The American Health Care Policy Process - Research Paper Example

The Policy Process Policies are high level statements from top management of any organization that provide direction and guidelines on proper courses of action to meet organizational objectives thereto. With policies, members of the organization have clear insights on how to go about achieving assigned tasks with the view of efficiently and effectively implementing various plans and programs. The American health care system is no different from other organizations whereby various policies have been and are being implemented to ensure that the entity will be able to fulfill the mandate set therein. Like any other initiative though, policies are not static directives but are living documents that may undergo review, update, amendment or even termination depending on the changing needs and requirements not only of the organization but the times as well. However, there are also instances whereby new policies are created as a result the existence of a particular topic that is of great concern to society. In the milieu of the American health care system, some of these topics become major issues of concern affecting the general population or a specific demographics thereof. For instance, there has been of late the growing concern with regards the rise of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection and incident of cancer in women. Thus, the topic becomes a major issue in the American society and warrants the development of health care policies in order to thwart the increase incidence of these two medical conditions. In developing policies though, whether related to the above topics on hand (rise of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection and incident of cancer in women), or any other topic of concern, several stages and process are involved. Often, policy development takes months or even years before one is implemented. The reason being is due diligence need to be taken into consideration to ensure that the policy formulated best meets the needs of the topic the policy has or is being created for. In addition, there are three processes/stages that need to be followed thus serving as checks and balances to ensure the viability and effectiveness of developed policy. These three processes/stages are the formulation process, legislative process, and implementation stage. In relation to the development of policies regarding the curtailment of the rise of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection and incident of cancer in women, the same three processes/stages. Of primary importance though, it is first to understand the intricacies involved in the policy formulation processes/stages. In the initial stage of the policy development, the formulation process, the topic or "issue is framed; the purpose and desired outcomes are clearly identified; strategies most appropriate to the desired outcome are selected; and needed resources are identified and planned for (Abood, 2007)." In relation to the rise of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection and incident of cancer in women, the need may be brought about by alarming statistics of the spread of these two diseases or more particularly the pervasiveness thereof in specific population. Thus, the formulation process involved looking at various statistics, data, researches and studies. For instance, information input during the formulation process can be derived by looking at "the burden of cervical cancer caused by persistent infection with high-risk ‘oncogenic’ types of HPV in the United States and globally, [via various documents available]. Even more alarming are the proliferation of disparities among certain groups based on income, race/ethnicity, geography, and other factors (Walker, 2009); thus making for a viable source of information that will provide enough evidence during the formulation process thereby warranting continuation towards the legislative stage. During the legislative process, all evidences and information have been gathered, collated, and consolidated for the policy being formulated to undergo scrutiny, deliberation, argument and consideration by those entrusted to make laws. Depending upon which State or territory the policy is being developed, the legislative process may vary but the similarity lies in the formulation of policy or policies that will address the topic on hand. A summarize step in the legislative process of the policy development initiative is as follows (Abood, 2007): It is the process that enacts laws, creates and funds health programs, and balances health policy with other policy domains. Once an issue takes its place on the public agenda, a bill must be introduced, delegated to a committee, hearings held, and committee action taken on the bill before the legislation is taken to the floor for a final vote. In effect, the legislative process, if successful, not only formulates a policy but a law that has stringent provisions in the implementation thereof. Non-compliance to subject policy/law carries with it various penalties up to criminal liability. In the case of HPV and women's cancer, the law may come in the form of provision of vaccines to remediate the increase incidence of these two diseases. Providing vaccines as contained in the policy or law carries with it several caveats and considerations. Of particular is the acceptability of the vaccine to target population; thus, "improving acceptability and use of the HPV vaccine to reduce the burden of HPV related disease varies in terms of the degree of political feasibility, offers different degrees of health protection, and is associated with different types and amounts of economic costs (Walker, 2009)." Once a policy or law passed muster in the legislative process, the final stage involves implementation. The implementation phase involves disseminating information about the adopted policy and putting the policy into action. In this phase, the proposed policy is transformed into a plan of action (International Council of Nurses, 2005 qtd. in Abood, 2007). The difficulty during the implementation stage is the availability of resources (i.e. human, material, logistics, financial) to ensure success of the policy implementation. Provision of HPV vaccines to mitigate increase incidence of HPV and women's cancer may prove unsuccessful if social marketing endeavors to target population were not though out well or planned carefully thus minimizing the information dissemination initiative to those that would benefit from the vaccine as provided for in the policy. Indeed, "education and information about HPV and cervical cancer is necessary for making informed decisions; conveying information and communicating messages about HPV are critical to increasing acceptance and uptake of the vaccine. (Walker, 2009)" Aside from this, there are other initiatives that must be involved during the implementation stage and these initiatives must be aligned with one another to ensure successful execution of said policy or law. The policy process may seem to be a long drawn out endeavor often taking months or even years to bear fruition. There are three process/stages involved in the endeavor and these are the formulation process, legislative process, and implementation stage. The same three processes/stages are applied with regards to the issue of the rise of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection and incident of cancer in women. In the end when the policy process concludes and a policy or law has been enacted, the implementation will require various support and services to ensure successful implementation. Bibliography: Abood, S. (2007). Influencing health care in the legislative arena. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 12(1), Manuscript 2. doi: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol12No01Man02. Retrieved November 18, 2011 from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume122007/No1Jan07/tpc32_216091.html Walker, C.L. (2009). Attitudes, practices, and beliefs about Human Papillomavirus vaccine among young adult African-American women: Implications for effective implementation. Retrieved November 18, 2011 from http://www.sph.unc.edu/images/stories/academic_programs/hpaa/documents/walker.pdf Read More