Health Policy Essays (Examples)

Health Policies Medicare

hen everyone in our country finally starts to reach the age of 65 years of age or older, then every person will become eligible for Medicare. It is clear that there are some elderly that are having minimum health concerns while others recurrently are dealing with medical issues for which they will have to seek out treatment by the doctor. However, research is starting to display that there are at least five top conditions that are enhancing on medical and drug spending. It is obvious that Heart disease circumstances are the number one medical issue that the those that are considered elderly are facing and that is becoming very costly to them. Most are unaware that the second one is the disease cancer and it could be internal or external for various elderly patients. Other issues such as joint ailments a lot of the times can cost…

Work Cited:

Wenzlow, Audra T., et al. "Effects of a Discharge Planning Program on Medicaid Coverage of State Prisoners with Serious Mental Illness." Psychiatric Services 62.1 (2011): 73-8.

Sommers, Benjamin D. "Loss of Health Insurance among Non-Elderly Adults in Medicaid." Journal of General Internal Medicine 24.1 (2009): 1-7.

Verdier, James, and Allison Barrett. "How Medicaid Agencies Administer Mental Health Services: Results from a 50-State Survey." Psychiatric Services 59.10 (2008): 1203-6.

Harman, Jeffrey S., Allyson G. Hall, and Jianyi Zhang. "Changes in Health Care use and Costs After a Break in Medicaid Coverage among Persons with Depression." Psychiatric Services 58.1 (2007): 49-54.

Health Care

In the wake on new and very contentious health care reform, many firms have undergone extensive transformations. These transformations have been predicated on both cost control and quality management. In particular quality management has had a profound impact on the underlying business operations of many health care firms. For one, firms are now finding methods in which to enhance the overall patient experience while also mitigating potential loses due to negligent means. The focus on quality management has also made firms more efficient in regards to the overall delivery of service. In particular, my firm has done extensive work with reducing elderly accidents within the facility. This quality management initiative has not only reduced costs associated with accidents, but it also has enhanced the trust and patient experience of all stakeholders within the firm (Kelly, 2011).

Identify the milestone you chose in the history of quality improvement in…

References:

1) Draper, Elaine, Joseph LaDou, and Dan J. Tennenhouse. 2011. "Occupational Health Nursing and the Quest for Professional Authority," New Solutions 21, 47 -- 81

2) Kohn, L.T., Corrigan, J.M., & Donaldson, M.S. (Eds). (2000). To err is human: Building a safer health system. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

3) Kelly, D.L. (2011). Applying quality management in healthcare: A systems approach (3rd ed.). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press

4) Lucia, Patricia R.; Otto, Tammy E.; Palmier, Patrick A. (2009). "Chapter 1

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.

(Wolf, 2008) When you put all of these different elements together, it means that denying health care services to undocumented workers and their families will cause their underlying levels of health to slowly deteriorate. If something serious does occur, these people will more than likely be forced to fend for themselves.

Conducting research in these two areas would be beneficial in influencing health care policy / outcome by: highlighting the overall human cost of the problem on the industry and society. Where, the act of denying them access to health care and the lingering effects could be considered a human rights issue. As a result, the research that would be conducted would be beneficial, in highlighting the overall harsh conditions that these families are forced to endure. Once you present the situation in this light, this will shift the debate from one of a cost issue to being about: basic…

Bibliography

Health Care for Undocumented Immigrants. (2008). Medical News Today. Retrieved from:  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/56809.php 

Aparico, A. (2004). Costs of Care and Lack of Health Insurance. Immigrants, Welfare Reform and Poverty Policy. (pp. 73 -- 77). Westport, CT: Praeger.

Wolf, R. (2008). Rising Health Care Costs. USA Today. Retrieved from:  http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-01-21-immigrant-healthcare_N.htm

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.

(Findlay, 2001, 90 -- 119) (McLeod, 2003, pp. 895 -- 908)

What is the possibility of bias entering the study? If the study is susceptible to bias, state and explain the type of bias that may enter the study and what steps can be incorporated to minimize the entry of bias.

The possibility for bias in the study is low. The reason why, is because researchers will have limited access to the patients they are seeing (through: the use of anonymous surveys). This will dramatically reduce the possibilities of bias existing. (Findlay, 2001, 90 -- 119) (McLeod, 2003, pp. 895 -- 908)

ased on your hypothesis/proposal, how will the proposed generated results help to develop an effective health policy for the target population of your chosen topic?

The proposal will help to develop an effective health policy. This is accomplished by: providing specific insights about how the increasing utilization of…

Bibliography

Findlay, S. (2001). Direct to Consumer Promotion. Pharmaco Economics, 19 (2), 109 -- 119.

