An Aspect of Safety and Quality Systems in Healthcare - Essay Example

INFORMED CONSENT Name: Institution: Informed consent is quite important when it comes to the provision of the health care in the society that values ethical, legal, and pragmatic dimensions. In moral communities, informed consents are basic as it encompasses the ethical rights of the people to autonomy over their health. In other perspectives, informed consent is vital in as it upholds how the rights of a particular individual to take and view treatment in the society. In a pragmatic way, informed consent makes it possible for the consumer to acquire information regarding how he best feels he should be handled by the health care provider. Some of the vital information that the health care provider is deemed to provide are how he feels he should treat the patient, the risks associated with the treatment, and the healthcare also has the responsibility to assist the patient in making the right and mindful decisions regarding their treatment and health. The principles of informed consent are framed in such a way that, the consent can only be valid if; it is given voluntarily, the person who gives it must have the capacity to give it, the consent is given by an individual who is well knowledgeable regarding the issue in question. Again, another principle is that the health care practitioners are having the duty of care to let the patient know the procedure followed (Moise, 2008). There should be confidentiality in administering the medication to the patients. Comparison of health care practices between Australia and The US Differences It is clear that both the American and the Australian health care systems are sophisticated in their way. With the advanced technology in the two countries, there are a variety model used in their health care. General practitioners are recognized as the managers of the overall healthcare of the patients in the Australia by the Australian health care system(Johnson, et al.2015). It is the responsibility of the health care practitioners to always give directions and sometimes refer the patients to the required and appropriate specialists in the organizations. However, this is not the same in The United St6ates of America. The patients in the United States of America have the right to self-refer to any specialist if they feel like. For that matter, therefore, the general managers of the US have not equivalent of what is happening in Australia (Willis, et al. 2009. The USA is endowed with very many specialists that give the primary health care to most of the populace that fall sick. The range of specialists is capable of offering a variety of services to the patients ranging from the mild illness to severe ones. Among the practices that these health care specialists can offer are pediatrics, obstetrics, and gynecologist alongside other areas of specialization. However, the case changes when it comes to the larger health care organizations. In such large organizations, there is coordination of activities that may seem like what happens in Australia. There are of coordination that occurs  in larger health care units. However, in the case of the US, very many doctors are in a position to assume the roles of a general health practitioner. The struggle for seperation of roles and duties of US hospitals and those doctors who give the primary care in outpatient setting has been long. However, in some cases, there is always referral of patients to a specialist just like it happens in Australia especially in the pediatric wards. These are always the inpatients. There is lots of efficacy in the health care sector that the demarcation resulted in. However, the difference comes in when we realize that the healthcare specialists in Australia always deal with both hospital and outpatient consulting. However, it is imperative to note that the Australian healthcare sector has also proposed the move and very soon they will delineation the sector and the roles (Dorman, 2009). It is worth to note that there is the difference in the form of arrangement of the healthcare offices between the two countries. The system of the US is somehow complex; almost each doctor has a consultation suit that has either three or four examining room. Each room is well organized and neat and meant for the specific roles(Gasrdner, et al. 2008). Physician assistants, clerical staff, besides nurse practitioners are always in suited in these rooms for them to assist the doctor. This system is quite complex but is effective as it creates room for a doctor to attend effectively to patients optimally. The clinic staff can thus accommodate more of the patients and thus, more lives are saved. Moreover, the structure tends to be more effective and appropriate for the students who are in ambulatory settings. However, the system in Australia is somehow less sophisticated. The doctor just has one room that he uses to attend to the patients. This would mean that only one patient can attend to at a go. The room is commonly known as an examination room. As a matter of fact, the Australian system seems to be very shallow and less appealing. The system makes it very difficult for multitasking. However, truth be told, the US system impacts positively on the students who would be willing to gain outpatient experiences. However, the medical students in the US underutilize the privilege (Freemantle, et al. 2007). Most of these students get only the inpatient experiences. As a result,, there are very few students that specialize in primary care. The Pediatricians in the United States assume the roles of the primary care carte physicians and are obliged to give the primary care to the patients. They are mandated to give their services, especially to the children. Unlike the Australian system, the system in the US seems to be more sophisticated and aim at giving more preventive consultation to children. However, the systems in the two countries seem to be more or less the same except for the approaches that the two countries take and follow. Moreover, there is also a difference in the education system of the two countries. The students must always pass the national exams in the United States for them to further their studies in the field. The national examinations are always conducted by other institutions that are not student’s institutions. However, the case in the Australian system is somehow different. The medical school of the institution has the mandate of giving the examination to the students, and they have to pass the examinations. Again, in Australia, the members of the staff of the medical school always have appointments with other outside hospitals to practice direct patient care. They do this on behalf of the school as an appointment and are paid for such services (Culyer, 2014. Australian universities do not operate any health care facility. However, the doctor’s in the schools have the right to operate outside the school. Unlike Australia, the health system in the United States is devolved, and there is a very wide range of health care system. The Systems of health care provision varies from state to state. However, the development of Medicare and the Medicaid is of greater significance to the nation. These were meant to give better medication to the aged members of the community of age 65 and above. This age bracket is very vulnerable to many diseases, and these schemes were formulated to better the handling of their complicated health conditions. However, in Australia, there are no such schemes except for the Medibank that is universal and aims at subsidizing the healthcare costs in the country. Other things that help in boosting the healthcare are the medical insurance. Similarities In both US and Australia, there is some division of labor and specialization. The specialization in The health sector is very imperative as it makes a person exploit his abilities and potential exhaustively. V Moreover, the specialization creates more nous of concern on the doctors and makes them feel impelled to give their best to their clients. The specialization is in the line of study. A pediatric is meant to operate in his are of study and perform his best just like any other specialist in the field. Moreover, there is much similarity in the way the US and the Australians health sector handle their emergency case. Emergencies are given priority and handled with lots of care. There are insurance covers that aid in the settlement of bills in both the US and Australia. The medical scheme in Australia helps in the settling of medical bills when is sick just like in America. Conclusion The comparison between the US and Australian safety and quality gives us the broad overview of what underlies below the sector of healthcare in the world. The comparison enables us to understand what the need to be corrected in either of the countries since none of them is perfect. Each country has its strengths just like its weaknesses. However, the comparison shows that the US has more advantages strengths than Australia. The system also portrays that Australia should adjust for her to better her healthcare sector. References Barraclough, S., & Gardner, H. (2008). Analysing health policy: A problem-oriented approach. Sydney: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. Collyer, F. (2012). Mapping the sociology of health and medicine: America, Britain and Australia compared. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Docteur, E., Paris, V., Moise, P., & Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2008). Pharmaceutical pricing policies in a global market. Paris: OECD. Dorman, P. (2009). Markets and mortality: Economics, dangerous work, and the value of human life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Freemantle, N., & Hill, S. (2007). Evaluating Pharmaceuticals for Health Policy and Reimbursement. Oxford: John Wiley & Sons. In Braithwaite, J., In Matsuyama, Y., In Mannion, R., & In Johnson, J. K. (2015). Healthcare reform, quality and safety: Perspectives, participants, partnerships, and prospects in 30 countries. In Culyer, A. J. (2014). Encyclopedia of health economics. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Pühse, U., & Gerber, M. (2005). International comparison of physical education: Concepts, problems, prospects. Aachen: Meyer & Meyer Sport. Willis, E., Reynolds, L. E., & Keleher, H. (2009). Understanding the Australian health care system. Chatswood, N.S.W: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. Read More