces this disparity in care. However, many of these systems are purportedly ridden with their own issues such as high cost and long waiting times. By comparing the U.S. system with the universal system like that of Norway, I can investigate the effectiveness of each in terms of the quality of care provided and the equality of distribution of that care.

A Comparison and Analysis of Healthcare Systems in the United States and Norway

A. United States

The healthcare system…… [Read More]

Healthcare Spending by the New York State

Healthcare spending by the New York State persistently surpasses its earnings. That difference continues to be expanding and is also anticipated to broaden unless of course there happen to be severe, continuous modifications in spending budget actions. Lieutenant Governor ichard avitch, in "A 5-Year Strategy to Deal with the State of New York's Spending budget Deficit" released during March 2010, approximated this structural disproportion within the state's spending budget to become no less than $13 billion. The structural inequality isn't simply the consequence of the economic downturn that started during 2007, and a commonly strengthening economic climate is not going to get rid of it.

To help the State of New York in providing the solutions and dedication to quality that its residents rely on, structural modifications are needed. The aim of this paper is actually to summarize one particular realignment - solving an outright inequity involving the state as…… [Read More]

Transitional Care of Older Adults Hospitalized With

Transitional Care of Older Adults Hospitalized with Heart Failure Experiment

Naylor, M.D., Brooten, D., Campbell, R.L., Maislan, G.,, McCauley, K.M. Schuartz, J. Transitional Care of Older Adults Hospitalized with Heart Failure: A Randomized Trial.

This article has an interesting approach to summarizing the experiment that was conducted. Instead of a formal abstract, the article instead summarizes the design and outline in several sections. These sections include objectives, design, setting, participants, intervention, measurements, results, and conclusions. The sections that are listed replace the standard format for an abstract that condenses the design and the findings into one formal section. Personally, I prefer the organization of this format better as it more clearly illustrates all of the factors in the research in a clear and easily identifiable format.

Analysis of the Introduction

The authors of this research do state the problem that they are researching in a clear and coherent manner. The…… [Read More]

Economics of Healthcare the Economics of Health

Economics of Healthcare

The Economics of Health Care

The healthcare in the United States is a system of economics that has been referred to as a Ponzi scheme and most assuredly, the economics of the U.S. healthcare system are unsound at best. The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that fails to provide universal access to basic health care and according to the work of Kilchevsky (2004), 'the absence of universal health coverage has been called 'one of the great unsolved problems facing the United States at the onset of the 21st century." (p.1) This work intends to examine the economics of health care in the United States.

The Facts

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reports that national health expenditures for 2009 totaled $2.5 trillion, which is stated to be $58,086 per person. (erdine, 2011, p.1) The estimated total for health expenditures in 2008…… [Read More]

Access to Healthcare For the Last Two

Access to Healthcare:

For the last two decades, access to healthcare is an issue that has played a crucial role in leading the charge for health care reforms. Access to quality and comprehensive health care services is a crucial aspect for the realization of health equity and for enhancing the quality of health for every individual. Generally, the access to these services means the timely use of individual health services in order to accomplish the best health outcomes ("Access to Health Services," 2012). The achievement of the best health outcomes to access to personal health services requires three major steps i.e. gaining entry into the health care system, identifying a trustworthy health care provider, and accessing the services where they are needed.

Components of Access to Healthcare:

Access to personal health care services incorporates four major components i.e. coverage, workforce, timeliness, and services. Health care coverage is mainly provided through…… [Read More]

Healthcare Rationing

Ethical Analysis of Healthcare Rationing

The topic of health care rationing has been the subject of debate in the U.S. The last few years as government expenditures on health care have far exceeded budgeted levels. Central to the concern is the ethical issue over whether it is better if fewer Americans profit with a greater amount of health resource allocation or if the majority benefit to a lesser degree for an equity in health care benefits. In the essay, "We've Got To Ration Health Care," (author unknown) the position is taken that America would fare better to follow the course of health care action seen in other western countries, where it is considered better to ration medical procedures to the extent that a system provides "the highest possible level of basic health care that can be delivered to all the people." With the growing concern over health care rationing, and…… [Read More]

Barriers to Healthcare

Primary Care

Beard, C., Weisberg, .B., & Primack, J. (2012). Socially anxious primary care patients' attitudes toward cognitive bias modification (CBM): a qualitative study. Behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy, 40(05), 618-633.