Kryst, M. (2005). A Population-Based Survey. Headache, 34 (6), 341- 350.

McLeod, P. (2003). Physicians and Practice Characteristics. Medical Care, 41 (8), 895 -- 908.

The respondents also believed that premiums should be adjusted based on an organizations willingness to introduce and enforce health and safety standards.

5. Safety representatives-these representatives serve the purpose of serving notices or organizations when breaches in safety and health standards take place.

6. Occupational Health and Rehabilitation -- a significant percentage or respondents believe that there needs to be greater access to occupational health services for employees. The respondents also believed that there should be a "new focus on the provision of rehabilitation services for injured and sick workers."

7. Financial Incentives-finally the respondents believed that employees needed financial incentives to encourage cooperation as it pertains to health and safety standards.

The HSE used all of the information gathered to create new strategies for dealing with Health and Safety issues in the workplace. One of the primary trends that developed was that of enforcement. In an effort to have…

Works Cited

"A strategy for workplace health and safety in Great Britain to 2010 and beyond"

"Enforcement Management Model." (2002). Health and Safety Executive

Enforcement Policy Statement. Health and Safety Executive

Environmental Health Policy Improvement Committee (20 April 2004) . Health and Safety Commission

(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

Health Care eform:

One of the major topics that have had a long history in the United States is health care reforms, which has been characterized by huge debates. Following decades of failed attempts by various Democratic presidents, a new law was enacted by President Obama to overhaul the country's health care system. The enactment of this legislation came after a year of harsh partisan combat with the purpose of ensuring access to health care insurance for millions of Americans. In addition to being the most controversial topic, health care reform law was the largest single legislative accomplishment of President Obama. Notably, this legislation will cost America's government approximately $940 billion over the next decade based on an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office. The office has also estimated that the law will lessen federal deficit by about $138 billion during the same period and a further reduction of the…

References:

Cannon, M.F. (2010, March 1). The Best and Worst Health Care Reform Ideas. Retrieved December 15, 2011, from  http://dailycaller.com/2010/03/01/the-best-and-worst-health-care-reform-ideas/ 

Cohn, J. (2011, January 20). About that Whole "Replace" Thing & #8230; Retrieved December 15,

2011, from  http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-cohn/81821/about-whole-replace-thing 

"Health Care Reform.." (2011, November 15). The New York Times. Retrieved December 15,

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…

Bibliography

1. Eakin, Douglas and Michael Ramlet. (2010) "Health Care Reform is Likely to Widen Budget Deficits -- Not Reduce Them." Health Affairs, 29, no.6:1136-1141. Eakin and Ramlet examine the underpinnings of the Congressional Budget Office's projection that enacting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will decrease deficits, and conclude that it is built on a shaky foundation of omitted costs, premiums shifted from other entitlements, and politically dubious spending cuts and revenue increases. A more comprehensive and realistic projection suggests that the new reform law will raise the deficit by more than $500 billion during the first ten years and by nearly $1.5 trillion in the following decade. This is an excellent article with regards to my article, written by two policy commentators at the forefront of their field. This article shows expertise in medical economics and offers compelling, clear arguments for the increase in the federal deficit due to the massive spending on entitlements as a result of passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. They project deficits, opposing the Congressional Budget Office, through their insightful analysis.

2. Marmor, Theodore, Jonathan Oberlander, and Joseph White. (2009) "The Obama Administration's Options for Health Care Cost Control: Hope vs. Reality." Ann Intern Med. 150:485-489. Controlling the costs of medical care has long been an elusive goal in U.S. health policy. This article examines the options for health care cost control under the Obama administration. The authors argue that the administration's approach to health reform offers some potential for cost control but also embraces many strategies that are not likely to be successful. Lessons the United States can learn from other countries' experiences in constraining medical care spending are then explored. This article offers evidence for the lack of cost containment in the Obama administrations' plans for health reform. It gives a good analysis of the international scene in health care as well.

3. Collins, Sara, Michelle M. Doty, Karen Davis, Cathy Schoen, Alyssa L. Holmgren, and Alice Ho. (2004) "The Affordability Crisis in Health Care." Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey. Published in 2004, The Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey, conducted from September 2003 -- January 2004, presents new and timely information on where the American public stands on solutions to reform the health care system. The survey finds widespread support for federal efforts to extend health insurance to more people, as well as a widely held belief that the financing of health care should continue to be a shared responsibility among individuals, employers, and the government. The survey also uncovered potential reasons for such strong support for health care reform. Among the insured and the uninsured alike, there is concern that health care security in the United States is eroding. People are experiencing reductions in insurance coverage that are threatening their financial security.

