Increased Cost of Medical Care as a National Healthcare Issue
Paper instructions:
Developing Organizational Policies and Practices
Add a section to the paper attached. The section should address the following:
-Identify and describe at least two competing needs impacting the selected healthcare issue/stressor.
-Describe a relevant policy or practice in your organization that may influence your selected healthcare issue/stressor.
-Critique the policy for ethical considerations, and explain the policy’s strengths and challenges in promoting ethics.
-Recommend one or more policy or practice changes designed to balance the competing needs of resources, workers, and patients, while addressing any ethical shortcomings of the existing policies. Be specific and provide examples.
-Cite evidence that informs the healthcare issue/stressor and/or the policies, and provide two scholarly resources in support of your policy or practice recommendations.
Increased Cost of Medical Care as a National Healthcare Issue
The increased cost of healthcare is one of the major emerging issues in the national healthcare system today. The increased use of advanced technology and drugs is the major factor that has contributed to an increase in healthcare costs (Labby, Wright, Broffman & Holtorf, 2020). Although the use of advanced technology has a greater advantage in the health of public members, advanced technology has a negative side since medical facilities are expensive. The intensive marketing of drugs and medical facilities is a major factor contributing to the increased cost of healthcare nationally.
The increased cost of medical services has resulted in a significant impact on my healthcare organization. One of the negative impacts of the increased cost of medical services in my healthcare setting is that some of the patients are having challenges paying their medical bills. Severe medical conditions require a patient to purchase drugs from a pharmacy and patients who are financially unstable are finding it hard to purchase the drugs (Dickman, Himmelstein, & Woolhandler, 2017). For example, for the last six months, only four patients out of ten patients having heart diseases have been able to purchase the right medication. Another indicator of the negative impact of the increased cost of medical care is that number of purchases from our pharmacy sector has greatly reduced since the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic.
‘Why Do Healthcare Costs Keep Rising?’ is an article by Jim Probasco that tries to account for the current increased cost of healthcare. According to (Probasco, 2021), the United State spent over $4 trillion throughout 2020 in providing healthcare services. The article further explains other factors that have contributed to the increased cost of healthcare services is the increasing population and increasing number of aging population. The article also explains how people citizens in the United States have been avoiding medical care services due to the increasing cost and the Covid-19 Pandemic.
‘The Rising Cost of Health Care by Year and Its Causes’ is an article by Kimberly Amadeo that outlines the impact and causes of increased healthcare costs. According to (Amadeo, 2021), government policy is another factor that has contributed to the increased cost of medical care. The article also explains how preventable chronic illnesses have also contributed to the increased cost of medical services. These preventable illnesses include diabetes, heart disease cancer, and stroke.
Some healthcare organizations are making attempts to address the issue of the increased cost of medical care organization. One strategic approach these organizations are taking is offering health education on how the public population can remain healthy from preventable illnesses (Sandberg, 2017). The main theme in this health education concerns non-medical individual interventions. These interventions include healthy eating, exercise, and smoking sensation etc. Preventative interventions are more effective compared to medical interventions. Another advantage of this health education is that it will keep the public members healthy therefore minimize chances of seeking medical help at a cost.
Another intervention from other medical organization is that these organization are combining efforts with other non-governmental organizations such as the Red Cross in offering free medical services (Sandberg, 2017). These organizations are playing a significant role in providing the non-governmental organizations with skilled task force such as nurses to help in their free health programs. Another significant role of the medical organization to non-governmental organizations is Helping with research on how to provide free medical services to the vulnerable population.
One approach that my healthcare organization has taken in addressing the issue of the increased cost of medical care is providing patients with a comprehensive range of medical services. A comprehensive range of medical services is essential since it fills the vulnerable gaps that health practitioners may create while offering medical services (Marcotte, Reddy & Liao, 2019).
Another approach my healthcare organization has taken in addressing the issue of the increased cost of healthcare services is moving health services closer to the patients. One advantage of moving health services closer to the patient will enable our health practitioners to reach out to patients who are avoiding medical services due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Part Two
The competing needs in the healthcare sector include the rising cost of care and the demand for quality healthcare services among low-income families. The cost of healthcare services is on the rise due to the use of evidence-based practices that are expensive to innovate and implement (Probasco, 2021). Healthcare systems are using technologies such as telemedicine and electronic patient data to optimize healthcare services. The systems are covered by anti-virus software and systems to prevent hacking. The cost of care is on the rise with the shortage of healthcare workers and the need to provide quality care for patients (Probasco, 2021). Healthcare facilities want to deliver quality care to patients who come from low-income families. The issue of cost presents a challenge that requires a better approach to minimize the challenges of poor access to healthcare services to low-income families.
The selected policy in the organization is the provision of care in collaboration with other healthcare agencies such as the Red Cross. Red Cross is a non-governmental organization that deals with providing emergency and vital care to the vulnerable. Collaborating with the agency improves the ability to provide care to the needy despite their low-income status (Amadeo, 2021). For instance, the collaboration helps provide healthcare services to needy communities without an extra fee. The services improve the screening for various diseases to eliminate the risk of late diagnosis that presents adverse reactions.
The policy recommendation has an ethical issue since it does not effectively address justice and fairness in the healthcare sector. The provision of healthcare services is vital to all people without discrimination (Amadeo, 2021). Price has become a major discriminatory issue. The government is struggling to address the inequality in the healthcare sector. One of the solutions is to prevent a further increase in the premiums paid by low-income families (Sandberg, 2017). The government should consider providing comprehensive care for all without discriminating against the poor due to their weak economic status.
The appropriate policy recommendation will include a government directive to ensure the low-income families can access healthcare services without paying an extra cost. The approach would address the widening healthcare inequality. For instance, during the distribution of the vaccines, the blacks were scarcely vaccinated yet they are more likely to contract and die from the disease (Sandberg, 2017). The government should provide a fund to ensure that people have the best access to healthcare services at no extra cost. The government channeled money to the people after they lost their jobs during the pandemic. Similarly, the government can set aside an amount to reach out to the low-income families that cannot access comprehensive and timely care.
Conclusion
High cost of care is a national emerging issue that undermines access to quality care. A rise in the medical services is significant in my organization. Medical conditions that require patients to purchase drugs from a pharmacy increases the cost of care. An increase in the number of people seeking medical services complicates the cost of accessing healthcare. Health education is one of the approaches to address the health care issue. The interventions include healthy eating, exercise, and smoking. Collaborating with organizations such as Red Cross reduces the cost of providing care to the public. Healthcare organizations are making various attempts to bring the medical services closer to the people to enhance access of quality, efficient, and affordable care.
References
Amadeo, K. (2021). The Rising Cost of Health Care by Year and Its Causes. The Balance.
Dickman, S. L., Himmelstein, D. U., & Woolhandler, S. (2017). Inequality and the health-care system in the USA. The Lancet, 389(10077), 1431-1441.
Marcotte, L. M., Reddy, A., & Liao, J. (2019). Addressing Avoidable Healthcare Costs: Time to Cool Off on Hotspotting in Primary Care? Journal of general internal medicine, 34(11), 2634-2636.
Probasco, J. (2021). Why Do Healthcare Costs Keep Rising? Investopedia.
Sandberg, D. S. (2017). Medical tourism: An emerging global healthcare industry. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 10(4), 281-288.
