Health Department Essays (Examples)

Healthcare Case Study Schuylkill County, PA

County Overview - Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania is located in the heart of the anthracite Coal region of Pennsylvania where the Schuylkill iver originates. Pottsville is the county seat, and the county showed a population of just under 150,000 as of 2010 with a density of 190 persons per square mile. The total area of the county is 782 square miles, almost all land, less than 1/2 a per cent water. The county's history, likely due to large coal deposits, focused on the railroad and industrialization (Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce, 2011).

The county experienced the high point of its population during the 1920s and 1930s, and has been losing people ever since, most between 1950 and 1970, with about a 1-2% population loss since the turn of the century. This is likely due to the lack of appropriate jobs and opportunities within the county. Schuylkill…

REFERENCES

County Health Statistics - Healthcare 2010. (2009, March). Retrieved from Pennsylvania Department of Health: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt-in_hi_groupoperator_1=or&in_hi_req_objtype=18&in_hi_req_objtype=17&in_hi_req_objtype=512&in_hi_req_objtype=514&in_hi_req_objtype=43&in_hi_req_objtype=1&in_hi_req_apps=7&in_hi_req_page=10&in_ra_topoperator=or&

Comprehensive Plan. (2010, March). Retrieved from City of Pottsville, PA:  http://www.city.pottsville.pa.us/html/cp1.htm 

Election Statistics. (2010, June). Retrieved from Pennsylvania Department of State:  http://www.dos.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/running_for_office/12704 

Schuylkill County. (2010, June). Retrieved from Sperling's Best Places USA:  http://www.bestplaces.net/economy/county/pennsylvania/schuylkill

Health Care -- Strategic Planning and Marketing

Strategic planning and marketing often wed customer-oriented issues with broader issues of public health, morality and survival in a highly competitive market. Consequently, a key issue set forth by the American Hospital Association and an issue of strategic planning/marketing are often two sides of the same coin. This work addresses the customer-oriented issues of Diversity and Emergency Planning that are mirrored in two key issues advanced by the AHA. These two issues are articulated in the first part of this work and answered in the second part of this work.

Customer-Oriented Strategic Plan

Diversity

American society is increasingly ethnically diverse due to immigration, relocation, birth rates and other factors. Consequently, a 250-bed community hospital must hone its sensitivity to resulting changes in community health needs. n addition, there is a high level of competition among hospitals that requires sensitive, targeted marketing to attract…

Issues or Opportunities

Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities

As the American Hospital Association states, "Addressing disparities is no longer just about morality, ethics and social justice: It is essential for performance excellence and improved community health" (American Hospital Association, 2012). A multi-faceted approach to discerning, accommodating and marketing for diversity would certainly include the thoughtful collection and examination of diversity data to define target ethnic markets and specific steps tailored to those markets, as described in Noonan's and Savolaine's article. Studying obstetrical discharge data for ethnicity and outright asking physicians for specific information about the ethnicity of their patients is a sensible approach to determining the community's ethnic composition. In addition, the hospital zip code's CNI data for "five factors long known to contribute to health need - income, culture/language, education, housing status, and insurance coverage" (Anonymous, 2011) should be defined and collected. After that data is collected, it should be studied to define the community's major ethnic target groups. After determining the target groups, the hospital's services should be marketed directly

Health Disparities in Louisville KY

Health Disparities

Health inequities have become a major problem in the United States. Hofrichter stresses in Tackling Health Inequities Through Public Health Practice:

A Handbook for Action ( 2006) that, "The awareness of the existence of inequities in health, health status and health outcomes between racial and ethnic groups in America is as old as the nation itself" (Hofrichter, 2006,P. vii). As will be discussed in this paper, these inequalities have a wide range of repercussions, including social and psychological implications. A definition of health disparity is: "... The difference in the incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups" ( Samuels, 2005).

There is also a consensus in the literature that inequalities in health and healthcare throughout the world are on the increase. This is largely due to the increasing gap between rich…

References

Eliminating social and economic barriers to good health and safety: Louisville

Center for Health Equity. Retrieved from  http://www.preventioninstitute.org/component/jlibrary/article/id-278/127.html?tmpl=component&print=1 

Galvin, J.R. (2006) Diabetes. Ebony, 61 p. 157.

GradNation - Making the Connection: Health & Student Achievement. Retrieved from http://www.silentepidemic.net/Our-Work/Dropout-Prevention/~/media/Files/Our%20Work/Dropout%20Prevention/Grad%20Nation%20Action%20Forum/Steve%20Tarver%20working%20sess%20PPT.ashx

In 2004, a Ten-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care was announced, primarily intended to improve access to medical services, decrease wait times, and update medical equipment and ensure accurate reporting and enhance public health promotion and prevention programs. Shortly thereafter, the Canadian Supreme Court affirmed the nation's health care philosophy and the immediate need to implement further improvements envisioned by the ambitious 2004 plan in striking down a Quebec law that had prohibited private medical insurance for covered services:

The evidence in this case shows that delays in the public health care system are widespread and that in some serious cases, patients die as a result of waiting lists for public health care...In sum, the prohibition on obtaining private health insurance is not constitutional where the public system fails to deliver reasonable services."

According to legal experts, the decision could "open the door to a wave of lawsuits challenging the…

References

Canadian Medical Association Journal.

1939 September; 41(3):

Chaoulli v. Quebec: Judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada Accessed, September 2, 2007, at http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/index.html

Kraus, C. (2005) Canada's Supreme Court Chips Away at National Health Care.

Figure 1 portrays the state of Maryland, the location for the focus of this DR.

Figure 1: Map of Maryland, the State (Google Maps, 2009)

1.3 Study Structure

Organization of the Study

The following five chapters constitute the body of Chapter I: Introduction

Chapter II: Review of the Literature

Chapter III: Methods and Results

Chapter IV: Chapter V: Conclusions, Recommendations, and Implications

Chapter I: Introduction

During Chapter I, the researcher presents this study's focus, as it relates to the background of the study's focus, the area of study, the four research questions, the significance of the study, and the research methodology the researcher utilized to complete this study.

Chapter II: Review of the Literature in Chapter II, the researcher explores information accessed from researched Web sites; articles; books; newspaper excerpts; etc., relevant to considerations of the disparity in access to health care services between rural and urban residence in Maryland…

Potter, S. (2002) Doing Postgraduate Research. London: Sage.

Qualitative research: Approaches, methods, and rigour, (2008, Nov. 7). Microsoft PowerPoint Qualitative Research AdvC08 RS.PPT. Retrieved March 10, 2009 from www.unimaas.nl/bestand.asp?id=11629

Wolvovsky, Jay. (2008). Health disparities: Impact on Business and Economics Summit. Maryland's healthcare at a glance. The Heart of Community Health Baltimore Medical Syste. Retrieved March 10, 2009 at  http://dhmh.maryland.gov/hd/pdf/2008/oct08/Jay_Wolvovsky.pdf

The research thus concludes the essence of having quality and effective legislation addressing the aspects of overall oral health of the people.

Additionally, the Canadian Dental Association also relates several issues of the overall body health to the oral health of the individual. In view of the article on the relation "oral health -- good life," the article gives information on the essence of good oral health, indicating some of the illnesses of ill oral health (Chattopadhyay, 2011). In this article, the relation between the ill oral health and the overall health of the body is that the mouth is the ingress to the body. Therefore, an individual with ill oral health is at the highest risk of having infection that affects the whole body system severely. According to this article, it emphasizes the need for dentists-patient relation as the dentists is the only person with the skill, expertise and…

References

Chattopadhyay, a. (2011). Oral health epidemiology: Principles and practice. Sudbury, Mass:

Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Ramseier, C.A., & Suvan, J.E. (2010). Health behavior change in the dental practice. Ames,

Iowa: Wiley-Blackwell.

Health Care -- Introduction of Evaluation Plan:

Los Angeles Department of Mental Health Services

he Los Angeles Department of Mental Health Services (LADMH) is the largest mental health department in the United States. reating more than 250,000 patients of all ages every year, LADMH stresses the importance of community for adequately addressing mental health issues. Furthermore, in order to serve its stated mission of enriching lives through partnership with the community, the Department has developed six long-term goals supported by multiple short-term goals.

he Mission of the Organization Responsible for Implementing the Program

he stated mission of the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health Services (LADMH) is "Enriching lives through partnership designed to strengthen the community's capacity to support recovery and resiliency" (Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, n.d.)

he Program's Short and/or Long-erm Goals

LADMH is a comprehensive program that stresses the importance of community for effectively addressing…

The stated mission of the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health Services (LADMH) is "Enriching lives through partnership designed to strengthen the community's capacity to support recovery and resiliency" (Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, n.d.)