4. Etheridge, Lynn (1984) "An Aging Society and the Federal Deficit." The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly. Health and Society, 521-543. This article serves as early warning sign of the deficit battles to come. It argues that the conflict between the growing needs of an aging society and a federal budget which cannot afford its current commitments has become one of the nation's most difficult government policy dilemmas. Assistance for the elderly through Social Security, Medicare, and other programs-is already the federal government's largest fiscal responsibility. In 1985 these programs will require nearly half of all domestic program spending an estimated $256 billion. The future costs of these commitments will rise rapidly well into the next century, accounting-with national defense and interest costs-for virtually all of the spending increases in the projected $200 to $300 billion deficits. Etheridge asserts that the decisions about the nation's assistance to the elderly -- and about reaffirmation, reform, and/or retrenchment of these commitments-will thus be central to the coming budget debates.

Polls examining public support of the bill and specifically the public healthcare option vary significantly. ith regard to physicians, the New England Journal of Medicine surveyed over six thousand medical doctors and found there was a majority in favor of federally provided public healthcare insurance (Keyhani & Federman). Other polls have suggested an opposition to the public option (Marmor).

The public option would provide an affordable alternative to the current private health insurance options and would provide impetus for competition and positive change. hether "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009" will be passed is currently uncertain. hat is certain is that the healthcare and health insurance system is currently not sufficient to provide healthcare support for nearly 48 million uninsured Americans. Alterations need to be made to increase access and affordability for those individuals who desire health insurance.

Conclusion

The healthcare and health insurance system in the United States…

Works Cited

Harrington, Charlene, Carroll L. Estes, and Cassandra Crawford. Health policy. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2004.

Keyhani, Salomeh, and Alex Federman. "Doctors on Coverage -- Physicians' Views on a New Public Insurance Option and Medicare Expansion." N. Engl J. Med 361.14 (2009): e24.

Kotlikoff, Laurence J. The healthcare fix. MIT Press, 2007.

Marmor, T. "The Obama Administration's Options for Health Care Cost Control: Hope vs. Reality." 7 Apr 2009. 1 Nov 2009 .

" (Arnold & Reeves, 2009). ith medical services price at the present time, illness or some kind of complicated to medical services may take people deprived of health insurance years to reimburse for bills that are medical. Furthermore, I believe that individuals who lost their jobs also are uninsured for the reason that their employer gave health insurance is no longer paying for them. I understand that based on the statistic; there are "way too many around 1 million workers that have lost their health reporting in the first three months of 2009. I think that helping people buy health insurance coverage with low-cost with offering the health plans options for the uninsured is the healthcare reform that is really needed now. In this way, individuals that are without health insurance will be able to afford paying their medical insurance to uphold their well-being.

In conclusion, with the increasing rapidly…

Works Cited

Arnold, P.J., & Reeves, T.C. (2009). International Trade and Health Policy: Implications of the GATS for U.S. Healthcare Reform. Journal of Business Ethics, 63(4), 34.

Belcon, M.C., Ahmed, N.U., Younis, M.Z., & Bongyu, M. (40-74.). ANALYSIS of NATIONAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS: SEARCHING for a MODEL for DEVELOPING COUNTRIES - TRINIDAD and TOBAGO as a TEST CASE. Public Administration and Management, 14(2), 10-14.

Bolduc, C.R. (2008). The impact of healthcare reform on HMO administrators. Hospital & Health Services Administration, 17(9), 23-45.

Reiboldt, M. (2010). The Industry Responds to the Passing of Healthcare Reform. The Journal of Medical Practice Management, 18(6), 327-328.

Healthcare Economics

When considering the ever-changing and highly competitive economic landscape of the modern world; governments, businesses and institutions must remain diligent in their care and compassion for their citizens and staff members. With the current exponential growth and advancement of technology and the computerization of business and learning, voters, workers and consumers have become much more connected to the organizations they patronize (Kurzweil). Accordingly, these important groups are faced with the continuous task of finding new ways to understand and subsequently accommodate the needs of their followers, while simultaneously securing lucrative business models and job environments. One of the most important needs presented in all demographics is reliable healthcare. Thus, with the inelasticity in the demand for healthcare, countries need to determine an applicable system, whereby citizens can have access to the medical services they will inevitably need. Collective access to healthcare represents the main problem in field of…

Bibliography

Blumenschein, K. And M. Johannesson. "Economic Evaluation in Healthcare. A Brief History and Future Directions." Journal of Pharmacoeconomics 10.2 (1996): 114-122.

Cox, Malcolm, et al. "Health Care Economics, Financing, Organization and Delivery." Family Medicine January 2004: 20-30.

Hamburger, Tom and Kim Geiger. "Healthcare Insurers Get Upper Hand." The Los Angeles Times 24 August 2009.

