Improving Healthcare Conditions : Legal And Ethical Perspective

One area where access to care is a problem is in the rural communities. Healthcare professionals including physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses all affect the quality and cost of care (Derksen, & Whelan, 2009). Going forward importance needs to be placed on using recourses more efficiently and effectively; these resources include but are not limited to tests, prescriptions,

Transportation is one of the largest barriers to health care access in rural communities. Fortunately, many interventions

‘Some counties don't have certain types of doctors” (Leonard 2). If an individual only has one insurer that supports that area, that insurer may not cover that doctor or hospital in that area, which can result to that individual driving far out of their area, just so they can see a doctor or get their medical treatment for a reasonable price. Individuals are also being limited with options because their insurers may see them as costly, and they could force the individual to go to under resourced hospitals (Goodnough 3). This shows that even if an individual does not live in a rural area and has plenty of options to choose from, they can still be limited in location because their medical treatment can be seen as too expensive, and the insurance company has to figure out a way to save money.

Healthcare access and delivery in rural area has been challenging not only within the U.S., but also in many developed countries. Many issues seem to be common to this maldistribution of physicians and other HCPs. According to Weinhold and Gurtner1, ” [c]ommunities have become progressively disempowered by the continuous centralization of services and the dismantling of infrastructure.” Rural populations tend to be at

Americans living in rural areas have found out that getting access to quality health care is not only hard to obtain but very expensive. People who live in rural areas have the highest rates diseases that are chronic, poverty is higher, an having no insurance, and there are limitations to having access to primary care physicians to millions of rural Americans. Since the economy is going through a downturn, this has the potential to cause a rise in a number of access and health issues that are already causing problems in communities in rural areas.(HealthReform.Gov., 2012). This is where the new health care tax or the Patient Protection and Affordable Act of 2010 will play one of its greatest roles which is its main goal which is to allow coverage to all residents of the United States and thereby improving the delivery of needed health care to rural parts of America. (Becker & Dunn, 2012).

To respond to these legislative changes, there must be an increase in the professional workforce of rural health. The existing workforce will need extensive training to deal with the new aspects of the Affordable Care Act, and new professionals need to be encouraged to practice in rural areas. The following are potential methods for increasing the health care workforce of rural and frontier America:

Another threat is the current state of rural hospitals nationwide. According to the case study, about 25% of Americans live in rural areas and only about 10% of physicians actually practice in rural areas. There is a 15% gap in the ratio of rural citizens to available practicing physicians. This is a threat to ELH’s need to attract and hire more physicians. In relation to rural hospitals, citizens have longer drive times to their medical facilities. This causes them to delay routine visits which subsequently exacerbates

Significant health disparities between rural and urban populations have been a major concern in the United States. One prominent factor contributing to the disparities is lack of access to quality care in rural areas which is closely associated with challenges faced by rural health care providers (National Rural Health Association, 2007). Rural hospitals are the key health care provider in rural areas, offering essential health care services to nearly 54 million people (American Hospital Association, 2006). They face a series of challenges such as workforce shortages, rise in health care costs, difficulty in finding access to capital, difficulty in

The morbidity and mortality rates are higher in the rural areas than in the urban areas partly due to the high rates of chronic illness and poor health behaviors. The health care disparities of the rural population have led to negative bias. The bias within the health care field have affected clinical judgment and decision making (Blair, Steiner, & Havranek, 2011). Bias further lead and exponentiate health disparities, continuing the trends and challenges among the rural population. Economic status is another negative impact of health care disparities among the rural population. Their low economic status continues to effect the availability of resources to improve the health care infrastructure and specialization. Health reform is needed to improve the effects of the health care disparities and their negative impacts on the rural

Rural Americans face an exclusive combination of issues that create disparities in health care that are not found in urban areas. Many complications met by healthcare providers and patients in rural arears are massively different than those located in urban areas. Financial factors, cultural and social variances, educational deficiencies, lack of acknowledgement by delegates and the absolute isolation of living in remote rural areas all combined to hinder rural Americans in their struggle to lead a normal, healthy life. Rural hospitals located in rural areas faces many disadvantages, such as; minimum resources, shortcoming or unprepared professionals, and financial disparities. Although many of these challenges could be solved

There are two principal conditions leading to physician shortages in rural communities according to Wright and colleagues. They are “demand-deficient”, meaning they have insufficient populations and resources to support a physician practice, they are “ambiance-challenged,” meaning they are isolated, lack quality services and amenities, and/or are in geographically unattractive settings, or a combination of the two sets of conditions. Inner-city physician shortages are a more recently recognized issue. They are affected by the same conditions, though the specifics are different (Wright, Andrilla, and Hart 2001).

Geographic maldistribution has creates barriers of care to people living in rural areas. Although there is an oversupply of physician specialists in many of the urban healthcare areas around the world, while the inner cities and rural community are struggling to attract healthcare physician professional to provide high quality care to the local population. “The supply of specialties has increased more than 100% over the last 20 years, while supply of generalists has increased only 18%” (Niles,2014). Any shortage of health workers can prevent good access to health services and is a barrier to universal coverage. The issue of the matter is that maldistribution of health workers between urban and rural is consider to be virtual concern around

It is important that we act in a way that is ethical, legal, and commendable. Medical professionals struggle with healthcare dilemmas that are not experienced by the general public. Medical-ethical decisions have become increasingly complicated with the advancement of medical science and technology. (Fremgen) Just like the government has laws for citizens, not having laws in healthcare would allow people to do anything they want. It is important that we study the ethics and laws of healthcare, because if we were put in a situation it is essential that we know the difference between right and wrong. In the article I found, it talks about a nurse who refuses to give CPR to an older woman who collapsed in a senior residence where she works. This article has many more ethical issues than legal issues.

A challenge that many rural communities are dealing with is the lack of primary care physicians, specialist, understaffed hospitals, and transportation. “Only about ten percent of physicians practice in rural America despite the fact that nearly one-fourth of the population lives in these areas” (National Rural Health Association [NHRA], n.d., para. 2). Although, there are programs designed to improve patients access to hospitals and physicians in rural areas, provider access for these patients remains a barrier. Technology can bridge some of the gaps of care for these patients and it can be beneficial in many ways. With enhanced technology, primary care physicians and patients will be able to have support, access to quality care, improvement in self-management skills, which ultimately, will improve a patient’s health. To assist physicians with delivery of optimal care and for patients to be able to go to scheduled wellness visits with physicians, a new approach to solving rural health barriers are needed.

The health care industry continually deals with the lives of individuals and is bound by the ethical and legal aspects that influence decisions of health care professionals in their clinical practice. This essay aims to discuss the various issues and ethical dilemmas that arise with regards to the consent of consumers. In the attempt to explore these points, different literatures are used to shed light on this topic. This paper begins by defining what consent is and the role of nurses or the health care team in being an advocate of the patient when requiring consent. It moves on with the discussion of ethical frameworks, which are recognized nationally and internationally, as these carry significant influences in health care decision-making. The essay also brings out the essence of ethical theories and its relevance to consent giving. It then tackles the similarities and differences of the Code of Ethics and ethical guidelines relevant to both nursing and midwives as both professions work closely in the care of mothers, children and families. Issues and views from experienced professionals in these fields are presented and critically compared. It then considers both ethical and legal aspects, which seeks arguments and rational implications. The last topic points to the social and spiritual factors pertinent to consent that impact the society particularly on the care of patients and concludes by summarising discussed points and arguments about consent.