What Are The Potential To Improve Costs And Quality Of Health Care

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how technology has impacted the health care delivery system. Health care technology is advancing at an increasingly rapid rate in the United States, and globally. Patients and providers are witnessing these changes through the use of telehealth, and telemedicine applications. Telehealth, and telemedicine are often used interchangeably, however there is a difference between the two applications. Telehealth is the use of technology to deliver health care, health information, or health education at a distance (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.).

The medical home concept is not new, as it is built on health care practice innovations that have arisen over the past 40 years (Kilo & Wasson, 2010). From these principles, a multitude of medical home projects and demonstrations across the United States have grown (PCPCC, 2011). Given the unique characteristics of each of the numerous projects promoting the PCMH model, it is difficult to obtain generalizable evidence of the effectiveness of the model (van Hasselt, et. al., 2015). However, the most fundamental aspect of the medical home model—the primary care provider – can be the source of the effective functioning of the model, and its direct benefit to the Medicare-eligible population. The role of primary care within a health care system has been tied to health services’ costs, with some evidence supporting the idea that health care delivery systems that place an emphasis on primary care have lower overall health costs (Starfield & Shi, 2004). Although the medical home model is not just about primary care, it places a priority on this type of care as a critical aspect of patient care. As a result, evidence of the success of primary care can carry through to the PCMH model.

Telemedicine has provided better access to health care to many individuals that would otherwise not be able to get required health care services. Telehealth is a means to improve access to care, while reducing costs of transportation and increasing accessibility to patients in obtaining care. Telemedicine allows for healthcare information to be shared with treatment team members that are separated miles from each other with the ability to communicate in a timely manner. For information technology to impact care, one has to be knowledgeable about the use of technology

Telemedicine is a vast subject, but as yet there are limited data on the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of most telemedicine applications. As a result, objective information about the benefits and drawbacks of telemedicine is limited. This write up is therefore based mainly on my review opinion referencing the case: “a Telemedicine opportunity of distraction? “of Harvard business. Many potential opportunities of telemedicine including, but not limited to: improved access to information; provision of care not previously deliverable; improved access to services and increasing care delivery; improved professional education; quality control of screening programs; and reduced health-care costs. Although telemedicine clearly has a wide range of potential benefits, it also has some disadvantages. The main ones that can be envisaged are: a breakdown in the relationship between health professional and patient; a breakdown in the relationship between health professionals; issues concerning the quality of health information; and organizational and bureaucratic difficulties. On balance, the benefits of telemedicine are substantial, assuming that more research will reduce or

The solution to the problem of decreased health care access is to increase the usage of telehealth/telemedicine. The U.S. of Veterans Affairs (n.d.) defines telehealth/telemedicine as “the utilization of health informatics along with disease specific management via technologies to provide care, increase access, enhance case management, and improve continuity of care to better the overall health of the Veteran population”. In most instances telehealth/telemedicine provides an alternative location for delivery of healthcare services, thereby making it more convenient. Telehealth/telemedicine is a very robust service nationally within the Veterans Administration (VA) Healthcare

The framework for telehealth builds on the successful outcomes including patient satisfaction and reductions in hospital readmissions. Veterans Health Administration’s telehealth services reported patient satisfaction levels greater than 85%, and reductions in bed days of care exceeded 40% among patients receiving the care technology. The Framework provides a vision, direction, and systematic approach for utilizing telehealth both statewide and locally. The framework will also be a tool to educate decision-makers on the impact of chronic disease, the importance of prevention, and the potential economic return of investment in a proven, community-based

Telehealth service is becoming increasingly used especially in rural communities where it is difficult to get health care providers to go to such communities to provide health care services; often, in such communities, you have just one or two primary care providers for a large population of people. States are now more than ever recognizing the benefits of treating disease in a timely manner to prevent worsening and potential hospitalization which is hard to do in some rural Counties. According to The National conference of State legislatures, 43 states and the District of Columbia now provide some form of Medicaid reimbursement for telehealth services and 19 states and the District of Columbia now require private insurance plans in the state