Jeremiah Hurley. "An Overview of the Normative Economics of the Health Sector." Journal of Health Economics 1.1 (2000): 55-118.

(ennie; Fontanarosa, 2006)

Apart from financial reasons, millions are not bale to access healthcare due to a lot of barriers inclusive of geography, racial differences and immigrant status. The people who do not have access to required care, that might comprise incapability to get primary care chronic care, specialist care, or emergency care stand at risk for severe health consequences. As per a recent report, absence of health insurance was linked with considerably lowered application of recommended healthcare services for cancer prevention, cardiovascular disease threat reduction, and diabetes management within the lower-income as also higher-income adults. Apart from the concerns, trouble, and stress directly associated to their illness, patients those who lack insurance or are underinsured also encounter increased levels of debt, threatening calls from collection agencies, anxiety, and possible insolvency. (ennie; Fontanarosa, 2006)

Impact of reform measures on the nursing profession:

The U.S. healthcare system is considered among the…

References

Granger, David; Young, Audrey. (1999) "Healthcare and the Underserved: America's Poor and Managed Care." Project of the Standing Committee on Health Policy: American Medical Student Association. Retrieved 10 September, 2007 at http://www.amsa.org/pdf/hlthcareunderserved.pdf

N.A. (2002, Jun 1) "Collective bargaining in the nursing profession: salient issues and recent developments in healthcare reform" Hospital Topics. Retrieved 10 September, 2007 at  http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0198-95081_ITM 

N.A. (n. d.) "Nursing's Agenda for Healthcare Reform." The American Nurses Association

Inc. Retrieved 10 September, 2007 at http://www.needlestick.org/readroom/rnagenda.htm

Two elements that are extremely useful in the examination of health care. In this regard therefore, quality is also differentiated along SES. Persons who are higher on the socioeconomic ladder experience better "desired health outcomes."

The access to quality health care also has cultural and SES elements to it. Dressler & Bindon (2000) identify cultural consonance as a factor in determining blood pressure in African-American communities. The implications of this work are that cultural elements play a big role in health care quality and access. Whites tend to have greater access to better health care than minority groups. This access is in terms of the proximity of quality physicians, medical services, and facilities.

The ethical implications of the differential access to health care are troubling (Kulczycki, 2007). This is primarily because a health care discussion is a life and death discussion. Quality health care is the right of every citizen,…

References

Dressler, W.W., Balieiro, M.C., & Dos Santos, J.E.(1988). Culture, Socioeconomic Status, and Physical and Mental Health in Brazil Medical Anthropology Quarterly, New Series, 12

(4): 424-446.

Dressler W.W., & Bindon, J.R. (2000).The Health Consequences of Cultural Consonance:

Cultural Dimensions of Lifestyle, Social Support, and Arterial Blood Pressure in an African-American Community American Anthropologist, New Series, 102

Health Care Finance

Financial analyst Eric Feigenbaum (2009) notes that while we like to think of hospitals in terms of compassion, patient care and dedication to altruistic aims, they are businesses concerned with revenues and expenses like any other business (Feigenbaum 2009, p.2). In today's hectic world of economic downturn and financial struggles felt from individuals of every demographic and social status, revenue and expense accounting are issues that must be addressed carefully by nearly every business in every market. The same holds true for the health care industry and health care providers. With financial uncertainty come threats for health care providers in managing revenue and expenses during the upcoming years. However, with these threats remain certain opportunities for health care providers to take on in order to combat the uncertainty that comes with managing revenue and expenses when the amount of each is not ideal.

With the appropriate management…

References

Bristow, W. (2009). How to thrive during a recession. Doctor's Digest. 81(1): p.16.

Retrieved from: LexisNexis Database.

Feigenbaum, E. (2009). Categories of expenses and revenues in the hospital business setting. Demand Media, 2(1), pp. 2-5. Retrieved from: ProQuest Database.

Johnson, N., McNichol, E. And Oliff, P. (2011). Feeling the recession's impact on health care. Handbook of Health Economics 3(2), pp. 54. Retrieved from: ProQuest Database.

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.

Policy Analysis Critique

ationale for the chosen policy

Avian influenza is a virus causing lethal infection in human beings (Sims et al., 2003). It can be transmitted from patients to other human beings. It is a deadly virus with track record of 6 deaths in Hong Kong in 1997. That incident was just the start of this health issue. The virus spread enormously and caused H5N1 infection numerous times in Hong Kong. The dawn of 21st century witnessed multiple instances of H5N1 virus (Ellis et al., 2004).