The Program's Short and/or Long-Term Goals

LADMH is a comprehensive program that stresses the importance of community for effectively addressing mental health issues (Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs, 2010). The organization has six long-term goals supported by multiple short-term goals. The first long-term goal, to "Enhance the quality and capacity, within available resources, of mental health services and supports in partnership with clients, family members, and communities to achieve hope, wellness, recovery and resiliency," is supported by the short-term goals of: developing a system providing a balanced and "transformed continuum" of services to as many County clients as possible, according to the program's resources; providing integrated mental/physical health and substance abuse treatment to improve service quality and the clients' well-being; assisting clients' establishment of their own goals and the best process for achieving those goals; inclusion and support of clients' families as a vital aspect of the clients' recovery (Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, n.d.). The second long-term goal to "Eliminate disparities in mental health services, especially those due to race, ethnicity and culture" is supported by the short-term goals of: developing programs for early intervention for underserved populations; working with underserved communities to provide services in ways that reduce and overcome traditional barriers to treatment such as socioeconomics, culture, race, language, religion, age, disability and sexual orientation; develop programs that reach out to and educate the population in order to reduce the stigma of mental health treatment, promote tolerance of and increase compassion for persons suffering from mental illness, and reduce the incidence/severity of mental illness (Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, n.d.). The third long-term goal to "Enhance the community's social and emotional well-being through collaborative Partnerships" is supported by the short-term goals of: creating effective partnerships/models for integrating mental/physical health and substance abuse treatment; establishing, supporting and enhancing the organization's partnerships with community organizations in natural environments to enhance the community's well-being; increasing collaboration with organizations, individuals and families that serve children and youth in order to address the mental health of children and youth; strengthening partnerships among mental health organizations, courts, probation and law enforcement to best address the mental health needs of the community's children and youth; partnering with educational institutions ranging from pre-school through higher education to enhance the provision of mental health services; and partnering with religious organizations to use spirituality in supporting mental health recovery goals (Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, n.d.; (Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs, 2010). The fourth long-term goal to "Create and enhance a culturally diverse, client- and family-driven, mental health workforce capable of meeting the needs of our diverse communities" is supported by the short-term goals of:

This, then, is a theory with a very wide extent, which seeks to move away from the biotechnical perspective, in direction of a more all-inclusive evaluation of health. Health is a right for all the people and it's an ideal state while nowadays it is been sold as a commodity by private insurance companies to increase their profits. This therefore is resulting in the loss of the people's lives and health.

At all stages in life, health is determined by compound interactions between communal and monetary factors, the corporal environment and individual behavior. And these factors which affect health are known as the determinants of health. Many other factors are there which combine together to affect the health of individuals and communities. Whether people are well or not, is determined by their conditions and surroundings. Factors such as the living standards, the state of environment, genetics, earnings and education level,…

References

1.  http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ph-sp/phdd/determinants/determinants.htm 

 http://www.rochesterunitarian.org/1999-2000/20000326.html  www.who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en /  http://www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/health/hsdu/homepage/health.htm 

Health: The Foundations for Achievement by David Seedhouse June 2001

Ethics: The Heart of Health Care by David Seedhouse April 1998

Community Teaching Proposal for Primary Prevention/Health Promotion

The objective of this study is to create a community teaching proposal for primary prevention and health promotion. The work of Kulbok, wet al (2012) reports that public health nursing practice is "population focused and requires unique knowledge, competencies, and skills." (p.1) Public health nursing makes the requirement of working with communities and populations "as equal partner and focusing on primary prevention and health promotion." (Kulbok, et al., 2012, p.1)

Community Teaching

Community teaching for primary prevention and health promotion involves educating community members about what is required to address primary prevention and promotion of health. This can be accomplished through community-wide meetings held at a central location in the community. As noted by Kulbok et al. (2012) "In the 21st century, public health nurses practice in diverse settings including, but not limited to, community nursing centers; home health agencies; housing developments; local…

References

Anderson, DR, et al. (2012) Primary Care Nursing Role and Care Coordination: An Observational Study of Nursing Work in a Community Health Center, The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 17 No. 2. Retrieved from:  http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-17-2012/No2-May-2012/Primary-Care-Nursing-Role-and-Care-Coordination.html 

Connor, N. et al. (2012) Healthy People 2020 from Theory to Practice in a Nursing Program. The University of Central Florida. Retrieved from: http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.aptrweb.org/resource/resmgr/tp2012_presentations/conner_aptr_tp12.pdf

Kulbock, PA, et al. (2012) Evolving Public Health Nursing Roles: Focus on Community Participatory Health Promotion and Prevention. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 17. No. 2. Retrieved from:  http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-17-2012/No2-May-2012/Evolving-Public-Health-Nursing-Roles.html

Community Teaching Plan

Community Teaching Work Plan Proposal

Directions: Develop an educational series proposal for your community using one of the following four topics which was chosen within your CLC group:

Bioterrorism/Disaster

Environmental Issues

Primary Prevention/Health Promotion

Secondary Prevention/Screenings for a Vulnerable Population

Planning Before Teaching:

Estimated Time Teaching Will Last:

Three 2-hour sessions

Location of Teaching:

Athens Community Health Department

Supplies, Material, Equipment Needed:

Laptop; digital projector; screen

Estimated Cost:

Community and Target Aggregate:

Athens Community Health Department, Athens, Georgia

Secondary Prevention/Screenings for a Vulnerable Population

Session I: Sources of Vulnerability

Session II:Implications for Healthcare Providers

Session III: Innovative Practice; Gordon's Functional Health Patterns Assessment

Epidemiological ationale for Topic (statistics related to topic):

The literature on vulnerable people clearly indicates that the special needs of these populations and the ubiquitous barriers to quality care access lead to traceable disparities in the provision of healthcare and in their health outcomes…

References

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). National healthcare disparities report 2008. Chapter 3, Access to healthcare. Washington: AHRQ; 2008. Retrieved  http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr08/Chap3.htm 

Edelman, C.L. And Mandle, C.L. (2006). In D. Como, L. Thomas (Eds.), Health Promotion Throughout the Lifespan. St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby.

[Type text]

American Public Health Association Advocacy and Policy page that resonated the most with me was the process that this organization outlines for shaping public health policy. On the one hand, it was encouraging to see that this organization has issued a number of ways for virtually anyone to take action and attempt to affect the public health processes that influence this country. There are a variety of alerts that one can be a part of and which reach policymakers, as well as calendar dates pertaining to the organization's own public health initiatives. There is even information about taking trips to Washington D.C. And meeting with members of Congress. Perhaps the most interesting aspect about all of these avenues, however, is that they do not take account for the power of money. It is quite easy for any citizen to express his or her needs to policy makers regarding the sort…

Health Manager

A public health issue of importance in edwood City, California is obesity. As of 2010, 37.4% of edwood City residents were classified as being overweight or obese (Babey, et al., 2012). Because obesity is associated with a number of illnesses that can be prevented simply by reducing the obesity rate, it is important from a social ethical, and financial reason to help improve health outcomes for edwood City. With about 75,000 people, edwood City already has a wealth of resources and organizations in place that can work together to prevent obesity, help residents lose weight, and improve overall health outcomes for the community. The local and state health departments can also play a role.

The first tier of organizations that should be involved in a coalition includes all hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare organizations including private practices. Health care organizations can participate on every level of a public…

References

"About the City." Redwood City, California. Retrieved online:  https://www.redwoodcity.org/about/ 

Babey, S.H., et al. (2012). Overweight and obesity among children by California cities -- 2010. Retrieved online:  http://cbsla.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/patchworkcities6-4-12.pdf

Health Care eform Effecting Public Health United States

Healthcare reform is an integral part of the United States healthcare system. Below is an evaluation of the effects healthcare reform has had on healthcare in the U.S. Internet sources as well as peer-reviewed journals will be looked at so as to see the effects.

