Factors Affecting Healthcare Policy - Essay Example

"Factors Affecting Healthcare Policy" is an outstanding example of a paper on the health system.
Healthcare organizations are institutions that are normally funded by the regional health authority with the mission of facilitating health services to citizens. In most cases, they occur as non-profits and profit organizations, but they are projected towards a basic role, which is to provide health services.  The provision of health services by health organizations should comply with some policies as well as other legislation requirements (Abood, 2007). The organizations are run by the boards, which are usually accountable to the owners of the facilities and the Ministry of health in any community.  

Again, a strong link and accountability are vital, more so towards the regional health authority in which they operate. However, in the daily management of these health organizations, some factors greatly impact the policies applied in the daily operations. Among the factors include political, legislative, and economic factors (Hall & Moss, 2000). In this essay, a brief description of these factors shall be conducted.

Effect of political factors on healthcare policy in healthcare organizations

Politics greatly influence the policymaking process in several ways. To begin with, most of the decision-makers in health organizations depend on the political channels during the policymaking process (Hall & Moss, 2000). The political channels include the elected officials, political organizations as well as other special interest groups. In most cases, the channels do not agree, leading to delay or poor creation of policies that are fitting the interests of the society (Carey, 2006). The reliance on political channels brings about the authoritative aspect in the health sector, thereby delaying the enactment and evaluations of several policies in various health organizations (Longest, 2006). At the end of it all, the proposal and the making of changes in various policies, the cost projections as well as other controversies will consume more time with limited chances of achieving them. This becomes quite disadvantageous to the involved health organizations as well as the society that benefits from them (Abood, 2007).

Effect of legislative factors on healthcare policy in healthcare organizations

The legislature is among the organs that possess power and command in the health organization when it comes to the policymaking process (Hall & Moss, 2000). The legislators use their legislative powers to figure out some vital strategies which are timely and most effective during the policy-making and implementation. For instance, some major strategies are applied by the legislation during the policy change (Abood, 2007). However, the competitiveness aspect in the legislative arena leads to minimal success in most of the policy proposals. In most cases, most of the decision-makers strive to maintain their status quo, rather than emphasizing sound conclusions that will yield positive results in the specific organizations. Again in this situation, most of the facts and agendas that appear genuine are mostly challenged (Hall & Moss, 2000).

Effect of economic factors on healthcare policy in healthcare organizations

The economic cycle prevailing in a specific community or nation can greatly impact the policymaking in the health organizations (Longest, 2006). The policy reforms including the layoffs, the increase in health insurance premiums, which are mandatory, require economic stability for them to be achieved (Abood, 2007). For instance, when a country experiences an economic recession, many people get poorly covered when it comes to health matters. This is due to a lack of funds that will ensure the implementation of clear policies that will cover the demands of the people in that particular society (Carey, 2006). The three factors discussed are indeed influential in the policy-making process in health organizations.