It was expected that the virus could be found in the poultry animals and was infectious. In order to prove it, there were certain laboratory tests conducted on chickens. These tests helped prove the presence and effects of H5N1 virus (Shortridge et al. 1998). Subsequently, it was proved that the chickens were highly pathogenic (Shortridge et al., 1998). It was also proved that…

References

Ellis TM, Bousfield RB, Bissett LA, Dyrting KC, Luk GS, Tsim ST, Sturm-Ramirez K, Webster RG, Guan Y, Malik Peiris JS. Investigation of outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in waterfowl and wild birds in Hong Kong in late 2002. Avian Pathol, 2004 Oct; 33(5): 492 -- 505.

Ferguson NM, Fraser C, Donnelly CA, Ghani AC, Anderson RM. Public health risk from the avian H5N1 influenza epidemic. Science 2004; 304:968-9.

Ferguson NM, Galvani AP, Bush RM. Ecological and immunological determinants of influenza evolution. Nature 2003; 422:428-33.

Fielding R, Leung GM, Lam TH, Lam WWT. The use of live animal markets and perception of risk among the Hong Kong population. Department of Community Medicine, the University of Hong Kong, 2004.

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…

Works Cited:

Carey, Nick. (2009). Uninsured Americans hope reform brings health coverage. Reuters. Retrieved October 7, 2009 from  http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE58F0NO20090916 

The White House. (2009). The Obama Plan: Stability and Security for All Americans. Retrieved October 7, 2009 from  http://www.whitehouse.gov /assets/documents/obama_plan_card.PDF

New York Times. (2009). Malpractice and Health Care Reform. New York Times. Retrieved October 7, 2009 from  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/opinion/17wed2.html 

Kaiser Family Foundation. (2008). Prescription Drug Trends. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved October 7, 2009 fromhttp://www.kff.org/rxdrugs/upload/3057_07.pdf

Healthcare Finance

The relationship between the doctor and a possible patient is established when the physician asks the person for the first time as how he could be of possible help. This direct and simple enquiry is the beginning of the trust of the patient that has to be put in the physician for any treatment to proceed. The patient is in need of help at that time, and has to trust the professional for getting the help and the patients want to do it. They need a person to take care of them during their period of suffering from illness. This relationship between the patient and the physician in the financial sphere also involves the same amount of reliance, confidence and trust, as otherwise, not treatment can be undertaken. This makes it essential that the physicians clearly mention to the patients when there is any conflict of interest in…

References

"Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization: Deriving Best Practice Models for the U.S. Health Care Safety Net: A Cross-State Meta Analysis of Finance, Organization and Outcomes" Retrieved from  http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:h3F83ojarhYJ:depts.washington.edu/eprc/areas/proposalnarrative%2520web.pdf+Changes+in+Health+Care+Financing+and+Organization+& ; hl=en Accessed on 7 June, 2005

'Health Administration Press" (March/April 2003) Journal of Health Care Management.

Volume 48, Number 2. Retrieved from  http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:p36ZB3H0T4AJ:www.ache.org/pubs/jhm482.cfm+healthcare+finance+relationship+centered& ; hl=en Accessed on 7 June, 2005

"The Core Program: Trust and the Patient -- Professional Relationship" (September, 2000) The

Healthcare professionals offer their services to the community whilst taking care to fully respect people's dignity. Doctors need to earn public confidence by dedicating their skill all equally, and to the best of their ability. A number of professional organizations supporting doctors in ensuring public safety exist, two of which are the ANA (American Nurses Association) and the AMA (American Medical Association). In this paper, the two aforementioned organizations' standards and functions will be analyzed.

A clear identification of the professional boards

The ANA represents its 3.6-million-strong registered nurse (RN) workforce's interests. Its goal is attempting to advance the profession of nursing through the promotion of superior practice standards (American Nurses Association, 2016). Meanwhile, the AMA represents a professional organization chiefly engaged in publishing studies geared at advancing public health, in addition to advocating for licensed doctors' interests. It participates in the areas of Obamacare implementation, healthcare IT, Medicare/Medicaid, improvements…

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…

Bibliography

Discussion Paper on Adverse Event and Error Reporting In Healthcare: Institute for Safe Medication Practices Jan 24, 2000

Patient Safety/Medical Errors Online at the Premiere Inc. page located at:  http://www.premierinc.com/all/safety/resources/patient_safety/downloads/patient_safety_policy_position_2001.doc 

Medstat / Shortell, S. Assessing the Impact of Continuous Quality Improvement on Clinical Practice: What It Will Take to Accelerate Progress.

