U.S. healthCare - Assignment Example

?Running Head: work US Healthcare of the of the of the Challenge facing the US Healthcare delivery system Ans 1. Amongst the four challenges in the US healthcare delivery system highlighted by the authors, the concern of quality arises from the fact that mammoth number of claims has to be paid on account of repetitive procedures, medical and surgical errors and incompatibility between the diagnosed state and the medical procedure performed. This resulted in frequent deaths, disabilities or prolonged stay at hospitals and clinics. In order to improve the quality of healthcare delivery, IT can be used strategically in order to address this issue. With the help of IT, greater information exchange can be simulated as to the effectiveness of medical procedures and deciding upon treatment choices based on diagnosed states. Till date, physicians in the US healthcare delivery system have been using medical procedures on the basis of their own experience and judgment or as suggested by local norms. This leads to ineffective medical treatment resulting in medical errors. The second major challenge is the incompetency of medical professionals which actually arises from the above mentioned shortcoming. Absence of any information regarding latest medical advancements, effective treatment procedures and performance incentives has made professionals unwilling to work at their best. With the use of IT, second benefit which can be achieved is raising the skill set and competency of professionals. Financial and non-financial incentives can be generated through the use of IT to encourage them to adopt better and effective medical treatment and practices. While non-financial incentives could include high ratings and promotional opportunities, financial could involve bonuses and rewards. Creating databases of professionals’ background, medical expertise and other details could help analyze the performance of individual physicians and better the quality of care by providing them extra and relevant skills. Ans 2. In the perspective of a community hospital, low rates of IT adoption emerge from the absence of a nation-wide health plan and policy which can deliver universal rules and bindings on all kinds of professionals and service providers operating within the US healthcare system. In case of small physician practice, the reasons behind low rates of adoption emerge from the scarcity of registered nurses and professionally incompetent physicians. They provide medical treatment based on local norms and their own judgment. Lack of any incentives also restricts them from going a step ahead and better the healthcare delivery system which finally results in low rates of IT adoption. Ans 3. Labor shortage at Page 5 (Bohmer & Knoop 2007) discusses an interesting characteristic of US healthcare system whereby the biggest economy in the world is facing shortage of healthcare professionals and registered nurses. The idea even speaks about overseas recruitment of nurses from India and other developing nations which actually show how incapable and inadequate the healthcare delivery system at US is. Another stark feature is the replacement of nurses by low-wage technicians by provider organizations in order to cut costs. This adds to the woes of US healthcare system where they are already facing shortage of nurses and this practice adds on pressure and compensation demand from the side of nurses. ‘What other countries have done’ on page 12 (Bohmer & Knoop 2007) further highlights the laggardness of US in adopting information systems for aligning its healthcare entities and making it more robust and advanced. Countries like Japan and Singapore which are so small in terms of size, GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and access to high end technology as compared to US are leapfrogging while US is still in its nascent stages of implementing a nation-wide health coverage. This demonstrates the handicap of US in managing its internal affairs and looking for competent professionals outside which ultimately raises the cost of every service. Ans 4. a.) The current Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is Kathleen Sibelius (US Department of Health and Human Services n.d). The prime role of this Secretary is to provide leadership to the departmental staff divisions and coordinating their activities. Other tasks include involvement in the research and development work, preparation of budgets and assuring safety and hygiene to the people (White House n.d). b.) Donald Mark Berwick is the re-appointed head of CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) within HHS. Earlier he had also served as the President and the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) (Health Leaders Media 2010). c.) With regards to the implementation of HITECH Act, CMS not only provides technical assistance and guidance on matters pertaining to securing health information, it also manages the Medicare and Medicaid payment enhancements. It will provide other states with the necessary costs to manage their information systems and payments to providers (National Governors Association 2009). d.) In a recent initiative named the Keystone Project, AHRQ has concentrated on decreasing the number of deaths occurring because of Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) (AHRQ 2011). The study involved use of safety principles and evidence based quality programs to ensure proper care and treatment. e.) According to a statistics figure from the NCHS website, “Among preschool children aged 2-5, obesity increased from 5.0% to 10.4% between 1976-1980 and 2007-2008 and from 6.5% to 19.6% among those aged 6-11. Among adolescents aged 12-19, obesity increased from 5.0% to 18.1% during the same period” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2010). This highlights the seriousness of sedentary habits prevailing and urgent need of introducing healthy diet and food menu for preschool children and adolescents. It is giving clarion calls of increased rate in blood pressures and heart diseases. f.) Dr. David Blumenthal has been holding the post of Coordinator since the HITECH Act was passed. Earlier, Dr. Blumenthal had served as the Director of Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital and Partners Health System and was also senior advisor in Obama’s health campaign (National Journal n.d). The Healing of America From the readings of Bohmer & Knoop and Reid T.R, it is pretty much obvious that the role of government in any nation is dicey in ensuring healthcare insurance for its citizens. Actually the role of the government is dependent upon several factors namely infrastructure, professionals, per capita income, et cetera. Countries which are poor like Africa and India tend to have strong government intervention in the national healthcare delivery because governmental policies ensure nation wide coverage with some sort of obligation and binding on the professionals. Also, governmental rules enable rationing of healthcare costs which is set equal for both rich and poor. Thus, through public entities in picture, healthcare can be accessed at low rates by all the citizens of a poor nation. Even if there is lesser choice provided to the citizens in terms of doctors, hospitals and advanced treatment, at least basic healthcare is ensured by government which accounts for wider coverage of insurance plans. On the contrary, the role of government changes face when taken in the perspective of rich nations because here people demand quality service and freedom to choose between providers and treatments. High end demands of care require specialized professionals and huge investments which can be supplied by private entities and thus, government fails to address the healthcare insurance coverage and quality in such regions and nations. References AHRQ. (2011). Landmark initiative to reduce Healthcare-associated infections cuts deaths among Medicare patients in Michigan Intensive care units. Retrieved 5 January, 2011 from http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2011/haimiicupr.htm Bohmer, R & Knoop, C.I. (2007). The challenge facing the US healthcare delivery system. Harvard Business School Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Publications and Information Products. Retrieved 5 January, 2011 from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity_child_07_08/obesity_child_07_08.htm Health Leaders Media. (2010). Reactions to Berwick’s CMS appointment. Retrieved 5 January, 2011 from http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/LED-253513/Reactions-to-Berwicks-CMS-Appointment National Governors Association. (2009). Preparing to implement HITECH. Retrieved 5 January, 2011 from http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0908ehealthhitech.pdf National Journal. (n.d). Blumenthal. Retrieved 5 January, 2011 from http://healthcare.nationaljournal.com/contributors/Blumenthal.php US Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d). HHS Secretary. Retrieved 5 January, 2011 from http://www.hhs.gov/secretary/ White House. (n.d). The Executive Branch. Retrieved 5 January, 2011 from http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government/executive-branch Read More