This study shows how traditional methods of approaching patients with information can cause confusion and thus create barriers to accessing patient knowledge in primary care settings. The study focused on working with primary care patients suffering from anxiety and how they reacted to cognitive bias modification (CBM) for that anxiety. Upon initial discussion of the treatment, most participants showed that they understood. However, it was clear by the end of the treatment that the program was not clarified enough to patients prior to treatment and that created a knowledge barrier that caused the treatment not to work as successfully as previously tested. Better methods for communicating the treatment within the primary care setting must be developed to bring down these…… [Read More]

Medical Care Policies

Healthcare Policies

Health care policy usually is developed to address health care cost, quality, or access, or a combination of the three. Due to the nature of their interaction with patients, nurses are well situated to be effective, knowledgeable advocates for their patients. The impact of health policy and regulation when it comes to the nursing profession is not something that can be ignored. Healthcare issues are very complex and they involve the fields of economics and medicine and affecting the rights of individuals as well as accessing healthcare. Consumers' main concern is quality while the individual and corporations providers are mainly concerned about the economic survival (Heller, Oros, & Durney-Crowley, 2009).

One public policy that is influencing my nursing practice and I is the Medicaid policy. This is a social health program meant for families and individuals that have low income and resources. This is an insurance program by…… [Read More]

Healthcare - Discussion Responses Healthcare

Second, poor health in the individual probably detracts from his or her capacity to contribute to society more directly than the harm to productive society represented by the cost of the individual's healthcare.

Furthermore, the vast majority of American healthcare dollars are spent on individuals in their later years, after their productive lives are already over, rather than on working-age people. Finally, while reducing healthcare costs is necessary for the optimal health of the American economy, it probably relates more directly to private economic matters rather than to consuming national resources that could otherwise be dedicated to technological development in a general sense.

Response to Statement #3: As suggested in Response #2, optimum public health is not necessarily a prerequisite for global competitiveness unless by "health" one means healthy enough to reach productive adulthood. On the other hand, the American population is undoubtedly on the verge of an obesity crisis,…… [Read More]

History of Health Care Mandate the Signing

History Of Health Care Mandate

The signing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by President Obama must be considered a landmark event in the history of the nation regardless of how one views the constitutionality of the legislation. Passage of the legislation marked the end of a long and acrimonious debate and brought the United States in line with the rest of the developed world in terms of providing universal health coverage to its citizens (Orszag, 2010). Unfortunately, the debate over the constitutionality of the ACA did not end with Obama's signing of the legislation as within days several different states filed suit against the law's requirement that most Americans purchase health; against the health care mandate.

The health care mandate was first offered as an option by the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, as an option to the single-payer system that had been historically supported by Democrats and…… [Read More]

Understanding the ACA Premiums

Obamacare, or formally known as the Affordable Care Act, is a recent healthcare law that will reach its implementation stage in 2014. Healthcare is certainly a fundamental necessity and indispensable to a growing human population. he United States is known for its adequate healthcare, servicing low income people through Medicaid, and the elderly through Medicare. However, recent events have led to a shift in what can possibly negatively impact the healthcare system for the United States.

Obamacare has good intentions in having its purpose be to supply affordable healthcare to everyone within the United States, but certain clauses and modifications have turned it into a dicey and uncertain situation. Not only are the costs piling up, and continue to increase, but the distribution of healthcare services is primarily execute through health insurance coverage. his means that there will be a change in how the healthcare system functions at the core…… [Read More]

Health Care Reform Has Been

Despite of the receipt of federal funding to assist in the set-up of an insurance exchange program, the Minnesota legislature is not cooperating with the Governor Drayton's plans to design a program. Instead, in a classic example of partisan politics, the legislature is going forward with its own plans to design an exchange program. In doing so, the legislature is placing the State of Minnesota in a position of possibly losing the grant provided by the federal government. According to the grant provisions, the state must show it can operate an effective exchange program by the end of calendar year 2012 or the federal government under the terms of ACA will impose a one size fits all exchange on the state. Even the state's most conservative political groups oppose this happening and advocate that the state's executive and legislative branches cooperate in formulating an acceptable state exchange program.

The effect…… [Read More]

Future of Healthcare Operations the

Then, when you combine this with the fact that Medicaid serves 53 million people with an annual budget of $329 billion, means that rising costs is severely affecting this program. ("Medicaid Reform," 2005) the inflexibility of this program has contributed to problem as a one size fits all approach is taken. Then, when you combine the different state programs offered through Medicaid, means that an uneven standard of inflexibility is used. An illustration of this can be seen by looking no further than the overall focus of Medicaid, where an emphasis is placed on addressing major health issues. This is problematic because like with Medicare, an approach must be taken of dealing with the patient once they are facing major health issues. Then Medicare has to engage in multiple functions to include: comprehensive acute / primary care, long-term care services (for those who qualify), a source of funding for uncompensated…… [Read More]

Healthcare Reform Review of Literature

(Menzel, 1990, p. 3) Fisher, Berwick, & Davis alude to the idea of integration in health care, with providers linking as well as creating networks of electronic medical records and other cost improvement tactics.

