Course Reflection Wrap-Up-Factors Affecting Patient Access to Quality Healthcare

Course Reflection Wrap-Up-Factors Affecting Patient Access to Quality Healthcare

During the past few years, there has been a great deal of development in the healthcare sector. Leaders in business and politics have debated several topics affecting patient access, healthcare quality, and cost. As facilities struggled to handle the massive number of patients and health professionals fought to stop the transmission of the disease, the COVID-19 pandemic brought these issues to light (Armocida et al., 2020). Two current areas of concern are the high cost of healthcare and the increasing shortage of healthcare providers.

The high healthcare cost is arguably the most critical issue in healthcare today. According to research by Emanuel (2018), over 45% of U.S. adults consider affording medical care as challenging, and over 40% incur healthcare expenses. Due to the high cost of care, most people choose not to seek medical attention when ill or avoid visiting the physician for routine preventive healthcare. One-fourth of Americans struggle to pay for their prescriptions, causing them to miss a dosage or not take their medication as directed. Each of these actions has the potential to cause significant health problems and, hence, raise future medical expenses (Emanuel, 2018). The healthcare business, insurers, and federal and state government organizations all have a role to play in lowering the cost of healthcare. The focus of current activities should be a determination to lower insurance rates and implement extensive pricing caps for services.

Another major problem is the shortage of healthcare providers. This shortage results from factors such as the elderly requiring more medical attention, localized scarcity of physicians and nurses, and burnout, which happens when medical professionals are overworked and underappreciated or operate many shifts, prompting some to quit their jobs. This is dangerous as it endangers people’s health (Armocida et al., 2020). Nonetheless, providers are developing innovative strategies to combat scarcity, such as revising recruitment strategies and emphasizing long-term staffing needs. Health administrators may need to look at salaries, paid leave, and benefits to put together a competitive compensation plan. Also, ensuring departments have enough employees can help avoid overwork, healthcare mistakes, and fatigue. Finally, to boost employee happiness, other modifications can concentrate on providing possibilities for training and growth.

References

Armocida, B., Formenti, B., Palestra, F., Ussai, S., & Missoni, E. (2020). COVID-19: Universal health coverage now more than ever. Journal of global health, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.7189%2Fjogh.10.010350.

Emanuel, E. J. (2018). The real cost of thU.S.US health care system. Jama, 319(10), 983-985. 10.1001/jama.2018.1151.

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As we reflect on the past seven (7) weeks, we looked at several current issues in health within thU.S.S. At this time, think about some of the concepts we have covered:

Decision making
Determinants of health
Sources of information
Disease research
Impact of state or local government
Health insurance or Healthcare reform
Healthcare Rationing
Discuss two areas that are a current concern to you and the people around you. These areas should be health-related. Briefly include why you think these changes are needed and suggest some innovations to help.