Health Policy Monitor (2001) A Publication of the Council of State Governments Vol. 6, No. 1 Winter/Spring 2001 PO18-0101

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

Healthcare: Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions: Healthcare

The author stated the major steps in the policy analysis process. Which stage do you think is the most important? State reasons using one policy analysis example

Policy analysis simply refers to the process of assessing policies to determine how effective they are, or would be in the resolution of economic and social issues in the population. It is carried out in a series of steps that include problem identification, problem definition, process analysis and qualitative analysis (McLaughlin & McLaughlin, 2014). The authors summarize the policy analysis process as follows -- the analyst ascertains that a problem indeed exists, analyses the policies that have already been formulated to address the same, assesses whether the policies already in existence have been effective in realizing their intended objectives, determines the new technologies or modifications that could be incorporated into these policies to make them more effective,…

References

Lloyd, R. C. (2004). Quality Healthcare: A Guide to Developing and Using Indicators. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

McLaughlin, C. P. & McLaughlin, C. D. (2014). Health Policy Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Approach (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

The infant mortality rate is of 8.97 deaths per 1,000 live births. This rate places Kuwait on the 160th position on the chart of the CIA. The adult prevalence rate of HIV / AIDS is of 0.1 per cent.

In terms of economy, Kuwait is a relatively open, small and wealthy economy. It relies extensively on oil exports -- petroleum exports for instance account for 95 per cent of the total export revenues as well as for 95 per cent of the federal income. The Kuwaiti representatives have recently set the goal of increasing the oil production per day. Currently, Kuwait is facing the pressures of the internationalized economic crisis -- which however, due to recent economic surpluses in Kuwait, affects the economy to a lower extent.

Simultaneously with the increase in oil production, the Kuwaiti authorities are also focusing on diversifying the economic activities in the sense of supporting…

References:

Agency, Kuwait News. "Blair's "Kuwait Vision." 15 March 2010. Zawya.com. .

Al-Ansari, H. And S. AL-Enezi. "Health Sciences Libraries in Kuwait." Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 89.3 (2001): 287-93.

Al-Awadhi, Olusi, Al-Saeid, Moussa, et.al. "Incidence of Musculoskeletal Pain in Adult Kuwaitis." Annals of Saudi Medicine 25.6 (2005): 459=62.

Al-Baho, A. "Resident's Guide to the Curriculum for Training in Family Medicine." December 2008. Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialization. .

Healthcare Organization Case Study

Health Care Organization Case Study

Banner Healthcare

Health Care Organization Case Study

Banner Healthcare represents a set of diverse healthcare related facilities that provide healthcare services to societies in USA and beyond. Banner seeks to establish a healthier life for communities through developing a healthy environment. Banner Healthcare is arguably the largest healthcare provider in the country. The organization spans seven states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Alaska, Nebraska and Wyoming. The organization operates 20 hospitals, including healthcare facilities. The organization offers such services as hospice care, home care and physician services. Banner Healthcare also provided $130 million as their contribution to charity. The organization is a healthcare leader in all the communities it offers its services. The agency has shown tremendous growth in the past years. They admit over 190 000 patients every year and have a workforce in excess of 29-000. The emergency departments…

Reference:

Banner Health, (2008). Here Now: Making a Difference. Retrieved from  http://www.bannerhealth.com/_communityupdate/Banner_Health_Community_Update.pdf  on 18 May 2016

Harrington, C. & Estes, C. (2008). Health Policy: Crisis & Reform in the U.S. Health Care Delivery System, 5th Ed. Jones & Bartlett Publishers

Wolf, J., Hanson, H. & Moir, M. (Eds.) (2011). Organization Development in Health Care: High Impact Practices for a Complex and Changing Environment. IAP

Health Politics

"What is the role of Congress in policy making process"?

Policy is a plan to identify goal or possible course of actions with administrative or management tools to accomplish these goals. n the other hand, policy is the authoritative decision made by the U.S. executive, legislative, judicial branch of government to influence the decision of others. Government is a key player in decision-making process and congress plays important roles in decision-making . In the United States, both House of Representatives and House of Senate fulfill the congressional policy responsibilities, and congress plays important role in health policy, which includes obesity prevention measures or health insurance program. Congress is an important arm of government that makes law. Important strategy that congress uses to make policy preference is by passing a bill into law. Typically, the congress could make a decision to pass or not to the policy of the…

Oregon Department of Human Services.(2008). The impact of federal policy on Oregon's health care reform efforts: Opportunities and barriers within Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Medical Assistance Programs.

Waller, M. (2005).Block Grants: Flexibility vs. Stability in Social Services. Brookings Institution Policy Brief.

Zuckert, M.P. (2002). Launching Liberalism: On Lockean Political Philosophy. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.

