Introduction
In the United States the healthcare system is influenced by the cost and the quality of services delivered to its citizens. The cost in healthcare refers to the services rendered, production or actual money spent on services provided. Quality in healthcare is defined as measurable standard for services provided. In healthcare, both the cost and quality are dependent on each other and the initiatives can be regulated by a public or private agency.
Healthcare Agencies
The Department of Health and Human Services is a public agency. It has several operating divisions however, two divisions are mentioned the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services for its
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“The standards focus on important patient, individual, or resident care and organization functions that are essential to providing safe, high quality care” (Joint Commission,2017, Standars:para1). The Joint Commission focuses on quality and efficiency to provide safe patient care. Ideally, the quality measures are able to maintain the high standards without raising the costs of healthcare services.
Healthcare Initiatives
The Department of Health and Human Services has six quality strategy goals:
• “safer care by reducing harm caused in the delivery of care”
• “strengthening the person and family engagement as partners in their care”
• “promoting effective communication and coordination”
• “promoting effective treatment of chronic disease”
• “working with communities to promote best practices of living healthy living”
• “making health care affordable” (Department of Health and Human Services, 2016, Quality Card).
Through its Healthcare cost and utilization project the Department of Health and Human Services is able to manage costs while simultaneously providing quality care. The project is a “database and related software tools that enables research on o broad range of health care issues, including cost and quality of health services, medical practice patterns, access to healthcare programs and outcomes of treatments on a
In accordance with this the hospital makes sure we follow guidelines laid down by Joint commission Standards. The compliance includes four areas…Information management, Infection control, Communication and Medication Management. The Goal here is patient safety and providing patients with safe and effective care of the highest quality and value.
Over the course of our countries history, the delivery of our health care system has tried to meet the needs of our growing and changing population. However, we somehow seem to fall short in delivering our goals of providing quality, affordable and accessible healthcare to our citizens. The history of our delivery system will show we continuously changed the delivery of our system however never mange to control cost. If we can come up with efficient ways to cut cost, the delivery of quality care will follow.
The cost and quality of health care and access to it is one of the foremost aspirations in national health care. And the overall main aims of reforming the American health care system is to reduce costs, enhance the quality of and access to health care [1].
In healthcare system the highest quality medical care means” the greatest benefit to patients at the lowest possible cost” (Burke & Ryan, 2014, p. 3). “The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) defines quality health care as doing the right thing for the right patient, at the right time, in the right way to achieve the best possible results” (NCQA, p. 3) According to American college of physicians, the single most reason for the health care cost is higher healthcare spending. There are several factors involved in the high health care cost such as inappropriate use of technologies, lack of patient centered care, overuse of the reimbursement, excessive price for health care facilities, increased organizational cost, and health accountability are some of the reasons for increased health care cost. In order to decrease the cost, the available health resources be used judiciously and equitably. Understanding these factors and identifying the potential factors of health care costs assists in providing quality and effective services and thus improves the health outcomes (ACP, 2009).
The Joint Commision (a not-for-profit) is known as a symbol of quality for performance standard in hospitals and organization in the United States. Their purpose is to accredit and certify that nearly 21,000 health care organization are providing safe and effective care. If a hospital or organization chooses to maintain their accreditation they are provided with a manual which includes a list of chapters such as, the environment of care, leadership, provision of care, treatment and services, life safety, and information management. In each chapter, it describes specific standards/requirements that must be met to maintain compliance. The Joint Commission also addresses health record documentation standards and elements that include, legibility,
A challenge that the healthcare nation is facing is to provide the quality of care that is expected and obtain low healthcare cost. Working hand in hand with the private sector and government is in hopes of improving the quality of care that each patient deserves and maintaining the cost so that research can continue. The purpose of this paper is to look into relationships between healthcare cost and quality healthcare.
When looking at the role of the Joint Commission their mission comes to mind; they state that their mission is to constantly improve health care for the masses, while considering connections with stakeholders, by looking at the health care organizations and compelling them to strive to give safe and effective care of the greatest quality. Though this is their overall mission they update their standards every year (The Joint Commission, 2016). These updates may add a new safety feature or amend a current safety feature or staffing problem or even looking at the sound system in a hospital (The Joint Commission, 2016). The whole role of the commission in giving these accreditations out is to ensure that hospitals are providing the utmost care
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)serves as the nations principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans, and providing essential human services. HHS has enjoyed many highlights since becoming a separate agency, while its roots go back as far as the early days of our nation.
Healthcare is a complex industry that is consistently changing to meet the demand of improving quality patient care. As a member of the healthcare team, we are obligated to provide safe patient-centered care. However, patient care within the facility this nurse is employed is not as effective as it should be. The organization currently utilizes three different charting systems, two electronic health information systems and a paper chart. Each with its own purpose of use. To make matters worse, not all healthcare providers have access to both electronic health information system. Depending on the individuals professional role within the organization, access would be limited to one or the other. Nurses are the only one
The health care system is one of the largest industries in the nation. It employs nearly twelve and a half million people. Even though this many people are employed by health care systems, there is little to no competition between the many different systems. This results in the cost being whatever the system wants. People who are ill or
Regulators work from set regulation of standards. These regulations allow setting defined standards and setting parameters for organizations to maintain compliance (Dlugacz, 2006). The Joint Commission (TJC) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to continuously improve the safety and standards of care .TJC develops standards of care in collaboration with national experts to ensure quality standards of care are met , through data collection and
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the federal government’s primary organization that aimed at safeguarding the well being of all individuals living/working in the U.S. furthermore delivering necessary individual services, particularly to individuals who are least able to help themselves. The United States Department of Health and Human Services is accountable for approximately a fourth of all federal out lays and manages additional grant dollars than all other federal organizations combined. The operation of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is to improve the health and welfare of individuals by offering effective health and human services and by continuous improvement in the fundamental
In an ever increasingly competitive healthcare environment, there is a need to determine that 1) the desired outcome is produced, 2) quality care is provided and 3) the cost of care is the lowest possible. Yet the basis for the determination of such is having the right kind of measures available. Dr. Trudy Mallinson is one such specialist in the program who has the year of experience
Cost is a critical component of any health care system. Proper health care system ensures that a large part of the population can access good quality health care at low cost. If not well organized it might take a large part of national income and still not be able to serve a significant part of the population. The health care delivery system of United States is excellent compared to that of other countries; however, the health care alone takes 17% of gross domestic
Quality is one of the most essential elements of healthcare. As stated by the Agency of Health Research and Quality, “Everyday, millions of Americans receive high-quality health care that helps to maintain or restore their health and ability to function” (Agency of Health Research and Quality, 2014). Improvements have become vital to the success of health care organizations and in the Healthcare Quality Book, it is explained that quality in the U.S. healthcare system is not at the standard that it should be (Ransom, Joshi, Nash & Ransom, 2008). Although this has been a reoccurring issue, attempts to fix the insufficiency have been less successful than expected.