The cost of healthcare has been on the rise. Issues of healthcare quality ought to be paid attention to and healthcare access equity improved upon (Health Care Transformation). Given these causes, while some differences exist on what reforms to carry out, a majority of Americans hold the belief that the U.S. Healthcare delivery systems need some improving. For a long time ANA has been advocating for reforms in healthcare and several of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions are in line with the Health System eform Agenda of the ANA. The ANA gave a chart that gives…

References"

1)

Kemp, C. (2012, October 11). Public Health in the Age of Health Care Reform. Retrieved January 21, 2015, from  http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2012/12_0151.htm 

2)

How National Health Care Reform Will Affect a Variety of States. (2011, April 5). Retrieved January 21, 2015, from  http://www.rand.org/news/press/2011/04/05.html

Healthcare Industry Accountability

Beckham Company

After having read your article entitled the accountability crisis in healthcare, one may have several observations and suggestions concerning both the content and conclusions contained within. First are the generalizations indicting the healthcare industry, (particularly the not-for-profits), in terms of the alleged fragmentation between the parts that make up the whole; namely, according to your text, physicians, hospitals and insurers. One may also take umbrage at examples you employ to ensure accountability. While they appear on the surface to be worthy of merit, closer examinations reveal weaknesses in areas that may not be evident at first consideration. Finally, it appears that many of the examples cited as support for one point-of-view may support the opposing point-of-view equally as well. Let us examine the text more closely based on these issues.

The major generalizations made in the text are as follows:

Nobody is in control because…

REFERENCES

Leatherman, S. President, Center for Health Care Policy and Evaluation, Minneapolis. Measuring up: performance indicators for better healthcare. Published on December 09, 2001. page 18. Retrieved June 17, 2003 from  http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/printpage.php/aid/557/Measuring_up:_  performance_indicators_for_better_healthcare.html

Beckham, J.D. The Accountability Crisis in Healthcare. The Healthcare Forum Journal. San Francisco. Sept/Oct 1997.

Healthcare Regulations Manual retrieved June 17, 2003 from http://HCFA.gov. 2003

Among the most important aspects to the health promotion plan will be the benefits associated with a care manager, who can ensure that all six core elements of CCM are implemented fully. If this is accomplished, there should be a significant reduction in health disparities for patient and caregiver outcomes across generations.

eferences

AHQ. (2012). National Healthcare Disparities eport, 2011. No. 12-0006. ockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare esearch and Quality. etrieved 16 Apr. 2014 from http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhdr11/nhdr11.pdf.

Braveman, P.A., Kumanyika, S., Fielding, J., Laveist, T., Borrell, L.N., Manderscheid, . et al. (2011). Health disparities and health equity: The issue is justice. American Journal of Public Health, 101(Suppl. 1), S149-55.

Brodaty, H. & Donkin, M. (2009). Family caregivers of people with dementia. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 11, 217-28.

Castro, A. & uiz, E. (2009). The effects of nurse practitioner cultural competence on Latina patient satisfaction. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse…

References

AHRQ. (2012). National Healthcare Disparities Report, 2011. No. 12-0006. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Retrieved 16 Apr. 2014 from  http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhdr11/nhdr11.pdf .

Braveman, P.A., Kumanyika, S., Fielding, J., Laveist, T., Borrell, L.N., Manderscheid, R. et al. (2011). Health disparities and health equity: The issue is justice. American Journal of Public Health, 101(Suppl. 1), S149-55.

Brodaty, H. & Donkin, M. (2009). Family caregivers of people with dementia. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 11, 217-28.

Castro, A. & Ruiz, E. (2009). The effects of nurse practitioner cultural competence on Latina patient satisfaction. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 21(5), 278-86.

Health Disparity

Health disparities refer to a certain kind of health-related difference closely tied to economic or social disadvantage. They negatively impact groups of individuals systematically subject to greater economic and social barriers to a hygienic environment and health, on the basis of their ethnic or racial group, age, gender, religion, mental health, socioeconomic standing, geographic location, gender identity or sexual orientation, physical, cognitive, or sensory disability, or any other characteristics that are associated historically with marginalization or discrimination (Department of Health & Human Services, 2011b).

Of all industrialized countries, the U.S. expends maximum resources on the area of healthcare; despite this, millions of U.S. citizens do not enjoy a chance to live a healthful life. Overall population health in the U.S. has witnessed improvements over time, but health disparities for underserved, racial minority and ethnic minority communities continue. Vulnerable population clusters such as ethnic and racial minorities, disabled individuals,…

References

Center for Disease and Control. (2013). Conclusion and future directions: CDC health disparities and inequalities report -- United States, 2013. CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report -- United States, 2013, 62(3), 184.

Cooper, M. (2016). Clark County fighting minority health disparities. Retrieved from  http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/news/local/clark-county-fighting-minority-health-disparities/nq5wj/ 

Department of Health & Human Services. (2011a). HHS action plan to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities: A nation free of disparities in health and health care.

Health, U. D. o., & Services, H. (2011b). National partnership for action to end health disparities. Health Equality & Disparities.

Health Organization Case Study

The mission of Banner Healthcare is to make a difference in the lives of people through excellent patient care. They achieve this by providing leadership for excellence in patient safety and clinical care. Traditionally, healthcare institutions focused on analyzing aggregate performance, questioning causation, monitoring scorecards and identifying gaps. Planning and managing stages at integral to the process of achieving Banner Healthcare's vision. Planning entails the development of standards, rules, and work teams necessary for the work. Concurrent management involves patient-oriented care and coordinated health care. Across the various work teams, care management efforts and the number of people are involved in making clinical improvements across the organization have been gradually increasing.

This occurs regardless of whether they are work groups, system wide teams, strategic initiatives, and special projects. The work is organized under functional teams. Besides the functional teams, initiative work groups and clinical consensus groups…

Reference

Wickramasinghe, N. & Sharma, S.K. (2010). Creating knowledge-based healthcare organizations. Hershey Penns: Idea Group Pub.

Health eforms

Health earms

For a long time, the Health Care concern has been a centre of discussion in the society as well as among the representatives in a bid to find out which would be the best way to cushion Americans from the ever increasing burden of having to take care of themselves medically. Efforts have been made but still there is no single solution to the issue hence a combined effort between the citizens and the government is very essential in ensuring that the ultimate goal is achieved and each American has adequate Health care assurance. This is the aim of the Health eforms that was passed into law at the behest of the current president, Obama.

Provisions of the Health eform

There are several benefits that the Health eforms are expected to bring to the American population in general. One of the central changes is the fact…

References

Ben LaBolt, (2010). Senator Obama Introduces Bill to Strengthen Emergency Medical Care

Systems. Retrieved November 13, 2011 from http://www.emsvillage.com/articles/article.cfm?id=2185

Bill Atkinson, (2010). What Obama's health care bill means for EMS. Retrieved November 13,

2011 from  http://www.ems1.com/ems-advocacy/articles/779154-What-Obamas-health-care-bill-means-for-EMS/

Health Management (Discussion questions)

First student

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) is a law governing how and when patients may be denied treatment or moved from one hospital to another in cases of extreme medical conditions. EMTALA was legalized as a component of the 1986 consolidated budget reconciliation (ichards & athbun, 2009). Sometimes, it is known as the CONA law. This generalized name has generated other laws. A common provision under the COBA name is the statute that governs continuation of benefits derived from medical insurance after job termination. The principal provision of this statute is as follows:

Patients visiting the emergency unit seeking treatment or examination for medical conditions must be given the required medical screening diagnosis. This will be helpful in identifying if they are suffering from emergency medical conditions. In case they are, then hospitals are obliged to either furnish them with appropriate treatment…

References

Davis, N.A., & Cleverley, W.O. (2010). Essentials of health care finance: A workbook for health information managers. Chicago, Ill: American Health Information Management Association.

Ferenc, D.P. (2013). Understanding hospital billing and coding. St. Louis, Mo: Elsevier.

Richards, E.P., & Rathbun, K.C. (2009). Medical care law. Gaithersburg, Md: Aspen Publishers.

Institute of Medicine (2013). Emergency medical services at the crossroads. Washington, D.C: National Academies Press.

Health Structures in Government Levels

Health at different Government Levels

Health Structures at Government Levels

Health at Government Levels

A national government has a task in ensuring quality health assurance standards across its region are up-to-date. Similarly, increased rates of unexpected epidemics have put governments under the surge of dealing accordingly with factors that can affect the nation directly and indirectly. Different governmental levels of health are identified and objectified in various agency websites. In this context, I have identified with a state level website; Illinois Public Health Institute website. Information presented to the website articles prioritizes in reducing and preventive, curative diseases, complementing health policies and championing for environmental changes.

