High Cost Of Care: A Case Study

It is no secret that the cost of American healthcare is becoming increasingly more expensive. However, the issue of the rising cost of healthcare and its severity needs to be recognized as a major problem. Health prices are steadily increasing in the United States, and there is no sign of it stopping. Since 1970, spending on American health care has grown 9.8%, which is a rate that is growing faster than the economy (“New Technology”.) Furthermore, health insurance premiums are also increasing at a rate five times faster than American salaries, which makes it difficult for families to afford health care coverage (Zuckerman 28). Therefore, it has become an obligation to address why the cost of American health care is soaring and to seek out a solution to lower the cost. Many would jump to the conclusion that the United States simply charges too much for their medical services, but there are deeper influences that need to be analyzed. The causes of the rising cost of health care are people not using preventive health care, the development of modern technology, and the treatments being overprescribed. A possible solution is to have preventive health care services available in clinics of low-income areas.

During hospitalizations, falls are amongst the highest preventable consistent adverse events. Preventing such undesirable events, enhances patient overall experience, as well as increased trust in the health care professional team (Fragata, 2011). The importance of fall prevention lies with the many serious unfavorable health outcomes it can pose on the patient. Falls have the potential increase length of hospital stay, limit mobility, independence, but can ultimately lead to health deterioration, including death. Worldwide, falls are the second leading cause of accidental death. In addition to the life-threatening health and safety risks falls have to the patient, it also as a financial impact,

Problem: Patient falls have long been a common and serious problem in hospitals across the nation, causing

Falls are a great health concern for hospitalized patients since it has been ranked the

There have been many studies performed focusing on the rising costs of health care and some of the findings state that the rising cost of healthcare premiums is a worldwide problem. However, I believe they are higher in the U.S. In 2015, U.S. health care costs were $3.2 trillion. That makes healthcare one of the largest U.S. industries, equaling 17.8 % of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in comparison to the late 1960s; where healthcare costs were only $27 billion, or 5% of the GDP, which averaged $9,990 per person each year. The main reason for the rising cost of healthcare is a combination of government policies and lifestyles changes. Examples included lack of coverage or costly coverage, lack of available coverage for

Many of these inpatient falls can be prevented when following the proper fall prevention measures. Not only does patient safety make preventing falls a priority but the financial impact these falls have on an institution make it a priority as well.

The high cost of healthcare continues to rise and many in the United States are optimistic for health information technology to reduce and improve our current situation. Health IT encompasses a broad array of new technologies designed to manage and share health-related information. When properly implemented, these systems can help coordinate patient care, reduce medical errors, and improve administrative efficiency. Therefore, implementing a Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) will help the National Health Information Network (NHIN) achieve their goals in improving quality of care for the citizens of the United States. Thus, in order for the health IT to deliver on its promise, several obstacles must be overcome.

“The amount people pay for health insurance increased 30 percent from 2001 to 2005, while income for the same period of time only increased 3 percent.” (Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). The rising cost of healthcare is a huge problem in America today. In this paper I will analyze the different issues and causes for the increase in cost.

As the United States population is advancing in age, the amount of patient falls and medical costs are estimated to increase. Approximately 700,000 patients fall per year in the hospital, which one-third of those falls could have been prevented (AHRQ, 2012). Prolonged hospital stays related to fall injuries is very costly. In 2013, a total of $34 billion dollars was paid due to falls by patients and insurance companies (CDC, 2015). Examples of injuries that can occur as a result of falls are fractures, lacerations, or internal bleeding (AHRQ, 2012). Studies also show

Healthcare costs in the United States have been rising for several years and show no sign of stopping. In 2008, the United States spent on 2.3 trillion on healthcare, more than three times the $714 billion spent in 1990, and over eight times the $253 billion spent in 19801. Although the large amount of money invested in healthcare does translate to better care for Americans, the worsening economic situation, rising costs, and federal government’s deficit have placed a great strain on the system. This includes private employer-sponsored health insurance coverage and public insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a private and non-profit healthcare analysis organization, “in 2008, U.S. health care spending was about $7,681 per resident and accounted for 16.2% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP); this is among the highest of all industrialized countries”1. Concerns for the enormous strain on the financial systems that fund healthcare and the desperate need to provide adequate healthcare for Americans have driven many a President since Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, to seek some type of healthcare reform and universal healthcare for all Americans. President Barack Obama succeeded where many had failed and on March 23, 2010, a national health reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law. On March 31, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued new rules

Falls are considered a leading cause of mortality and injury among older adults and majority of the falls occurs while hospitalized. One would think being in the hospital would be one of the safest places for older adults as far as fall prevention is concern due to the fact that hospitals provide staffing around the clock for patients but more and more falls have been occurring in the hospital especially in the older adult population. Fall is an unintended descent to the ground. It raises public and family care liability; it also decreases patient’s functioning because it causes pain and suffering, and increases medical costs (Saverino et al, 2015). The Center for Disease Control

Intervening falls can reduce the financial burdens attributed to patient falls in hospitals and other healthcare settings are among the most serious risk management issues facing the healthcare industry.

Falls among inpatient elderly adults has become a national health crisis concern, leading cause of hospital injuries, and prolonged length of hospital stays (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2012). Every year, there are approximately 700,000 to 1,000,000 hospitalized falls in hospitals, (Cox, Thomas-Hawkins, Pajarillo, DeGennaro, Cadmus, & Martinez, 2014). Cangany, Back, Hamilton-Kelly, Altman, and Lacey (2015) emphasize inpatient falls are the second leading cause of death in hospital settings. The indirect costs related to inpatient fall for a hospital is approximate $13,806 not including malpractice obligations and staff injuries (Simpson, Rosenthal, Cumbler, & Likosky, 2013).

Genetic and rare diseases are a huge medical and economic burden on not only developing countries like my home country India, but also in the more developed western hemisphere. Growing up, I was fortunate to be surrounded by friends a majority of which were medically trained professionals, and I became increasingly aware of the importance of such diseases that are chronic and severely debilitating if not always truly lethal. International and national agencies continue to look for opportunities to strengthen preventive strategies that can cut this burden.

Every year, 1 in 3 adults over the age of 65 years will fall at least once. According to Williams, Szekendi & Thomas (2013), “A fall is defined by the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators as an unplanned descent to the floor or extension of the floor with or without injury to the patient” (p. 19). Falls are the leading cause of death or reason for an emergency room visit for elderly. Research has shown that physicians recognize the prevalence, and can identify risks of falls, yet they are not regularly administering some form of fall risk assessment to their patients (Smith et al., 2015). So where is improvement needed? What is being done to reduce the incidents of falls within the healthcare facility? With the rising medical costs associated with falls and the injury it is posing to the patients, the safety of patients and prevention of falls has become a leading research target. Throughout this paper the three more common causations to falls will be addressed, along with the three top preventions and interventions the health care facilities are focusing on in order to decrease the rising number of falls.