There is a huge gap in health care for those who choose to live out their days at home. Many of these citizens only require help with simple things, like showering, cleaning house, or medication administration, while others need around-the-clock care. When it comes to the patients who need constant care, our community fails. Home health care generally falls short for these patients because it only

Better forecasting and use the individual properties to customize the prevention and treatment of disease, personal healthcare is a potential solution to our current health crisis. Improving the quality of personal care and treatment is to reduce the overall cost of health care. Despite its potential, the introduction of personalized healthcare is one of the relevant financial incentives towards a change has been slow for various reasons. Our aim perspective piece to improve a person's health is what they need to start to align the right incentives Affordable Care Act (ACA), through support for comparative effectiveness research and preventive care, towards risk prediction custom innovation around Description for community innovation (Teng,

Healthcare costs in the United States are on a continual rise with no relief on the horizon. As the population ages and lifestyles differ from one individual to the next, healthcare third party payers such as commercial insurance plans, employee health benefit plans, the Medicare program and state Medicaid programs are searching for strategies to lower the costs associated with providing healthcare benefits to their beneficiaries. Disease management programs are emerging as a way to help decrease the high cost of health care typically associated with chronic illness by coordinating care between the patient and their

Policymakers in the U.S. have always looked for ways to control health care costs and improve quality. Diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) are by far the most important cost-control and quality improvement tool that governments and private payers have implemented. Initially developed as a tool for hospital management, DRGs became the basis of the inpatient prospective payment system (PPS) that Medicare implemented in 1983. The strong incentives were revolutionary in their impact. Medicare spending growth slowed sharply, and, more remarkable, hospitals posted record profits. After the link between cost and payment was broken, hospitals moved quickly to cut costs. The DRG experience offers lessons about the effectiveness of financial incentives, the likelihood of adverse effects, the usefulness of case-mix measures, the risks of growing complexity, and the example that sensible policy need not be the domain of any one political party.

Often the biggest barriers to accessing healthcare are cost and location. Lower income individuals just do not have the resources to have optimal healthcare, or cannot take the time away from employment to deal with health issues. One potential solution to help with these problems could be “telehealth.” Telehealth allows a lower level healthcare practitioner to communicate with a physician or specialists when necessary. Remote rural areas use a Physician Assistant or a Nurse Practitioner on location in remote areas.

Healthcare costs have been on the rise for decades and have become unaffordable for many in today’s economy. There have been many suggestions that the best solution would be to provide a better way to pay these costs such as single payer health care, which is government provided, or to fix our current method involving private insurance and responsible for tens of thousands of jobs. This has become an extremely hot topic over the past eight years. As costs rise the cost to the government increases as often those who require lifesaving care are unable to repay the cost and it is left on the hospitals or the government to pick up the costs. If we continue with our current system it will raise the

There is an increasing need within the U.S. for quality health care to be provided to individuals who have limited access whether it is due to a rural environment, disabilities, or in the field of battle. Telemedicine is literally medicine provided at a distance. Telehealth is able to alleviate some of the effects of a growing shortage of professionals such as primary care physicians. In this type of health care delivery, the dynamics between the patient and the entire health care system changes. Telemedicine meets the increasing demands of patients to have greater access, or responsiveness, from a health care provider. It also meets the needs of the provider who is very interested in time-saving, safety-enhancing assistance in their daily practice. Employers and health plans are also very interested in telemedicine as a means of improving compliance with treatment plans and care management initiatives (Hodgkins, 2008). The use of email also allows the patient to have increased access to their health care providers. Instead of calling their health care provider’s office, patients are now able to email their non-emergent health care questions to their provider. Conversely, health care providers are able to email patients reminders for appointments or wellness tips.

There are several forms of technology that is used to monitor, assist patients with self-care management, assist physicians with delivering care to their patients, including consultation with specialist, and overcoming barriers with transportation. “60% of the healthcare executives, physicians, and nurses in this inaugural survey said that telemedicine was a high priority for 2015“ (Vockley, 2015, para. 7) Telemedicine