Website Article eview

The Illinois Public Health institute articulates its review and implication to health quality through partnership programs. The website has supported state-oriented health involvement in ameliorating health levels, in Illinois. The institution has show-cased partnering programs with…

References

Baum, F and Kahssay, H.M. Health development structures: an untapped resource. World Health Organization. Vol 1 Issue 1. Pg 96-114.

Ladeia, M.L., Jacob, P., Borges, M.C., Rogero, M. M and Ferreira, S.R.G. (2011). Studies of Gene variants related to Inflammation, Oxidative, Stress, Dyslipidemia and Obesity: Implications for a nutrigenetic approach. Journal of Obesity. Vol 1, Issue 1. Pg 1-31.

5th March 2012. Illinois Public Health Institute. Retrieved from URL http://www.iphionline.org / Accessed on 27th March, 2012.

097

United States

0.109

0.093808

0.036112

0.068

Utah

0.1071

0.1401

0.035696

0.073

Vermont

0.1326

0.0988

0.040851

0.114

Virgin Islands

NA

NA

NA

Virginia

0.1048

0.0829

0.080009

0.092

Washington

0.1229

0.0669

0.027831

0.068

West Virginia

0.1293

0.0774

0.036499

0.055

Wisconsin

0.0954

0.0357

0.032367

0.097

Wyoming

0.1251

0.1453

0.053867

0.075

Notes

All spending includes state and federal expenditures. Growth figures reflect increases in benefit payments and disproportionate share hospital payments; growth figures do not include administrative costs, accounting adjustments, or costs for the U.S. Territories.

Definitions

Federal Fiscal Year: Unless otherwise noted, years preceded by "FY" on statehealthfacts.org refer to the Federal Fiscal Year, which runs from October 1 through September 30.  for example, FY 2009 refers to the period from October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009.

Sources

Urban Institute estimates based on data from CMS (Form 64) (as of 12/21/11).

From this entire chart, the entire increase in expenditure of…

References

Clark, Cheryl et al. "State Medicaid Eligibility and Care Delayed Because of Cost." New England Journal of Medicine, 368 (2013): 1263-1265. Print.

Ellwood, Marilyn Rymer et al. An Exploratory Analysis of the Medicaid Expenditures of Substance Exposed Children Under 2 Years of Age in California. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1993. Print.

Goodnough, Abby. "October 25th." The New York Times. 25th October. 2012. Web. 29th March 2013. [ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/us/spending-on-medicaid-has-slowed-survey-finds.html?_r=0 ].

Grannemann, Thomas W. And Mark V Pauly. Controlling Medicaid Costs: Federalism, Competition, and Choice. Washington DC: American Enterprise Institute, 1983. Print.

Healthcare Financial Management

To quote Jonathan Clark at the beginning of his article, "Improving the revenue cycle can be a daunting task due to the scope and complexity of the interdepartmental process." Of the suggestions offered by the authors, which concept(s) give you the greatest insight into creating an improved evenue Cycle process in the organization where you work (or one in which you are familiar)? Be sure to identify which article or author you are referencing.

In his comprehensive advisory article to improve the medical industry's revenue capturing capabilities, entitled Strengthening the evenue Cycle: A 4-Step Method for Optimizing Payment, Jonathan Clark provides a series of sensible solutions to the ongoing dilemma of payment optimization. David Hammer also provides guidance to healthcare finance professional in his article The Next Generation of evenue Cycle Management, by reminding them that the key performance indicators (KPIs) which dictated policy in previous years…

References

Clark, J. (2008). Strengthening the revenue cycle: a 4-step method for optimizing payment. Healthcare Financial Management, 62(10), 44.

Hammer, D.C. (2007). The next generation of revenue cycle management. Healthcare Financial Management, 61(7), 49.

Seddon, J. (2008). Think system. Management Services, 52(2), 10.

Wilson, D.B. et al. (2004). 3 steps to profitable managed care contracts. Healthcare Financial Management, 58(5), 34.

Health Care Reimbursement and Billing

Both Mrs. Zwick and Mr. Davis face significant issues in the presented scenarios. Mrs. Zwick has multiple considerations under Medicare Parts A, B and D, in addition to her hospital-acquired urinary tract infection. Meanwhile, Mr. Davis must address the severe time constraints and costs of COBRA in light of his job termination. These two scenarios underscore current difficulties and complexities of current health care in the United States.

Discussion of Mrs. Zwick's coverage under Medicare Parts A, B and C

Medicare Part A (often called "hospital insurance") (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011, p. 15) assists in covering inpatient hospitalization and skilled nursing facilities, hospice and home health care (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011, p. 14). There is usually no monthly premium if you and/or your spouse paid Medicare taxes while employed (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011,…

Ethical implications of Mrs. Zwick's incurring costs related to her hospital-acquired condition are applicable despite the rehabilitation facility's exemption from POA/HAC Medicare laws. Having no first-hand knowledge of the cause of the urinary tract infection, no clear indication that I work at the rehabilitation facility and neither the privilege nor the duty of diagnosis, it would be unethical for me to tell Mrs. Zwick about my suspicions. Rather, a nurse is required to maintain his/her professional boundaries (American Nurses Association, 2001, p. 6). Simultaneously, a nurse is supposed to assure "responsible disclosure of errors" to patients and act to stop bad practices and promote best practices (American Nurses Association, 2001, p. 6). Consequently, a nurse in my position faces a dilemma: lack of personal knowledge and authority vs. my concern for the patient's well-being and constant improvement of the profession. In the face of this dilemma, I would: contact the rehabilitation facility's newly-hired nurse and advise/remind him/her of the duty to report to the appropriate supervisor and responsible disclosure to Mrs. Zwick; contact Mrs. Zwick's personal physician and explain the entire situation; direct Mrs. Zwick to discuss her health issues with her personal physician, who can review, diagnose and discuss the ramifications of her medical records, including but not limited to the urinary tract infection (American Nurses Association, 2001, p. 7). The desired outcomes would be: the rehabilitation center's absorption of Mrs. Zwick's costs related to her hospital-acquired infection through pressure exerted by its own nursing staff and Mrs. Zwick's personal physician; Mrs. Zwick's awareness of the true cause of her infection by health care providers who are directly responsible and capable.

Explain how the COBRA will allow Mr. Davis to continue his insurance coverage while he is out of work.

Due to Mr. Davis' termination from an employer of more than 20 employees, he can obtain coverage for himself, his spouse and his dependent children for up to 18 months (U.S. Department of Labor, 2012). In addition, due to his chronic cycle cell anemia, he may be entitled to an additional 11 months' extension for disability (U.S. Department of Labor, 2012). His employer is required to give a qualifying event notice to COBRA; then, COBRA sends a notice of the right to elect to continue coverage and an explanation of the steps that must be taken to continue coverage; Mr. Davis, his spouse and either or both of them in behalf of dependent children may elect for continuation of coverage

The idea with this part of the strategy is to be able to form some kind of a partnership with these individuals. This will help to push for a transformation inside the organization. As, these people will help to provide everyone with: a reason for adapting and pushing others to do so (indirectly). (Turner, 1999, pp. 162 -- 163)

Once this occurs, you could then have these individuals become a part of a committee. They will have the responsibility for making specific recommendations about how this can be implemented. This is important, because this will help everyone to realize that some kind of change is occurring inside the facility. Over the course of time, this will lead to shifts in the operating environment by giving people reason for embracing these changes. (Turner, 1999, pp. 162 -- 163)

The Effectiveness of the Plan

To determine the effectiveness of the plan the…

Bibliography

Nationwide Medical Errors Cost $19.5 Billion. (2010). The Society of Actuaries. Retrieved from:  http://www.qualitydigest.com/inside/health-care-news/study-nationwide-medical-errors-cost-195-billion-annually.html 

Kovnar, A. (2008). Jonas and Kovnar's Health Care Delivery in the United States. New York, NY: Springer Publishing.

Turner, S. (1999). Essential Readings in Managed Nursing Care. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Publishing.

