The Composite Health Care System

A national health care system in the United States has been a contentious topic of debate for over a century. Social reformists have been fighting for universal health care for all Americans, while the opposition claims that a “social” heath care system has no place in the ‘Land of the Free’.

The first characteristic of the US health care system is that there is no central governing agency which allows for little integration and coordination. While the government has a great influence on the health care system, the system is mostly controlled through private hands. The system is financed publically and privately creating a variety of payments and delivery unlike centrally controlled healthcare systems in other developed countries. The US system is more complex and less manageable than centrally controlled health care systems, which makes it more expensive. The second characteristic of the US health care system is that it is technology driven and focuses on acute care. With more usage of high technology,

Healthcare systems are highly complex, fragmented, and use multiple information technology systems and vendors who incorporate different standards resulting in inefficiency, waste, and medical errors (Healthinformatics, 2016). A patient 's medical information often gets trapped in silos, which prevents information from being shared with members of the healthcare community (Healthinformatics, 2016). With increasing healthcare costs, a system needed to be created that would lead to the development and nationwide implementation of an interoperable health information technology system to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare. Introducing the National Health Information Network (NHIN), this organization can be defined as a set of

The managed health care system is a complex process that must align financial incentives and goals. Therefore, managed care is thought of as a complex puzzle that once one piece is moved it will affect the outcomes of the rest of the system (Boyd & Finamn, 2010). As a result, it is essential that the managed care organization have the ability to align its financial incentives with the goals of all parties involved, such as the providers who deliver healthcare services and the health insurance plan with its benefits. The purpose of this paper is to assess the history of managed care.

One of the major problems nagging America is the need for a new health care system. The number of uninsured Americans needing medical treatment is rising. Medicare, a major part of the American health care system, is projected to go broke in 2019 according to USA Today 's article, "Congress refuses to swallow cures for ailing Medicare." I have seen this ruin people 's pursuit of happiness. I worked in a nursing home for the past five years. Many elderly patients run out of money to support themselves for their long term care. When they go on Medicare, only certain treatments and prescription drugs are available. This causes them to worsen in condition physically and mentally. I believe that with a

Today’s health care system is very different from how it used to be. There have been many changes that have taken place which represent the major shifts involved in moving from a plan which was based mainly on what the patient wanted, to a managed care system. The American health care system has evolved immensely over the past years and it continues to evolve to this day. As health care costs continue to rise, as treatments become even more costly, and as the population continues to age, it is essential to understand how health care is different from in the past and how changes in the future will impact families across the nation. By addressing past modifications, awareness is brought upon individuals and families regarding the progression of the current health care system.

The main reason institutions are switching to the new technology of exchanging health information is specifically to reduce costs and help improve health care quality. In this case study that is what San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center wanted exactly, to effortlessly exchange patient’s medical information. San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center which is a rural hospital in Alamosa Colorado is one of the many hospitals and providers that can benefit from this change. In 2004 AHRQ signed a contract to the University of Colorado Health and sciences Center, which later on developed a point-of-care inquiry system for four healthcare organizations in the Denver region. The system allowed emergency room clinicians within the four locations to exchange medical data. They were able to sufficiently and rapidly retrieve and send patient medical histories, x-rays, medication lists, and all problem lists. The AHRQ contract also help started the development of the

The health care system in the United States is one of the greatest concerns facing Americans today and is an issue both moral and economic in nature. Some think the system should stay, for all intents and purposes, the same. They believe that the right to healthcare is a stepping stone toward socialism, and that it is the responsibility of the individual to obtain health care. These are usually the more ideologically conservative citizens and politicians who believe that medicine should remain a free enterprise, not to be constrained by government interference. Then there are those who believe that healthcare is a right, and the federal government has a responsibility to make sure it is available to all citizens, not just those who can afford

It’s time that people know the truth about the American health care system and the harsh realities that come from associating with a free market health care system. We should also know about the different health care system offered in other industrialized countries. The Documentary “Sicko” shows us the lives of many people American and Non-American and their experiences with healthcare / health services ranging from U.S, Canada, France, England and Cuba. In all these countries, the only one that requires its citizens to pay for health care is the U.S. Health care in the U.S is dominated by the free market and private enterprise / HMO organizations and their thirst for profits, because of this I feel like health care should be owned by the