Health Care

More area is dealt by Human esource Management than people originally thought of. Some may explain it as the exchanges between boss and worker in the time period between which a worker is employed, until they are eliminated. It is true human resources management starts even before this, with the strategies that are formed by the institution, and the laws that govern workplace institutions. Human esource Management is the procedure of working with people so that they and their organizations attain full potential even when change accelerates the necessity to get new talents, take up new tasks, and develop new relationships, as per an article by L. Dobb abd P. Dick of 1993. (Blessinger, Human esource Management)

Human esource Management is projected as that part of management, which deals with plans, decisions, issues, ethics, process, routines, work, performance and system associated with the management of people as workers…

References

Blessinger, Kelly. Human Resource Management. Available from  http://www.libsci.sc.edu/bob/class/clis724/SpecialLibrariesHandbook/hr_management.html . Accessed 2 February 2003]

De Silva, Sriyan. Human Resource Management As A Strategy: The Changing Focus of Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management. Available at  http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actemp/papers/1998/asiawksh.htm [Accessed 2 February 2003]

De Silva, Sriyan. Human Resource Management in Achieving Management Objectives: The Changing Focus of Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management. Paper presented at the ILO Workshop on Employers Organizations in Asia-Pacific in the Twenty-First Century Turin, Italy, 5-13 May 1997. Bureau for Employers' Activities International Labor Office Geneva April, 1997 Available at  http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actemp/papers/1998/srsirhrm.htm#C5-3 . Accessed 2 February 2003]

Guide to Managing Human Resources: Chapter 14: Team Building" Available from  http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/guide/teams.htm [Accessed 2 February 2003]

Does Socio-economic Status Impact lives of People with HIV and AIDS?

Individuals with a lower socio-economic status are more prone to contracting HIV and AIDS virus. This measure also determines how individual status, relates to proper medical care. Lack of socioeconomic strength associated to the practice of risky sexual behaviors results to HIV contraction. Men engage in sexual intercourse with many partners without using a condom (Will 2000). Women at this lower level engage in riskier sexual behaviors. Homeless people are more vulnerable to infection, women in such situations are prone to rape and, men are most likely drug users. Individuals with low socioeconomic resources are prone to injury, which makes the susceptible to the effects of the virus that affects the central nervous system (Earnshaw, Valerie and Stephenie 2009).

Does HIV Infection Affect the Socio Sconomic Status of Infected Persons?

HIV and AIDS have negative impacts on the productivity…

References

Semple, S.J., Patterson, T.L., Temoshok, L.R., McCutchan, J.A., Straits-Troster,

K., Chandler, J.A., & Grant, I. 2003. "Identification of psychobiological stressors among HIV-positive women." Women & Health, 20(4), 15-36.

Earnshaw, Valerie a., and Stephenie R. Chaudoir.2009. "From conceptualizing to measuring HIV stigma: a review of HIV stigma mechanism measures." AIDS

and Behavior 13.6 (2009): 1160-1177.

They also reject the argument that public support for transplantation will endure something bad if it becomes known that donated organs are being used for alcoholics.

There is an extensive reluctance to consider people with alcoholic cirrhosis for liver transplantation. The authors of this article do a good job of presenting both sides of the argument about whether alcoholics should be eligible for liver transplants. They present both a moral argument and a medical argument and compare and contrast both sides before drawing their conclusion. They illustrate the screening and selection process for liver transplant contenders in a concise manner. At the end the authors dissect the objection to the moral argument and the medical argument of not allowing alcoholics to receive liver transplants. They reply to both of these objections with the reasons as to why alcoholics should be allowed to receive transplants. In the end they conclude that…

References

Cohen C & Benjamin M. (1991). Alcoholics and liver transplantation. The Ethics and Social

Impact Committee of the Transplant and Health Policy Center. Journal of American

Medical Association. 265, pp. 1299-1301

educed costs for medical education would be the second to last alternative that would be likely to be effective. First, reducing the costs of medical eduction, through tax incentives and tuition caps, may make the medical field more attractive to some students; however, even with these in place, the costs would still be so significant that many potential future doctors would be still turned off from the profession. In contrast, free medical education would likely be very effective in recruiting students to pursue the medical profession. This would likely be especially attractive to good students who weren't good enough to receive significant scholarship money to help offset their education. However, this would be the most expensive alternative to implement for the United States. This cost could be offset by the service these doctors give, in exchange, for government-run medical facilities, but the infrastructure alone to this type of innovative plan…

References

Fox, R. & Abrahamson, K. (Oct-Dec 2009). "A critical examination of the U.S. nursing shortage: Contributing factors, public policy implications." Nursing Forum, 44(4). p. 235-244.

Ganley, B. & Sheets, I. (Jul 2009). "Educational innovations: A strategy to address the nursing faculty shortage." Journal of Nursing Education, 48(7). p. 401-405.