The penalties for being out of compliance when OSHA comes knocking should be enough to motivate any healthcare facility to devise a plan to make sure that they are in compliance with OSHA's regulations. The startling thing is that it took an initiative like NEP to wake these facilities up and get them thinking about being compliant. Since they deal with people and their well being on an everyday basis, these are things that they should have been doing all along and not just because there is an increased probability of getting into trouble by OSHA.

eferences

Harris, S. (2012). OSHA in Health Care: Out of Sight & Out of Mind? etreived from http://ohsonline.com/articles/2012/04/01/osha-in-health-care.aspx

Healthcare workers. (2012). etrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/healthcare/

New OSHA inspection initiative focuses on healthcare. (2011). etrieved from http://www.puresafety.com/public/workingwell/?p=1209#.UAa4aFJ6EM

Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") Targets Nursing and esidential

Care Facilities. (2012). etrieved from http://www.hancocklaw.com/p/OSHA_Newsletter_212_May_H1768037.PDF

Prepare Your Facility…

References

Harris, S. (2012). OSHA in Health Care: Out of Sight & Out of Mind? Retreived from  http://ohsonline.com/articles/2012/04/01/osha-in-health-care.aspx 

Healthcare workers. (2012). Retrieved from  http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/healthcare/ 

New OSHA inspection initiative focuses on healthcare. (2011). Retrieved from  http://www.puresafety.com/public/workingwell/?p=1209#.UAa4aFJ6REM 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") Targets Nursing and Residential

S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). Furthermore, subpart C explains the privileges and the protections of confidentiality that is attached to the patient's record along with much exception (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011).

The penalty for anyone who breaks confidentiality is imperative. In "November, 23, 2009" was increased to $11,000 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). This goes for anyone in the medical field or has access to this information. A person has to follow HIPAA precisely or face a huge fine. If one thought of this ahead of time, whether or not they own a business, then no issues would arise legally. However, sometimes this does occur, especially for those who want to harm another person, yet in the medical field the goal is not to do this to any individual, regardless, otherwise he or she could face losing their license in…

References

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Civil Rights. (2011). Your health information privacy rights. Retrieved May 3, 2011, from U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services Civil Rights:

 http://www.hhs.gov /ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/consumer_rights.pdf.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). Health information privacy. Retrieved May 3, 2011, from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

Centralization and decentralization of HM

Centralized HM operations are conducted within the HM department and they assume that all employee related actions be implemented by the human resources specialists. Such an endeavor creates a context in which the human resource actions are taken in an objective and professional manner. Specifically, the decisions are made based on the organizational benefits and the technical considerations at an overall organizational level. In the case of decentralization nonetheless, the human resource decisions are taken in a less formal manner and they are influenced by personal bias of the medical staff conducting the interviews. The benefit is nevertheless that of the staff decisions being made not on grounds of organizational benefits, but on skills and abilities at a medical level.

A centralized human resource department then supports organizational gains and objectives, whereas a decentralized human resources act supports professional and medical benefits. It is expected…

References:

Connor, E.T., Educational tort liability and malpractice, University of Iowa,  http://www.uiowa.edu/~c07p134/tort.htm  last accessed on March 3, 2011

Salvador, F.A., Which is better? Formal authority or informal authority? Entrepreneur, http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph/features/article/which-is-better-formal-authority-or-informal-authority last accessed on March 3, 2011

Website of Medicare,  http://www.medicare.gov  last accessed on March 3, 2011

Healthcare Infrastructure

JCAHO:

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations -JCAHO is among the leading health-care benchmarks setting and accrediting bodies in the world today. To provide for continuous improvement to the safety and quality of health care provided to the general public through the provision of health care accreditation and the related services, which enable performance improvement in organizations that provide healthcare is the mission of JCAHO. The Joint Commission assesses and accredits almost 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. It is an independent and non-profit organization. JCAHO has developed modern and professionally-based benchmarks. The Joint Commission assesses the compliance healthcare organizations using these standards. JCAHO services are provided to the full range of organizations involved or assisting in healthcare in any form. An organization accredited by the Joint Commission is acknowledged all around the country as meeting the performance standards of JCAHO, which…

References

"Health Facility Quality Assurance" Retrieved from http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:slYBAH_cu48J:www.doh.wa.gov/HWS/doc/HS/HS_FSL.doc+DOH+regulates+hospitals& hl=hi& ie=UTF-8 Accessed on 18 November, 2004

"HHS: What We Do" Retrieved from  http://www.hhs.gov /about/whatwedo.html/

Accessed on 18 November, 2004

"JCAHO: Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations" Retrieved from http://www.qmsonline.com/jcaho.htm. Accessed on 18 November, 2004

ichard Mitchell and Professor Daniel Dorling from the University of Leeds and Dr. Mary Shaw from the University of Bristol on the parliamentary constituencies of Britain revealed a number of social policy scenarios. The study traced the impact of the variations to society that might be brought through the effective execution of three social and economic policies. Firstly, they examined the efficacy of the policy of modest redistribution of wealth to counteract the health inequalities. During the decades 1980s and 1990s there were a considerable variation in the wealth possessions of rich and poor reflected in the major variations in their health enumerated by mortality rates. The study revealed that by returning to the inequalities in wealth of 1983 about 7500 deaths annually could have been prevented. (educing health inequalities in Britain)

The study assessed the impact of such policy to be most effective in the Birmingham Ladywood constituency in…

References

Health inequalities kill thousands" (27 September, 1999) Retrieved at  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/456807.stm . Accessed 3 September, 2005

Introduction to health inequalities" Retrieved at http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAndSocialCareTopics/HealthInequalities/HealthInequalitiesGeneralInformation/HealthInequalitiesGeneralArticle/fs/en-CONTENT_ID=4079644&chk=8WiiZg. Accessed 3 September, 2005

Link BG; Phelan JC. (May, 2005) "Fundamental Sources of Health Inequalities" Policy

Challenges in Modern Health Care. pp: 71-84. Retrieved at  http://www.rwjf.org/research/researchdetail.jsp?id=1944&ia=141 . Accessed 4 September, 2005

While it may not be just to hold an organization liable, absolutely, for every instance of employee negligence, there is a rationale for imposing such liability in many cases. For example, many types of industries entail potential danger to others that are inherent to the industry.

Individual workers are not likely to be capable of compensating victims of their negligence, but the employer benefits and profits financially by engaging in the particular industry. Therefore, the employer should not necessarily escape liability for compensating all harm caused by their activities, regardless of fault in particular instances.

10.A nurse is responsible for making an inquiry if there is uncertainty about the accuracy of a physician's medication order in a patient's record. Explain the process a nurse should use to evaluate whether or not to make an inquiry into the accuracy of the physician's medication order.

Like other highly trained professionals, experienced nurses…

References

Abrams, N., Buckner, M.D. (1989) Medical Ethics: A Clinical Textbook and Reference for the Health Care Professionals. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press

Caplan, a.L., Engelhardt, H.T., McCartney, J.J. Eds. (1981) Concepts of Health and Disease: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley

Starr, P. (1984) the Social Transformation of American Medicine.

New York: Basic Books

Healthcare Quality Management

PDCA Modeling in Healthcare

Psychiatric emergencies in medical settings may be particularly challenging since the staff does not encounter them frequently and may not have experience dealing with behavioral crisis intervention. The purpose of this exercise is to help staff improve understanding and coping with nonmedical emergencies that occur in medical settings using the PDCA cycle.

X is a 41-year-old male admitted to a medical unit with a diagnosis of possible stroke. The patient is ambulatory, 5'10," and 350 lbs. Mr. X presented to the emergency department the day before after apparently losing consciousness at home. The initial CAT scan of his head was negative. It is suspected that Mr. X may be an IV drug user since his urine toxicology screening came back positive for opiates. The medical staff thinks that Mr. X had a seizure prior to admission, but he has shown no abnormal signs…

Works Cited

Bennet, L., & Slavin, L. (2009, April 3). What Every Health Care Manager Needs to Know. Retrieved from Continous Quality Improvement:  http://www.cwru.edu/med/epidbio/mphp439/CQI.htm 

i Six Sigma. (N.d.). Focus - PDCA. Retrieved from I Six Sigma:  http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/focus-pdca/ 

Pestka, E., Hatterberg, D., Larson, L., Zwygart, L., Cox, A., & Cox, D. (2012). Enhancing Safety in Behavioral Emergency Situations. Medsurg Nursing, 335-341.

Health Unit Coordinator Description

A health unit coordinator may also be known as a unit clerk, ward clerk, or unit secretary (Health Unit Coordinator). They help maintain the facility's service and performance. One of the main responsibilities is acting as a liaison between patients and staff, which includes communicating with doctors, nurses, patients, other departments, patients, and visitors that visit the patients.

Prospects of health unit coordinator positions are in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, health maintenance organizations, and home health agencies all across the nation. Employment opportunities for this position are expected to grow in demand as agencies require more help to coordinate services and performance. The start salary can range from $21,600 to over $24,000. The health unit coordinator may specialize in several different areas, such as reception, scheduling, safety protocols, or patient interaction.

