Explanation of how competing needs, such as the needs of the workforce, resources, and patients, may impact the development of policy. Then, describe any specific competing needs that may impact the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected. What are the impacts, and how might policy address these competing needs? Be specific and provide examples.
Competing Needs in Nursing
Nurses respond to complex and multiple issues in the workplace and experience the challenge of the rising cost of care. Nurses attending to the healthcare issues face the challenge of providing quality care at a reduced cost (Kojima, 2019). Low-income patients have poor access to healthcare services since they have insufficient funds or they are uninsured. The use of expensive treatment methods, tests, and medication contributes to the increase in medical care. The rising cost of care is complicating the healthcare environment and the ability to deliver quality care to patients. The competing needs include the rising number of patients without insurance, the adoption of expensive technologies and evidence-based practice, high salaries for the nurses, and the creation of a friendly work environment (Kojima, 2019).
One of the competing needs is the overuse of specialists in the healthcare environment. Healthcare facilities take the precaution of ensuring they deploy specialists to attend to patients (Kim et al., 2017). For example, a patient suffering from a knee injury may require a full body examination if there is a risk of blood clots. The use of specialists increases the cost of care and undermines the ability to take care of patients from low-income hospitals (Kim et al., 2017). For instance, during the pandemic, hospitals had to carry out rigorous tests on patients to avert the risk of coronavirus infection or adverse outcomes. Another competing need is the use of expensive medical tests and treatment procedures. Healthcare workers are deploying diverse technologies and advancements to enhance the accuracy of care.
The impact of the competing needs is the rise in the cost of care. The rise denies opportunities for patients from low-income areas to access quality and timely care. For instance, patients with cancer may decline to go to the hospital due to the fear of the high cost of care (Kim et al., 2017). The delay in accessing healthcare services complicates the accuracy and efficiency of the delivery of care. The competing need has a positive impact since it leads to quality and accurate healthcare outcomes. Healthcare workers deploy evidence-based practices to diagnose and provide treatment to patients. For example, during the pandemic, healthcare workers would investigate various procedures to ensure quality. The use of plasma from patients who have recovered from the coronavirus was one of the expensive methods of treating patients.
A policy is one of the solutions to the problem of the rising cost of care. One of the possible solutions is to stabilize the health insurance premiums without undercutting the existing patient protection. It is important to indicate that rising health insurance premiums is one of the major causes of poor access to healthcare services (Finkelstein et al., 2019). The government through Congress should propose a health fund for the people in low-income clusters. The focus is to ensure that despite the amount people earn, they will be guaranteed quality healthcare services. For instance, the government should ensure people contribute to the health insurance fund according to their monthly or annual income. The fund will ensure hospitals can guarantee quality care to all patients (Finkelstein et al., 2019). The policy will help patients with chronic diseases such as cancer or blood pressure can access healthcare services. One of the major causes of adverse outcomes of the two leading causes of death is poor access to healthcare services or early screening and treatment. The fund will eliminate the current inequalities that undermine the quality of care.
References
Finkelstein, A., Hendren, N., & Shepard, M. (2019). Subsidizing health insurance for low-income adults: Evidence from Massachusetts. American Economic Review, 109(4), 1530-67.
Kim, S. H., Tanner, A. H., Kim, S. Y., Foster, C., Oh, S. H., & Chang, J. H. (2017). News focuses on individuals for rising health care costs. Newspaper Research Journal, 38(3), 293-305.
Kojima, G. (2019). Increased healthcare costs associated with frailty among community-dwelling older people: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 84, 103898.