The United States and other nations over the last twenty or so years, have begun a sweeping change in health care delivery, regarding the manner in which health information is input, stored and accessed. Computer use in the medical industry has greatly increased over the last thirty years the culmination of this is fully networked electronic medical record keeping. (Berner, Detmer, & Simborg, 2005, p. 3) the electronic medical record trend began in the largest institutions first, as hospitals and large care organizations attempted to reduce waste and improve patient care, while the adoption has been much slower among physician's practices and smaller medical institutions. (Hillestad, et al., 2005, pp. 1103-1104) Prior to this time medical…… [Read More]

Health Care Debate as the

Drug costs have gone from 26% of health care spending by private insurance companies in 1990 to 44% in 2006 (Kaiser Foundation, 2008). This issue has not been adequately addressed by health care reform. Instead, a deal appears to be made for $80 billion in concessions from the pharmaceutical industry in exchange for its support of health care reform (Kirkpatrick, 2009).

The underlying trend in each of these major issues in health care reform is controlling the rising cost. Malpractice reform seeks to control the cost of insurance to health care providers, so that they can pass those savings along to consumers. The public option provides a plan for affordable health care coverage for uninsured and underinsured Americans. This is deemed necessary because private insurers will not offer insurance to those it feels will demand too much in terms of health care costs going forward. Reducing the cost of health…… [Read More]

Managed Health Care and Evaluates

"

The bulk of quality improvement measures are working for managed care by providing insight as to what can be done to improve care therefore reduce mortality rates, and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction which in turn helps to build the managed care health business.

Population Health Focus

Population health refers to the physical, social, cultural, and economic environment in which we work and live (adzyminski, 2006)."

This has become a focus of many managed health care organizations as they work to reduce the risks to their local consumers by way of stress, environmental factors and other elements that have a direct impact on the consumer health concerns.

The goal of population health is to maximize the health of any given population. In doing so it contains elements of program development, development/evaluation of health care policy, and program and systems evaluation. It uses an approach that concentrates on…… [Read More]

Healthcare Addressing the Issue of

Stated to be barriers in the current environment and responsible for the reporting that is inadequate in relation to medical errors are:

Lack of a common understanding about errors among health care professionals

Physicians generally think of errors as individual that resulted from patient morbidity or mortality.

Physicians report errors in medical records that have in turn been ignored by researchers.

Interestingly errors in medication occur in almost 1 of every 5 doses provided to patients in hospitals. It was stated by Kaushal, et al., (2001) that "the rate of medication errors per 100 admission was 55 in pediatric inpatients. Using their figure, we estimated that the sensitivity of using a keyword search on explicit error reports to detect medication errors in inpatients is about 0.7%. They also reported the 37.4% of medication errors were caused by wrong dose or frequency, which is not far away from our result of…… [Read More]

Health Care Reform Several Years

Contracts with doctors often contain a clause which doesn't allow the doctors to discuss

Health care 7 with their patients financial incentives to deny treatment or about treatments not covered by the plan (Glazer, 1996). This has caused many consumers, especially those with chronic illnesses, to form organizations with the American Medical Association and physician specialty groups to promote legislation forbidding "gag rules" (Glazer, 1996). One group, Citizen Action, has 3 million members and "has been lobbying in state legislatures for laws that would require plans to disclose how they pay their doctors; give patients the right to choose specialists outside the plan; and provide appeals for patients who get turned down for expensive treatments" (Glazer, 1996).

The doctor-patient relationship is also affected if a patient must switch to a new doctor under managed care. Having a longterm relationship with a primary doctor is important because he or she is…… [Read More]

Health Care Reform Federal Deficit the American

Health Care Reform Federal Deficit

The American Health Care Crisis and the Federal Deficit

The United States spends more than any other country on medical care. In 2006, U.S. health care spending was $2.1 trillion, or 16% of our gross domestic product. At the same time, more than 45 million Americans lack health insurance and our health outcomes (life expectancy, infant mortality, and mortality amenable to health care) are mediocre compared with other rich democracies. We spend too much for what we get.

Nothing is new about these sobering realities. The Nixon administration first declared a health care cost crisis in 1969. Four decades later, the United States still has not adopted systemwide cost controls because the politics of health care make it extraordinarily difficult to control costs. I explain below why this is so (Marmor, et al., 2009).

