Public Health Care: Policy and Budget - Assignment Example

Download file to see previous pages... More resources need to be allocated to the health sector in the annual budget allocation and a regular review done to accommodate changes.
Another driver of health workforce shortage is uncompetitive salaries and benefits. Given the amount of time invested in training medical personnel, their remuneration is a crucial factor to their retention in the field. If the compensation is not commensurate with the amount of training undergone, then the health system attracts fewer people thereby creating a shortage. The government and private stakeholders should review the salaries of medical personnel to ensure their satisfaction thereby attracting and retaining them. Finally, insufficient supply of trained workers remains a major setback in filling this void. People may be available but their qualification may not be updated. Lack of skilled laborers creates an artificial scarcity of personnel with the requisite capacity. The government should gear up its training efforts by way of increasing the number of training institutions and tutors to facilitate the transfer of knowledge. In this way, the skilled health workers will increase and improve service delivery
In a fee-for-service health care system, providers of health services tag cost to the services provided. That means that medical personnel and institutions charged set fees for the procedures undertaken. However, in a managed care system, a deliberate effort is made to hold down medical costs by shifting the focus from fee-for-service costing to a costing system of an agreed price. For example, the doctor can enter into an agreement to be paid a monthly flat rate for his services independent of the frequency with which the services are offered. Managed care is widely criticized because of the introduction of a profit motive to the healthcare sector. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More