The United States health care system is the most expensive in the world. It spends

The United States health care system is problematic. On average the U.S. has 440,000 deaths a year from care in hospitals due to accidents and hospital acquired infections; harming patients and the pocket books of families and insurance companies with unnecessary cost and procedures (Allen). With the Affordable Care Act (ACA) the government is hoping to decrease these unnecessary cost; cutting down on medication administration, providing more preventive care, and merging many different healthcare members’ jobs into one position in order to cut cost on staff. There has been great strives with the new reform of health care, but there has also been downfalls and uncertainty. Preventive care has come to the forefront; this will help save patients and money for all those in the market for healthcare, so everyone. While preventive care is great, it is leaving many health care members are questioning what is next for them. The ACA is moving into the general public, but with immunizations already being taken over by drug stores, people are worried about the stability of job opportunities outside the hospital. As a nursing student myself I have concern of what the job market will be when I graduate; because when I started it was in high demand and now many student are struggling to find jobs. Therefore, I have concerns with the ACA and that some provisions will need to be reevaluated.

The United States health care system may be unique in being a true melting pot of cultures, ethnicities, and races. Health care and maintenance of one’s health is a necessity of life, regardless of ethnic, social, or cultural background. The cultural landscape of America is a constantly changing as evidenced by some projections stating by the year 2045 that non-Hispanic Caucasians will represent less than 50% of the U.S. population for the first time (Alba, 2015). However, this estimate may actually be inaccurate due to the numerous American families that already incorporate multiple racial, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. Nurse anesthetists that provide anesthesia for surgery are exposed to a myriad of cultures and all the differences that come with them. These many differences may affect how an anesthetist interacts with their patients, may cause a simple procedure to become a more challenging one, or it may also affect an anesthetist own beliefs and how that approach a case.

There are more than 43 million people right now in the U.S. that live below the poverty line (Poverty Talk, 2016). There are 43 million Americans who struggle to make ends meet, provide for their families, and receive adequate health care. Those under the poverty line have a difficult time maintaining specific needs; I am especially interested in the effect that socioeconomic status has on the health of an individual, particularly those in a lower socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic status focuses on either an individual or a group within a hierarchical social structure; it focuses on a combination of variables including occupation, education, income, wealth, and place of residence (Dictionary, 2005). The variables I will mainly be focusing on are income and wealth. While most working Americans have their healthcare paid for by employers, what about the 4.9% of unemployed Americans? The American health care system works on two different plans, Medicaid and Medicare, these plans were designed with the elderly, disabled, poor, and young in mind; I will be focusing specifically on factors of health for those with little to no income. Access to healthcare is another important factor that has a direct relationship to overall health of an individual. Research has shown that those with a lower socioeconomic status have a lower overall physical and mental health. The argument can be made that health is directly impacted by socioeconomic status with income being the biggest

As a country we are facing currently facing a problem based on health care. Every country has their own way of doing things, but which way makes the most sense? Statistics show that Canada’s health care system is working for them, but will it work for the United States? Ezekial J. Emanuel, Holly Dressel, and together, Karen Davis, Cathy Shoen, Katharine Shea, and Kristine Haran, all address possible solutions to this problem. While Emanuel feels that America’s system is sufficient, Dressel, Davis, Shoen, Shea, and Haran believe there are better options. These authors evaluate the different systems based on quality, cost, and accessibility.

The United Sates’ economy has endured several periods of collapse; but periods of regrowth and prosperity as well. However, the rise of income inequality over the past decade has become a major economic issue in America, affecting 99% of working citizens. With an increasing gap in income inequality between the top 1% and bottom 99% of citizens, negative repercussions Americas health care system are becoming more prominent. Income inequality has resulted in higher health insurance premiums (the most expensive of any developed country) and a lack in the quality of health care one receives. Rising health care costs, along with a poor quality of health care being provided for low-income families is resulting in a greater increase in the income