High school courses of algebra, biology, chemistry, computer skills, data processing, psychology, English, composition, social…

Bibliography

Health Unit Coordinator Certification, Exam, and Licensing Information. (2012, Dec 8). Retrieved from Edcation Portal:  http://education-portal.com/articles/Health_Unit_Coordinator_Certification_Exam_and_Licensing_Information.html 

Health Unit Coordinator. (n.d.). Retrieved from Health Careers Center: http://www.mshealthcareers.com/careers/healthunitcoord.htm

Health Staff

the Allied health care staffing agency is a staffing agency that focuses on the niche of the nursing jobs within the healthcare industry in Chicago

The Allied healthcare staffing agency works to recruit registered nurses belonging to all medical Specialties, Practical Nurses that are licensed also called LPNs, Nursing Assistants that are certified also called CNAs and Specialists from the allied health sciences. These professionals would be hired both from the area of the metro city as well as the suburbs and placed within the hospitals, the neighborhood medical centers, Adult care facilities, clinics, and rehabilitation centers.

The mission of the Allied Healthcare Staffing Agency is to provide the best opportunities of employment both to its collaborators which are the local healthcare organizations as well as serving the entire nursing community to provide amply amount of job opportunities to choose from in a time when the turnover of…

Works Cited

Bureau, U.C. (2000). Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights:. chicago illinois, fact sheet .

commerce, U. d. (2010). bear facts, state illinois. bureau of economic analysis .

directory, a. h. (2010). free stats & national stats. Retrieved september 7, 2011, from american hospital directory: www.ahd.com

Lindberg, R.C. (1991). To Serve and Collect: Chicago Politics and Police Corruption from the Lager Beer Riot to the Summerdale Scandal. chicago: praeger publications.

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…

References

California Public Employees' Retirement System, "Facts at a Glance: Health," September 2010,  http://www.calpers.ca.gov/eip-docs/about/facts/health.pdf .

Citizens Budget Commission, Out of Balance: A Comparison of Public and Private Employee Health Benefits in New York City, December 2009,  http://www.cbcny.org/sites/default/files/REPORT_Survey_12162009.pdf .

City of New York Office of Labor Relations, "New York City Summary Program Description, Health Benefit Program," 2010, http://www.nyc.gov/html/olr/downloads/pdf/healthb/full_spd.pdf.

Government Finance Officers Association, "Recommended Practices, Health Care Cost Containment 2004,"  http://www.gfoa.org/downloads/corbaHealthCareCostContainment.pdf  .

Such equipment should be adequate to ensure personnel are protected from chemical exposure to the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract. PPE may be upgraded or downgraded by the site industrial hygienist, HSM, or qualified Site Safety Officer based upon site conditions and air monitoring results (Levin, et al., 2002)

Work practice and administrative controls

Administrative controls or work practice controls are changes in work procedures such as written safety policies, rules, supervision, schedules, and training with the aim of reducing the interval, frequency, and sternness of exposure to hazardous chemicals or situations. Workers who handle hazardous chemicals in the workplace should be familiar with the administrative controls required fewer than 29 CF 1910.1200, and the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard. This controls are perhaps most important, because they impact your people directly. On the one hand, they are the simplest, since all it takes is education. On the other hand, education…

References

Annual report on 9/11 health (September, 2009). Retrieved on March 20, 2010 from  http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/pdf/2009_wtc_medical_working_group_annual_report.pdf 

Burright, D. et al., (1999). Evaluation guidelines for air sampling methods utilizing chromatographic analysis. OSHA Salt Lake Technical Center, U.S. Department of Labor: Salt Lake City, UT.

Harris, J.S., (ed.) (1997). Occupational medicine practice guidelines: Evaluation and management of common health problems and functional recovery in workers. The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Beverly, Mass.: OEM Press.

Levin, S. et al.,. (2002). Health effects of World Trade Center site workers. America Journal of Industrial Medicine 42:545 -- 547.

These were categorized into three aspects, which the care provider could control for the benefit of the patients. These were satisfaction with the punctuality of the caregiver; the quality of interaction between the patient and the caregiver; and the overall dependability of health care. Promptness or punctuality with care or service was rated most highly by both groups. eing on time affected their functioning and comfort throughout the day, specifically with dressing, bathing and daily activities. Promptness was considered the easiest and most controllable aspect for the provider. The quality of interaction made the patients feel safe, respected and valued. And satisfaction with the overall dependability of health care mostly involved the caregiver's following through with the patient's suggestions, especially those by the more frail patients. This last aspect was also well within the control of the health care provider (Kolodonsky, et al.).#

ILIOGRAPHY

Champlin, L., (2004), surprising number of…

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Champlin, L., (2004), surprising number of U.S. elders do not have health insurance coverage -- not even Medicare (Online). American Academy of Family Physicians.

 http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/media/releases/2004/uninsured-elders-4-1-04  (Accessed 18 August 2009).

Cummings, S.M.; Neff, J.A.; and Husaine, B.A. (2003), functional impairment as a predictor of depressive symptomatology: the role of race, religiosity and social support (Online). Health and Social Work, National Association of Social Workers.  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb138/is_1_28/ai_n28983552  (Accessed 18 August 2009)

Kolodinsky, J.; Junghun, N.; Lee, J.K.; and Dorzewiczewski, M. (2001). Degree of frailty and elderly satisfaction with personal care services in a community setting (Online). Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, ProQuest Information and Learning Company.  http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5516/is_200101/ai_n21465985 . Accessed 18 August 2009).

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…

Works Cited

American Tort Reform Association. "Medical Liability Reform." ATRA Issues. 2007.

American Tort Reform Association. 6 Nov. 2008 http://www.atra.org/show/7338.

Kershaw-Staley, Tracy. "Miami Valley Hospital Files Lawsuit Over Unpaid Medical Bills."

Dayton Business Journal. 2008. Dayton Business Journal. 6 Nov. 2008  http://dayton.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2008/01/07/story5.html .

The expectations for these kinds of changes will be to see gradual shifts at first. Where, it may not seem like anything is changing at the facility. However, over the course of time, these kinds of changes will be obvious in the quality of treatment that is being provided will improve. As a result, the strategy will take approximately one year to fully implement a change in the atmosphere of the operating environment.

To ensure that these improvements can continue to be built upon a new system will be introduced of monitoring for shifts that are occurring. In this case, the committee that was established to implement these changes will become way of: monitoring the kinds of treatment that is being provided and the challenges that are facing the facility. This will be accomplished by having outside consultants conduct anonymous surveys of patients, staff members and within the community. They…

Bibliography

Online Customer Surveys. (2011). Key Survey. Retrieved from:  http://www.keysurvey.com/solutions/healthcare-surveys.jsp 

SWOT Analysis. (2010). Quick MBA. Retrieved from: http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/SWOT/

Badrick, T. (2002). Role of External Management. Clinical Leadership, 16 (5), 281 -- 286.

Bennis, W. (1969). Organizational Development. New York, NY: Addison Wesley.

Healthcare Partnership in the Community

Discuss an example of healthcare partnership in your community and specifically cite examples that show how nurses, both individually and collectively, influenced the care provided. What obstacles were confronted and what strategies were employed in order to effectively overcome them.

One community healthcare partnership that is salient in my mind is Texas Department of State Health Services' program on tuberculosis or TB. This group of projects is specifically handled by the Office of Border Health, specifically because communicable diseases transmitted over the Texas-Mexico border will inadvertently affect the state of community health of both countries (i.e., the U.S. And Mexico). Under the program, two projects have been successful and known for its accomplishment in helping decrease TB prevalence in communities near the Texas-Mexico border: Proyecto Juntos and TBNet.

Proyecto Juntos specifically centers on "bilateral TB control," centering its efforts to curbing TB prevalence by monitoring…

References

Texas Department of Health Services, Office of Border Health. Available at:  http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/borderhealth/ 

Texas Organization of Nurse Executives. Available at: http://www.texasnurse.org/

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,…

Works Cited

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2007). Fact Sheet: Nursing Shortages.

Retrieved Feb. 7, 2008, at  http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media/factsheets/nursingshortage.htm .

Duke, Elizabeth. (2004). Report to Congress. The Critical Care Workforce: A Study of the Supply and Demand for Critical Care Physicians. U.S. Department of Health & Human

Services / Health Resources & Services Administration. Retrieved Feb. 6, 2008, at http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/criticalcare/cc1.htm.

