Historical Context Matrix Essay

In the preindustrial era, 1800s, the United States fell behind other countries in health services. There was no medical training until around 1870 (Shi & Singh, 2013). Medical training began with students training under the supervision of physicians. Physicians saw patients by making house calls. Health care was delivered in a free market (Shi & Singh, 2013). No one had insurance so costs were out of pocket. For most Americans, this was a problem and some rural areas relied on folk medicine to heal the sick. The medical institutions during this era were not sanitized properly and nurses were not trained to practice safety and hygiene care. The government provided facilities for elderly, chronically ill patients, and clinics that offered free care.

In the sociology of medicine Parson (1951) regarded medicine as functional in social terms. By tackling the person’s problems in medical terms the tendency towards deviance that was represented by ill health could be safely directed, until they could return to their normal self. (Lawrence 1994: p 64-65: BMJ 2004: Parson cited in Gabe, Bury & Elston 2006, p 127).

This article reviews the changes in policies and procedures over a 40 year period, regarding state and federal changes in health care. The article describes changes in

The lack of health insurance reached began to become a serious issue in the mid-1990’s reaching a crisis level in the 2000’s. Individuals without insurance turned to emergency rooms across the country to obtain care routine care, turning emergency departments into primary care facilities. In many instances, people who presented at emergency rooms for treatment could not be turned away due to various health and safety regulations; therefore, patients were seen without the ability to pay often leaving the hospitals with millions of dollars in uncollectable debt, subsequently leading to the insolvency of hundreds of hospitals across the United States.

centers are situated in rural and urban areas for their convenience and the payment of such health

As you learn about health care delivery in the United States, it is important to understand the various models of health insurance to develop a working knowledge as you progress through the course. The following matrix is designed to help you develop that knowledge and assist you in understanding how health care is financed and how health insurance influences patients and providers as important foundational information for your role as a future health care worker. Fill in the following matrix. Each box must contain responses between 50 and 100 words using complete sentences.

Patients with long-term, chronic illnesses like Mr. Davis’s, care can be very costly, especially when the patient is unable to maintain routine medical care or visits and medications. Without routine medical care and maintenance medications, patients like Mr. Davis tend to have more frequent emergency room visits and hospitalizations; increasing costs for state and local government as well as tax payers. Though Mr. Davis is able to receive care during an emergency room visit, the providers are not fully aware of his health history and are only able to provide a temporary fix of his symptoms and not address his health care needs.

As you learn about health care delivery in the United States, it is important to understand the various models of health insurance to develop a working knowledge as you progress through the course. The following matrix is designed to help you develop that knowledge and assist you in understanding how health care is financed and how health insurance influences patients and providers as important foundational information for your role as a future health care worker. Fill in the following matrix. Each box must contain responses between 50 and 100 words using complete sentences.

Unfair competition and socialism amongst physicians and medical students emerged as medicine advanced and health departments were formed. “Nurses in schools were resisted by physicians who would lose some patients if they were cared for at school--city (New York City Health Department) pointed out that they would gain more patients by referral--physicians prevented them from doing any significant medical care.” (Starr.) The demand for care increased as the use of checkups and health exams--insurance, job, school became more commonly used in day-to-day practice. Chapter 5 also introduced a new idea of germ theory, “in the first half of the nineteenth century, some authorities attributed epidemics to cotagonian and recommended quarantines-an ecomonically damaging measure.”

There are many components to a hospital or medical facility. All of them are necessary to have a properly functioning environment. The emergency department of a hospital is a fast paced world. You have to be constantly on your toes and prepared for whatever may come through the doors. There are many people that work in an emergency room to make it run smoothly. Techs, nurses, CNA’s, LVN’s, and doctors all work side by side to help those who are critically injured. Without all these people it would be complete chaos.

The hospital had two options for treating patients who could not pay. At first, the hospital

In chapter one titled 'A Crisis of Access' in Beatrix Hoffman's Health Care For Some, discusses the struggles that individuals have faced over the years within the health care system, especially in the times of the Great Depression. Many families have faced finical issues in resulting from loss of jobs or other circumstances that causes them not to be able to afford reliable health care. For example, Hoffman mentions Vera Lahr who was a ten year old girl in 1936 that began to have awful abdominal pains. As a result of her father loosing his job, the family was not able to seek proper medical care right away which resulted in Vera dying from a bursting appendix (Hoffman, 2013: 3).

Ehrenreich, disoriented and maddened by her rash, turned to her healthcare provider from her original life, managing to obtain medications that relieved her condition. If she did not have that back up resource to tap into, she would be probably be in much more discomfort. Despite how proud most Americans are of the Declaration of Independence and its well-known “unalienable rights” of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”, the United States is one of the only major countries that does not guarantee healthcare to the people as a right of citizenship. Americans pay more than enough taxes for universal single-payer healthcare, but we are far from enjoying reliable coverage (Woolhandler 2002). The healthcare system in the United States is complex and fundamentally broken. But various groups of politicians, industries, parties, and people are distracted with pointing to specific targets: the federal government, state governments, public and private hospitals, insurance providers, pharmaceutical and medical equipment providers, doctors and nurses, and the legal system. All these agents have a role in causing this healthcare beast we have now, and it is unlikely that they can ever work together to solve the issues. For the poor, it means that they cannot afford much healthcare. Injuries have to be “walked off” and an emergency room visit is an impossible expense. Although Medicare has reduced the burden somewhat, the poor still receive sub-par healthcare compared to the rest of society. Chronic pain has to be “managed by Excedrin and Advil, compensated for with cigarettes and, in one or two cases and then only on weekends, with booze” (Ehrenreich 82). The poor is often criticized for substance abuse, be it drugs, alcohol, or more nefarious stimulants. However, Ehrenreich makes it clear that these are necessary to dull the pain acquired from their work. For many of these low-wage

What aspects and characteristics of American health care of the 18th and 19th centuries have had a major impact on shaping today’s U.S. health care system?”

Healthcare industry in United States has been an important industry for a long time. It is one such industry that has representation from both public sector and private sector. The current health care system is segregated and fragmented in America. Some states have very effective and efficient healthcare system while some states lack the desired infrastructure. The evolution of healthcare system in USA can be traced back to 1750. The period from 1750 to 1849 is termed as preindustrial period where the care of sick people was primarily handled by families (Brian, 2010). The period of 1850 to 1969 is termed as postindustrial period which reflects the growth of organized medicine and systematic healthcare delivery.