The starting point for understanding the politics of cost control is…… [Read More]

Home and Community-Based Care Today

egistered nurses are both qualified, educated, and certified to provide a high quality of various care services that an individual may need in a home setting or elsewhere. Hence, providing these practitioners with the power to certify and provide home care is a solution to an overwhelming problem that has plagued the health care environment in recent years. Nursing practitioners, as a result of the nature of their work, are closely connected to the needs of individual patients. This means that they, more than many other health care providers and institutions, are able to assess the needs of individuals, their households, and the level of care they require. This places them in a position to accurately determine the need and/or of such individuals to obtain long-term home care and when such home care becomes unviable. As such, registered nurses who serve individuals in the home setting are able to maintain…… [Read More]

Future of Healthcare

sleeping under a rock the issue of health care in the United States has been on the minds of everyone. In a society where health costs have spiraled, employer sponsored health insurance is rapidly disappearing, and millions are going untreated the overall issue of health care has everyone concerned (ichmond, 2005). Virtually no one is untouched by its reaches.

Over the last several decades the federal government has become increasingly more active in the health care field and now it is being proposed that this involvement may become more extensive as federally funded health insurance is being proposed. This involvement by the national government began during the New Deal when Social Security was originally enacted and has increased gradually ever since (James G. Haughton, 1968). Some of this involvement is obvious such as Medicare and Medicaid but other forms of involvement are less obvious such as research funding and regulatory…… [Read More]

Health Care Debate Over the

At which point, the overall costs of care will be passed on to the tax payer in the form of higher taxes. This leads to a decrease in the overall quality of care and it will not slow the price increases, as the government seeks to restrict access to these services. Then, when the program becomes broken (such as: what is happening to Social Security) removing or reforming the bureaucracy is nearly impossible. (Messerili, 2010)

A second argument that many critics make about universal health care is: it will stifle innovation. Whenever, the government is running any kind of program, they will place a large number of restrictions and regulations on the industry. When this takes place, you are causing some of the best and brightest minds to seek careers in other fields, as the restrictions from the government are too cumbersome. A good example of this would be: the…… [Read More]

U S Health Care System to

Where, it will reduce the total amount by $138 billion in ten-year. This is despite, the fact that $950 billion is going to be spent implementing such changes. What this shows, is that when implementing the strengths of the French system with that of the American system, you can have high quality health care services and maintain costs.

ibliography

Health Care ill to Cut Deficit. (2010, March 18). Retrieved April 12, 2010 from Reuters website:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61O4NV20100318

Tired of Waiting for Your Doctor. (2006, November 20). Retrieved April 12, 2010 from MSNC website:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15487676/

Dutton, P. (2007, August 11). France's Model Health Care System. Retrieved April 12, 2010 from oston.com

website:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/08/11/frances_model_healthcare_

system/

Foley, T. (2009, March 8). 5 Questions about French Health Care. Retrieved April 12, 2009 from Change.org website: http://healthcare.change.org/blog/view/5_questions_about_french_health_care

Foy, A. (2009, September 10). Give Me Liberty or Give Me Health Care. Retrieved April 12, 2010 from American…… [Read More]

Health Care Reform Through the

Not only do these practices discourage preventative care and monitoring, they also diminish the quality of the good that insured individuals are buying from the health insurance companies. Insured individuals are paying for insurance and paying for most of their healthcare costs in addition because of the exorbitant deductibles. PPACA's prohibition of these practices ultimately forces health care companies to raise the bar and give health insurance customers more value for money.

Public-Private Partnerships Prevent ureaucratization of Health Care

There are widespread misconceptions that the PPACA will provide health insurance through some government-run bureaucracy. Actually, PPACA is built on close cooperation between health insurance companies and the government. Under PPACA, the government does not operate hospitals nor does it provide medical insurance to individuals. Actually, it requires individuals to carry some form of private health insurance or suffer a penalty. The only time the government becomes involved is when an…… [Read More]

Health Care Systems Comparison of

Conclusion

ased on the information currently available, the Canadian health care system is the more utilitarian and is, therefore, the better approach but those facing the need for advanced and expedient care would certainly argue otherwise. Therein lies the problem and therein lies the challenge for American society. Even the most ardent proponents of employer-based insurance plans would dare not argue that having great numbers of uninsured is the price that American society pays for having high-quality services but that is what has developed. Hopefully, a system can be devised that allows for more broad-based coverage while retaining the availability of quality care.