Health Care Communication

Background- Within the modern nursing paradigm, there must be a clear link between a health outcome and the process that helps ensure those outcomes. Typically, outcomes are classified in terms of preventability, impact, severity and an overall holistic view of the client's safety issues. Positive behaviors that impact individuals either rescue or protect patients from potential or actual events. This is also part of the issue with modern communication and dissemination of information to patients, stakeholders, and the community (Burns and Grove, 2005).

At the heart of healthcare as an institution is, of course, the need to care for the sick and the injured. However, in the contemporary model of healthcare, effective communication during a crisis is not only important, but also vital. Communication by healthcare professionals takes the concern and worry out of the situation; offers a quicker resolution, makes better control of information possible, earns…

REFERENCES

Alligood, et.al. (2002). Nursing Theorists and their Work. Philadelphia: Mosby.

Burns, N. And Grove, S. (2004). The Practice of Nursing Research. St. Louis:

Elsevier.

D'Antonio, P., et al., eds., (2007). Nurses Work: Issues Across Time and Place. New York:

Health eform Act

The work of Flanagan, Miller, Pagano, and Wood (2010) entitled "Employee Benefit Plan eview -- Meyerowitz, Health care eform Is Here -- Now What?" states that health care reform laws are expected to have an impact that is significant in nature and this is on the health insurance industry as well as on employee benefit issues as well. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which was then supplemented and modified, less than one week later, by the Health Care and Education Tax Credit econciliation Act (HCEA)." (Flanagan, Miller, Pagano, and Wood, 2010) Those two laws are referred to as "Health Care eform" or "Health eform Laws." (Flanagan, Miller, Pagano, and Wood, 2010) The Health eform Laws are reported, while being extremely lengthy and in depth and very detailed to "leave open a host of issues that will have to be resolved either through agency regulations…

References

Current Internal Revenue Code (Standard Federal version), SEC. 45R. EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSURANCE EXPENSES OF SMALL EMPLOYERS (2010) WK_ Current Internal Revenue Code SEC 45R EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSURANCE EXPENSES OF SMALL EMPLOYERS.pdf

Part III - Administrative, Procedural, and Miscellaneous Section 45R -- Tax Credit for Employee Health Insurance Expenses of Small Employers Notice 2010-44

National Tax Advisory (2010) What you need to know now about the tax aspects of health reform litigation. 6 Apr 2010.

IRS Rulings & Other Documents (2002-Current), Rev. Rul. 2010-13, Internal Revenue Service, (May 3, 2010) WK_ IRS Rulings Other Documents 2002-Current Rev Rul 2010-13 May 3, 2010.pdf ©2010 Wolters Kluwer.

(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…

Resources, and Utilization

As a result, millions of Americans remain unable to bear the heavy financial toll of medical expenses. Indeed, the problem of a lack of insurance for many is related to the problem of the cost of healthcare. So confirms the article by Consumer Reports (CR) (2008), which finds that "health-insurance premiums have grown faster than inflation or workers' earnings over the past decade, in parallel with the equally rapid rise in overall health costs. Industry spending on administrative and marketing costs, plus profits, consumes 12% of private-insurance premiums." (CR, 1) This reiterates the case that the undue imposition of costs by the healthcare industry -- a reflection of a free-market industry with little to no regulatory oversight -- has negatively impacted the accessibility and quality of healthcare for many of the poorest users.

Moreover, these users are most vulnerable to the long-term economic damages provoked by unexpected healthcare costs. So…

Works Cited:

Bureau of Labor Education (BLE). (2001). The U.S. Health Care System: Best in the World, or Just the Most Expensive? The University of Maine.

Childress, M. (2010). Poverty is on the Upswing, but Metric is Out of Date. The Washington Independent.

Cockerham, W.C. (2004). Medical Sociology and Sociological Theory. The Backwell Companion to Medical Sociology.

Consumer Reports (CR). (2008). High Health Care Costs. Consumer Reports Health.org.

However, they contradict themselves trough supporting one's right to commit physician-assisted suicide, since this would virtually mean that the individual who is no longer willing to live is not provided with health care meant to prevent him or her from dying (Epstein, 1999, p. 1).

Among those opposed to the fact that health care is becoming increasingly better are those who are in their twenties and are obliged to work hard in order to pay for their own medical insurance and for that of the underprivileged (Bonner, 2010).

Contemporary health care is basically provided by groups forced to pay taxes in order for others to benefit out of the process. The fact that health care is a privilege and not a right was made obvious ever since the 1954 foundation of the Department of Health, Education, and elfare. The name contained the term welfare with the intention of highlighting how…

Works cited:

Bloche, M.G. ed., The Privatization of Health Care Reform: Legal and Regulatory Perspectives (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003)

Epstein, R.A. Mortal Peril: Our Inalienable Right to Health Care? (Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books, 1999)

Heirich, M. Rethinking Health Care: Innovation and Change in America (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998)

Sanders, B. (2009). Retrieved from the Huffington Post Website:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/health-care-is-a-right-no_b_212770.html

It means they have an equal opportunity to receive contraception, prenatal counseling and services, post-natal services for mother and child, preventative healthcare services, vaccinations, and dentistry services, from earliest childhood and through their lives into their elderly years when they require more medical services to remain healthy and active. To the extent everyone in a given community or society has the same relative access to healthcare services and to the extent those services received are of comparable quality, healthcare access could be described as being equitable. On the other hand, to the extent everyone in a given community or society does not have the same relative access to healthcare services and to the extent those services received are not of comparable quality, healthcare access could be describes as being inequitable (Kennedy, 2006; eid, 2009).

Healthcare Equity in the Contemporary United States

Unfortunately healthcare access in the U.S. is not equitable…

References

Kennedy, E. (2006). America: Back on Track. Viking Press: New York.

Reid T. (2009). The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer

Health Care. New York: Penguin Books.

The experiences of seniors within the healthcare delivery system will alter how all Americans view healthcare. The healthcare delivery systems and overall organizational structure in the United States has been slow to adjust but that rest of the world is currently in flux that will migrate into our system. Technological advances in communication have made telehealth and telemedicine vialbel solutions to our outdated healthcare industry orgainzational structre. While these types of advances are only in their infancy, "...there seemed to be broad acceptance that telehealth and telemedicine had provided positive benefits to the worlds healthcare delivery system." (Telehealth Applications) Our technoloically challenged seniors have actually discovered the trend within the healthcare system and telehealth and telemedicine seems to be an advance that will find worldwide support so we as a nation will be reqquired to jump on the bandwagon.

In conclusion, this article review focused on new Healthcare Delivery Systems…

References

Farnsworth, Chris. "The Truth About Fraud" Washington Monthly 01 May 1997.

Joshua-Amadi, Mabel. "Recommendations: A Study in Motivation: Recruitment and Retention in the NHS" Nursing Management. February (2003).

Soloye, Daniel J. "Privacy and Power: Computer Databases and Metaphors for Information Privacy" Stanford Law Review July (2001).

Telehealth Applications. (2004) "Current Telehealth Applications" Retrieved October 26, 2004, at  http://www.startegis.com/epic/internet/inict-tic.nsf/PrintableE/it07545e.html

As a result, the Govt. has been eager to encourage self-medication, where probable, in an endeavor to save money and time as optimizing convenience for the consumer. (the UK OTC Pharmaceuticals Market: UK pharmaceutical market report)

E) Is there any one burning issue related to health care in this country that is undergoing extensive debate? What do you know about it?

Although Britain NHS has been a model for the rest of the world to emulate, however over the years, a persistent concern with cost constraints and market-defined efficiencies since the bygone twenty years has radically battered the core principles of universal healthcare in UK. The discouragement of proceeds of central taxation as the funding base has been coupled with Govt. passing the costs and dangers to patients and their families. The internal market launched by the Thatcher Govt. In 1980s showed the most prominent features of these modifications, however,…

References

Bad Medicine. New Internationalist. Vol: 355. April 2003.

Retrieved at  http://www.newint.org/issue355/bad.htm . Accessed on 21 March, 2005

Bio-Pharmaceutical Study Finds Significant Link between Innovation and Market-based Drug Pricing. May 9, 2002. Retrieved at http://www.tiax.biz/aboutus/pdfs/press_releases/pharma_may.htm. Accessed on 21 March, 2005

Donelan, Karen; Blendon, Robert J; Schoen, Cathy; Davis, Karen; Binns, Katherine.