Medical student debt. (2011). Retrieved January 9, 2011, from  http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/about-ama/our-people/member-groups-sections/medical-student-section/advocacy-policy/medical-student-debt.shtml .

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. (No date). Retrieved January 9, 2011, from  http://dpc.senate.gov/healthreformbill/healthbill04.pdf .

Diversity of Aging Population -- Innovative Healthcare

Over the past several decades there has been an avalanche of research and scholarly narratives focusing on the aging of millions of Americans -- among them the "baby boomers" that were born between 1946 and 1964 -- including their numbers and their health vis-a-vis the impact on the sometimes struggling healthcare system. But there has been a dearth of research on how American healthcare services will respond -- and is currently responding -- to an increasingly diverse older population when it comes to racial, cultural and ethnic identities. This paper points to the numerous issues and challenges that not only face an increasingly diverse older American population when it comes to healthcare, but also the challenges that the healthcare system itself faces as these Americans move into the twilight of their lives.

hat should be the Vision and Mission of Healthcare Professionals in…

Works Cited

Administration on Aging. (2010). A Statistical Profile of Black Older Americans Aged 65+.

Retrieved April 2, 2014, from  http://www.aoa.gov .

Bookman, A. (2008). Innovative models of aging in place: Transforming our communities for an aging population. Community, Work & Family, 11(4), 419-438.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2007). The State of Aging and Health in America

health care in the United States has been the source of heated debate for a number of years. Although the publicity surrounding the issue has been considerable and made to look like it is a recent problem facing the nation, the problem, in reality, has been on the horizon for nearly a century. During President Woodrow Wilson's administration, efforts were unsuccessfully made to pass national legislation regarding the delivery of health care in the United States and the issue has appeared periodically on the national agenda ever since (Lepore, 2009). Finally, on March 23, 2010, among massive controversy, the Affordable Care Act, through the massive efforts of the Obama administration, became law.

Despite the passing of the Affordable Care Act, health care in the United States remains dismal for a large percentage of American citizens. Although there were a number of significant provisions in the Act that took effect nearly…

References

Anderson, R.M. (2001). Improving Access to Care in America. Los Angeles: University of California.

Boehm, G. (2005). Debunking Medical Malpractice Myths: Unraveling the False Premises behind Tort Reform. Yale Journal of Health Policy Law & Ethics, 357-369.

Lepore, J. (2009, December 7). Preexisting Condition. The New Yorker .

Shi, L. (2003). Delivering Health Care in America: A Systems Approach (3rd Edition). Burlington, VT: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

At which point, they talk about the effects that the different kinds of coverage are having on senior citizen, with many using a combination of Medicare and private insurance, while others have used a combination of Medicare / Medicaid. To rectify the situation, the article points out that there is one of two solutions to include: the government placing price caps and importing prescription drugs. A government model of limiting the overall scope of price increases, could help to reduce the negative effects that this having on the elderly. Another option, for those who are opposed to such a plan, is to allow the import of prescription drugs. This is significant, because it shows how increasing the available supply of prescription drugs are a key to curtailing costs. If some kind of programs, this could be introduced to address this issue. At which point, it could be effective in reducing…

Bibliography

Carbaugh, R. (2006). Chapter Summary. Contemporary Economics (pg. 76) Mason, OH: Thompson.  http://books.google.com/books?id=9Pascy_5HUMC&pg=PA76&dq=solutions+high+prescriptions+drug+costs+on+the+elderly&hl=en&ei=zFcmTIaALMKB8gb59YnKDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false 

Day, T. (n.d.). About Medical Care for the Elderly. Retrieved June 26, 2010 from Long-Term Care Link website:  http://www.longtermcarelink.net/eldercare_medical_care_issues.htm 

Ham R. (2007). Clinical Pharmacology. Primary Care Geriatrics (pp. 94) Philadelphia, PA Mosby.

 http://books.google.com/books?id=aboBPOyYt3IC&pg=PA359&dq=Clinical+Pharmacology.+Primary+Care+Geriatrics+ (pp.+94&hl=en&ei=Q3wmTKiCGYP98Ab1pvjLDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

US Mental Health Assistance
Mental health problems or mental illnesses are among the major public health issues in the United States given their prevalence. Mental health illnesses affected nearly all populations in the United States including children and adults. However, the prevalence of mental illnesses among adults is high in comparison to other populations. Mental health problems among adults in the U.S. incorporate many different conditions whose degree of severity varies from mild to moderate to severe (National Institute of Mental Health, 2019). One of the major contributing factors to the prevalence of mental illnesses among adults in America is the rapid growth of the aging population. Adults suffering from mental illness don't always understand they are sick and are difficult to help. Our system puts them out on the street or locks them up. There is need for policy changes to address the prevalence of mental health illnesses among…