Major Initiatives Associated with Health Care - Essay Example

Analysis and Evaluation of Major Initiatives Associated with Health Care Analysis and Evaluation of Major Initiatives Associated with Health Care Abstract Since the turn of the century, significant reforms have been implemented in the health sector. These reforms have been dictated by the ever-growing need to improve healthcare systems and the modern day factors such as globalization and technological advancements. This paper seeks to give a detailed evaluation of some of the necessary actions that have been undertaken in a bid to improve healthcare systems and outline the challenges experienced in these undertakings. Measures taken to counter these setbacks will be discussed and legislation surrounding the implementation of health information management systems will be reviewed. Finally, the paper will seek to predict the trends to be used in health information management systems over the next five years. Introduction The need for fundamental reforms in the world’s health care system is more vital now than the last century. The growing global population and the persistence of incurable diseases such as AIDS are some of the reasons behind the much needed reforms. The twenty-first century will challenge the ingenuity of the health care system throughout the industrialized world. There are many elements that can be pinpointed as the reason for this challenge, some of them being affordability, availability, quality and few others (Matcha, 2003) Measures Necessary to Reduce the Cost of Health Care Affordability of quality health care is one the major initiatives that Governments, Non-profit Organizations and the Medics are fighting to achieve. Health care expenditures have significantly increased over the past several decades. Factors driving health care cost are varied and complex, Affordable health care is made available in settings whereby sensibly priced treatment and check-ups services depend largely on an individual’s ability to pay. Ensuring affordable health care for all is a challenge that entails balancing the private and public health care providers. Private health care services tend to be exuberant as compared public health care, therefore, a balance should be established to balance the two health care (World health Organization, 2003). Initiatives Increasing the Availability of Health Care Approximately 1.3 billion people worldwide have no or limited access to adequate health care services. Increasing access to efficacious, safe and affordable treatment is necessary for improved access but this issue has more factors that make it significantly hard to achieve. Access refers to other elements besides the availability and affordability of healthcare. It is embedded in a broader context, expanding beyond the healthcare system. To improve access, healthcare systems and the services rendered need to conform to the needs and realities of the patients. Accessibility to health care in any society improves the overall status of a person in terms of the mental, social and physical wellbeing. In addition to this, it prevents diseases and accidents, improves the quality of life, increases life expectancy and avoids preventable deaths. Where there are challenges in accessing proper health care services, the lives of individuals and the society at large are affected. Limited access to health care hinders the ability of people to reach their full potential, and this negatively affects their quality of life (American Nurses Association, 2008). However, health care services are inaccessible to many due to shortage of physicians in the area, particularly specialists. The nature of rural settings appeals to some potential healthcare providers, but not others. There are varying notions of practice in a rural setting different from those in urban areas. Some urban health problems are balanced by the lack of access to appropriate teaching and research institutions. Misuse of the emergency department and delayed treatment are serious problems in third world countries health care system (National Policy Consensus Centre, 2004). Collaboration between Governments, Medics, nonprofit Organizations and other stakeholders in convening community dialogues and organizing consumer advocacy projects, may go a long way in improving accessibility. Creating awareness and providing mobile clinics. Improving infrastructures in rural areas are also vital in remedying this problem. Health workers should be encouraged, motivated and given incentives to work in areas with hardships. Availability of quality health care to everyone is a primary goal for all developed and evolving countries. Better Quality Health Care Initiatives Quality health care is simply defined by the extent to which health services provided to patients improves their overall conditions. Quality health care should be safe, effectual, patient-centered, efficient, timely and consistent. In most cases, failure to provide adequate services can lead to further complications, higher expenses and even premature deaths. On the other hand, overuse of services can also lead to complications that undermine the health of the patient. Misusing medical facilities result in errors, delayed diagnoses, high costs of treatments, and unnecessary injury and deaths (Tan & Payton, 2010). Identifying core sets of quality measures for standardized treatment across the board will increase the quality of health care. Ensuring that information on health care standards is logical, reliable, comprehensible, and accessible in the public domain is a necessary step towards bettering healthcare information (Tan & Payton, 2010). Initiatives to Make Health Care Services Acceptable Health care services should be appropriate, respectful and acceptable to the patients and their family. Patient’s decisions should be followed to the letter. It is also crucial that community leaders be part of the planning and execution of any health care service reforms, to meet local needs (American Nurses Association, 2008). There are also other components to acceptability, like whether the goals, processes and potential outcome of a program or service are both welcome and valued by the particular group. It is also imperative for the service providers to have the relevant skills and experience to allow them to communicate and connect with the patients or group. Initiatives to increase work force in the health care sector The quality and functionality of a health care delivery system depends on the availability of medical personnel and infrastructure to provide needed services. Rural communities generally have fewer physicians, nurses, specialists, and other health care workforce, and the small population size and scale makes the loss or shortage of a single health provider likely to have far-reaching impacts. Rural communities tend to be poorer than urban communities, and rural workers command lower wages and are more likely to be unemployed. Rural communities are often located in remote areas, have small and dispersed populations, and possess unstable economic infrastructures. In addition, rural communities tent to have a larger population compered to urban communities. These factors can make it difficult for rural communities to maintain local hospital facilities and attract and retain health personnel. Improved infrastructures and social amenities should improve the work force in rural areas. This would encourage investors to pump their money and therefor improving the economy of such areas. Incentives and a standard salary across the board, would also motivate health workers to work in rural areas. In regard to the above initiatives, the Chief Information officer (CIO) is directly affected. In a situation where a health care is available to everyone, it makes it easier for CIO’s to collecting important data and information on what treatment is mostly required in a particular region, and which disease are likely to be experienced in that region. This makes prevention of that specific disease in the area easier, and people visiting the area will be better advised on which specific preventive measures to take. In order for CIO’s to be able to disseminate medical care, they have to have enough health workers in the region. The Government must work hand in hand with CIO’s to make sure that there are enough health workers in the region to provide health services.Acceptability and cost of health services are factors that a CIO must consider before coming up with a health care system. Involving the local leaders helps to custom make the service to better attain set goals. Conclusion Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) has drastically improved the health care sector in this decade. HMIS has improved drastically the power of health care personnel to collect and process data collected. It has also help in processing medical information that can be disseminated to non-medics in way that they will understand.In the next five years, health care services will be more effective and efficient due to the help of HMIS. Developing countries are slowly adopting this health care system, and in five years, health care information and services will be available, affordable acceptable and better quality to everyone. References Matcha Duane A.(2003) Health Care System Of The Developed World, Praeger Publishers, Westport, USA, ISBN: 0-275-97992-X American Nurses Association (2008) Health System Reform Agenda, pp. 1-11 Retriever from http://www.nursingworld.org/content/healthcareandpolicyissues/agenda/anashealthsystemreformagenda.pdf Mainous AG 3rd, Baker R, Love MM, (2001). Continuity of care and trust in ones physician: Evidence from primary care in the United States and the United Kingdom. Fam Med. 2001 Jan;33(1):22-7 National Policy Consensus Centre (2004) Improving Health Care services, Finding Solutions in a Time of Crisis, Portland State University, Portland, OR. Pp.3-7 Tan, J., & Payton, F. C. (2010). Adaptive Health Management Information Systems (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett. ISBN: 9780763756918 World Health Organization (WHO) (2006) Quality of Care, WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data, ISBN: 978 92 4 156324 6 pp. 3-21 Read More