Recommendations

The United States health care system cannot continue as it has for the past several years. Costs are far too high and are escalating at a rate that is out of control. Relying on employer-based insurance plans must be abandoned and some form of public financing…… [Read More]

Business Healthcare Reform at the

Maybe for some things are well enough, but for most Americans they are far from it. Most Americans spend their days worrying about being just one layoff away from joining the 50 million other men, women and children in the ranks of the uninsured. The average household income in this country is just about $50,000. This means that most people are not in a position to pay a fourth of their family's annual income, before taxes, just to cover health insurance premiums. More and more people face paying thousands more of our hard earned dollars in out-of-pocket expenses before the coverage we pay so dearly for actually kicks in (ichard, 2009).

In the past many Americans who have been enrolled in employer-sponsored health insurance plans have been able to rely on their employers to pay the biggest share of the premiums, but the truth is that fewer and fewer Americans…… [Read More]

Healthcare Dan Hall a Self-Described

A recent article touted the 6.1% growth of spending on medical care in 2007.

The same article cautioned however that, "most experts know that no matter what the numbers say, there is still a great deal of work ahead to reform a healthcare system that is still fundamentally broken -- and is facing one of the worst economic recessions in decades" (Lubell, 2009, pg. 6).

Government and industry officials have been working to reform the industry for more than a decade yet the problem seems to be getting worse rather than better. More and more individuals are finding that insurance takes too much of their income and are forced therefore to forego that expense. Government is leery of committing to the cost of such expense, and industry is reluctant to offer expanded coverage without the backing of the federal government. As the interested parties do the two-step the problem becomes…… [Read More]

Healthcare in the United States

Universal healthcare would benefit a large segment of the population, and it should be implemented as quickly as possible to ensure the nation's health and to save money.

There are some clear arguments against universal healthcare. One of the most well-known and cited is the idea that the Federal Government is not capable of efficiently managing healthcare, and they cite the problems with the Veteran's Hospitals and Medicare as a very real example of that mismanagement and inability to control costs and other aspects of universal healthcare. Many government agencies are indeed inefficient, understaffed, and mismanaged, so care must be taken to ensure this does not happen with any agency managing universal healthcare. There should be strict controls and measures in place to ensure the agency is managed efficiently and provides the best results, and there should be measures in place to ensure the quality and delivery of healthcare services,…… [Read More]

Healthcare Policies Hospitals Should Not

In fact Congress should pass a bill that gives that prescription drug benefit to Medicare patients.

QUESTION NINE: In the United States, healthcare is so expensive that over 45 million people are without health insurance. It is a broken system, leaving out many people, especially children. Recently the executive branch vetoed a bill that would have provided health insurance to millions of middle and low-income children, indicating a lack of government concern for the well being of the population. Bush said it was too expensive, yet it's not too expensive to continue spending billions on an unpopular war in Iraq. Meanwhile, for the past 45 years, Canada has had a "government-funded, national healthcare system..." based on these five principles, according to www.medhunters.com.One, it is universally available to permanent residents; two, it is comprehensive; three, it is available regardless of income; four, it is "portable within and outside" Canada; and five,…… [Read More]

California Healthcare System California's Health

Statistics show that hospitals bore more than $5 billion in costs in treating uninsured patients. This creates a huge financial pressure on them and there is no alternative but to have the uncompensated care costs to be charged to the insured patients. As a recent article from the California healthcare foundations quotes "They prepare for this reality by: Setting prices for the insured that are higher than expected costs.." [CHA] These financial details clearly indicate that immediate action has to be undertaken in terms of restructuring the healthcare system so as to facilitate hospitals in managing the overwhelming burden they are expected to handle.

Diminishing Insurance Coverage

One further reason that contributes to the problem is the declining rate of insurance coverage offered by corporates to their employees. The trend seems to be worsening as statistics indicate. Job-based coverage, which stood at 60.4% in 2003 has dropped to 59.8% in…… [Read More]

Healthcare Disparities in the U S

S. healthcare structure do not include the unobserved disparities. This may sound very rudimentary, even silly to point out, but in by understanding that the numbers are actually worse than they appear, and that the rising costs of healthcare services re associated with both what we see and can't see, it is easier to understand how costs rise so quickly.

It is also a sobering fact that what we cannot observe is still out there, existing beyond the scope of the government and social programs designed to help people overcome obstacles to access to healthcare and health insurance. The ethnic group that is most unobserved within the bounds of many of the studies and statistics related to the disparities in the U.S. healthcare industry is non-Mexican Latinos (Bustamante, et. al., 2009). This group represents a major portion of the U.S. population that currently lacks access to healthcare. In understanding this…… [Read More]