Healthcare in the United States: Where We Have Been, Where We Are Going

The current healthcare crisis in America is not one that happened over night. It is one that has been building for more than a quarter century. There was a time in America when healthcare was a stellar institution: research, cures, technological advances, and treatments. The focus of healthcare was maintaining and improving the quality of life. Then, during the early 1980s, managed care became an entity between the physician, the patient, and the healthcare provider of hospital services. It began subtly, but has, today, become one of the most aggressive and successful business ventures of our time; and it has been the unmaking of a once stellar and progressive American institution.

Managed care is a "distinctly American" product (Birenbaum, 1997). It was legislation introduced by the Nixon Administration with the intent to regulate healthcare and to maintain…

Reference List

Bernstein, A.B., Hing, E., Moss, A.J., Allen, K., Siller, A., and Tiggle, R. (2003). Health Care in America: Trends in Utilization. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.

Birenbaum, A. (2002). Wounded Profession: American Medicine Enters the Age of Managed Care. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Birenbaum, A. (1997). Managed Care: Made in America. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Committee on Health Care Access and Economics Task Force on Mental Health (2009). Improving Mental Health Services in Primary Care: Reducing Administrative and Financial Barriers to Access and Collaboration. The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, March, 30, 2009, pp. 1248-1251.

Health Care eform:

In March 2010, after protracted public and political debate, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was enacted into law by President Barack Obama. This legislation was one of the many health care reforms initiatives that have sought to rectify major features of the health care system in the United States such as service delivery, care coordination, and financing. Since its enactment, PPACA is considered as a milestone along the historical continuum of health care reform in America. Generally, health care reform in the United States is an issue that has continued to evolve based on the ever-growing health care needs of the population. However, this issue has been characterized with several challenges that are mainly influenced by the public's response to reform efforts.

Principal Features of U.S. Health Care System:

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which is commonly known as the Affordable…

References:

Bodenheimer, T., & Grumbach, K. (2012). Understanding health policy: a clinical approach (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Medical.

"Key Features of the Affordable Care Act by Year." (n.d.). Features of the Health Law.

Retrieved from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services website:  http://www.hhs.gov /healthcare/facts/timeline/timeline-text.html

Leflar, R.B. (2013, July 12). Reform of the United States Health Care System: An Overview.

People still die because they cannot afford health care, and that simply is not right in the most powerful nation on earth. People should not have to go bankrupt or lose their home because they cannot afford health insurance, and health care should be more affordable for everyone. An Indiana Congress member notes, "Expenditures on health-care lobbying last year rose to $325 million, as health-care providers, insurers, drug makers, medical professionals and others all worked to make sure their interests were served as Congress took up their issues" (Hamilton). Americans need to stop listening to lobbyists and start taking health care reform into their own hands for real health care reform to occur in this country.

eferences

Hamilton, Lee. "Who Lobbies for the est of Us?" Indiana University. 2004. 22 Jan. 2008. http://congress.indiana.edu/radio_commentaries/who_lobbies_for_the_rest_of_us.php

Montanaro, Domenico. "Kucinich Details Health-Care Policy." Firstead.MSNBC.com. 2007. 22 Jan. 2008. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/10/25/430486.aspx

References

Hamilton, Lee. "Who Lobbies for the Rest of Us?" Indiana University. 2004. 22 Jan. 2008. http://congress.indiana.edu/radio_commentaries/who_lobbies_for_the_rest_of_us.php

Montanaro, Domenico. "Kucinich Details Health-Care Policy." FirstRead.MSNBC.com. 2007. 22 Jan. 2008.  http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/10/25/430486.aspx

Healthcare Changes

Changes to Healthcare Practice and Delivery: A Study of Two Detroit, MI Healthcare Facilities Separated by Twenty Years

Changes to technology and to the political and regulatory landscape have led to many changes in the ways that businesses in all manner of industries operate. Increased communications capabilities, the shrinking size and cost for advanced technologies, and a variety of other changes have provided many businesses with an opportunity to operate more efficiently, and in so doing have also made many industries and markets more competitive. An examination of some typical businesses operating in these industries today as compared to their counterparts that were in operation twenty years ago provides ample evidence of the changes that have occurred and the ways in which businesses have adapted.

The healthcare industry has by no means been immune from these changes, but in fact has changed more than many other industries due…

References

Anderson, J. & Aydin, C. (2005). Evaluating the organizational impact of health care information systems. New York: Springer.

Armoni, A. (2000). Healthcare information systems: challenges of the new millennium. Hershey, PA: Idea Group.

Wager, K., Lee, F. & Glaser, J. (2009). Health care information systems: a practical approach for health care management. New York: Wiley.

Health Care Situation: Medical Error Due to Doctors' Bad Handwriting

Identify a health care news situation that affects a health care organization such as a hospital, clinic or insurance company.

I have identified the following health care news situation as the topic of my paper: "Poor Handwriting of Doctors and its implied risks for the Patient, Hospital and Medical Malpractice Insurance." Poor handwriting of physicians resulting in poor legibility of entries into patients' medical records carries very dramatic risks for all above-mentioned interest bearers. It can result in severe health danger for the patient and - in extreme situations - even cause a patient's death. Doctors' bad penmanship has long been seen a problem within organized medicine and the patient safety movement. Three American Medical Association (AMA) policies dating back to 1992, urge doctors to "improve the legibility of handwritten orders for medications" and review all orders for accuracy and…

References

Berwick, Donald M. & Winickoff, David E. (1996). The truth about doctors' handwriting: a prospective study. BMJ Vol. 313 (21-28 December 1996). 1657-1658. www.bmj.com/content/313/7072/1657.full, accessed 21 August 2011.

Bruner, Anne & Kasdan, Morton.L. Handwriting Errors: Harmful, Wasteful and Preventable.

1-4. www.kyma.org/uploads/file/.../Harmful_wasteful_and_preventable.pdfSimilar, accessed 22 August 2011.

Gallant, Al. (22 November 2009). For a secure electronic health record implementation, user authentication is key. 1-2). searchhealthit.techtarget.com/.../User-authentication-is-critical-for-pl.., accessed 24 August 2011.

Health

Diversity

Diversity questions

Diversity

What is diversity?

Diversity refers to the differences that occur among people and groups which should be taken into account in the healthcare setting. In the healthcare environment diversity and the recognition of diversity is an extremely important concept as it deals with recognizing the needs and requirements of the individual, as well as the needs and requirements of different groups. Furthermore, diversity is seen in a positive light in the healthcare context, as understanding diversity means that the healthcare professional is in a better position to understand the needs of the patient and to improve the treatment of people from different groups or areas of society.

Discuss and give examples of how people are diverse.

People can be diverse in various ways. One could refer to gender differences, as well as cultural and ethnic diversities. Understanding these differences becomes important in dealing with specific…

References

Davidhizar, R., Dowd, S., Newman-Giger, J. ( 2008). Model for cultural diversity in the radiology department. Retrieved from  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3387/is_n3_v68/ai_n28683141/

Healthcare Challenges

Technology is one of the main drivers of change in healthcare, and it is up to healthcare organizations to join the rest of the world in adopting new technologies to run their industry better. In most industries, something like electronic record keeping has been done for decades and nobody was wringing their hands about it. It is absurd that this is even an issue for healthcare companies. The best thing is to stop talking about this as if it is an "issue" or a "challenge," and just get it done. If you were to design the health care system from scratch, of course everything would be electronic. The development and adoption of these technologies will improve the quality of healthcare immensely, so the only real question is not how will this challenge affect healthcare, but how quickly can healthcare get its act together and join the 21st century.…

References

Kumbroch, D. (2014). Affordable Care Act creates big demand locally for healthcare workers. WHNT. Retrieved November 17, 2014 from  http://whnt.com/2014/09/17/aca-creates-big-demand-for-healthcare-workers/ 

Wister, A. (2009). The aging of the baby boomer generation: Catastrophe or catalyst for improvement? Health Innovation Forum. Retrieved November 17, 2014 from http://www.healthinnovationforum.org/article/the-aging-of-the-baby-boomer-generation-catastrophe-or-catalyst/

"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.,…

References

Altman, D.E. And L. Levin. (2005). The Sad History of Health Care Cost Containment as

Told by One Client. Health Affairs, 24(1).

Bodenheimer, T. (2005). High and rising health care costs. part 1: Seeking an explanation.

Annals of Internal Medicine, 142(10), 847-54.