Philadelphia Healthcare System - Assignment Example

 Philadelphia Philadelphia is one of the towns that are covered within the Dartmouth Atlas. The Atlas provides detailed information regarding the statistics and the characteristics of the healthcare system in this region. From the information provided by this map, a number of key learning can be identified about the Philadelphia healthcare system. The Philadelphia health system is well established with a high capacity to provide health services in this region. In addition it has enough facilities to provide effective services to the members of this town. Regardless of the extensive health needs of this society, the Philadelphia health system is capable of taking care of both their chronic and acute needs. This indicates that this is a modest health system that has the capacity to serve the community. The Philadelphia healthcare system can be termed as one the most developed health care system. The hospitals in this area are equipped with more than 300 beds which gives them a capacity of over 300 inpatients. The large number of bed in hospitals indicates that the hospitals in these regions are well equipped with facilities to take good care of inpatients. The capacity of a health care system is a critical factor in any region in a country. A large capacity allows the hospitals to respond to emergency matters and guarantee the patients of quality health in time of need. The availability of these facilities ensures better health care, lower mortality rate and a healthier public in the country. The high capacity of the medical hospitals in Philadelphia indicates that the hospital has the capacity to take care of the health needs of the society. Also, the availability of this capacity indicates that the health system has enough medical personnel to take care of the health needs of the society. Judging from this capacity, it is possible to regard Philadelphia as one of the best medical health systems in the United States. The hospital care intensity index is one the ratios that are used to measure the quality of healthcare within a health system. This figure provides the ratio between the number of days that a patient stayed in hospital and the number of times that they received attention from the medical staff within the hospital. In essence, this ratio is a representation of the availability of medical staff which in turn indicates the degree to which a healthcare system is equipped with medical personnel. In Philadelphia healthcare system, a health care index of 1.45, 0.92 and 0.62 in the 90th, 50th and 10th percentiles in the year 2010. This HCI index in this healthcare environment can be termed as a portrayal of adequate health personnel in the hospitals. It points out that the patients in this health system receive adequate care with at least a visit each day from medical staff. With such a healthcare intensity index, it is possible to regard Philadelphia as one of the towns with a good healthcare system. The Philadelphia health system registered a high number of ICU patients in the year 2010. In this year, the number of patients who attended the high intensity and intermediate intensity intensive care unit was quite high. The same high number of patients of patients who visited the medical and surgical unit was recorded in this year. This kind of statistics could have a number of implications. First, these high figures indicate that the hospital provides a capacity to handle many patients and cater for their various health needs. On the other hand, it is possible to regard this as an indicator of poor health conditions within this region. Although the hospital has adequate medical facilities, the increase in the number of patients increases the healthcare spending in this region. The rise in the number of patients may indicate that the Philadelphia community is experience dynamic changes in the health needs. The population of this city may be increasing and hence their health demand is growing at higher rate than the growth of the health system. Notably, Philadelphia is a town whose medical needs are increasing and there is need for increase in the number of healthcare facilities. Statistics indicate that the Philadelphia healthcare system is fairly efficient in the treatment of acute healthcare issues. In 2010, the percentage of the total number of medical of discharges who are readmitted after 30 days of their discharge was 15.9%. In comparison with the other regions, this rate is quite low and indicates efficient in treatment of acute medical cases in this health system. On the other hand, only 12.4% of the surgical discharges were readmitted for further treatment. This clearly shows that Philadelphia is one of the most efficient healthcare units that take care of the surgical cases in the most efficient manner. The above figures indicate that the hospital has the right equipment and personnel to handle the acute health problems in a very efficient manner. This is an important aspect of any health care system. The ability of a health system to adequately take care of the health needs of its patients is directly related to its efficiency. This point out that Philadelphia health system is one of the best medical units within the US. In conclusion, Philadelphia health system is one of the best healthcare environments in the US. This is a region that is characterized by a community that has many health needs and high populations. To cater for the demands of this society, the Philadelphia health system provides the people with adequate medical facilities to cater for these needs. The hospitals are equipped with over 300 beds allowing a high intake of inpatient cases. As the Health care intensity index indicates, the hospital has enough medical personnel sufficient to take care of the patients each day. The availability of medical experts in this hospital is the major reason why there is a low readmission rate for acute health problems. Consequently, the communities in Philadelphia have better medical experience and the mortality rate is significantly reduced. Read More