Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues

Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues

Competing needs influence many issues. The high cost of healthcare is not excluded. Following this, the needs of the workforce, resources, and patients affect policymaking. When the policies are being made, an appropriate level of compensation and support for the workforce is considered. However, adequate and quality resources and affordable care for the patient should still be provided. The needs of the workforce include issues like fair allocation of resources, manageable workloads, and professional development opportunities (Cometto et al., 2022). These issues represent the core of maintaining a motivated workforce to do their job. Resource needs include items like equipment, medications, and technologies. Hospital administrators ought to purchase and maintain these to give patients quality care. Sadly, these two factors compel organizations to raise their operational costs. Consequently, the cost of healthcare treatments is increased for the patients. The high cost of healthcare treatments may lead to delays in the needed care treatment process. The patients may also neglect to undertake necessary procedures or surgeries altogether. Thus, any policy to cope with the high cost of healthcare must balance and prioritize these needs. There is a need for equal resource distribution and support for the workforce against strategies to manage operational costs. The policies ought to provide accessible and affordable healthcare for all patients. It will be difficult to set up an efficient and ethical healthcare system that attends to the needs of all parties without this balance.

Specific competing needs that influence the rising cost of healthcare are the demand for advanced medical technology versus the need to provide affordable healthcare. Advanced medical technology improves the treatment process and outcomes for patients. However, it is expensive to acquire and maintain (Haleem et al., 2021). This puts a strain on the budgets of healthcare-providing organizations and forces them to increase the price of services provided. Additionally, chronic illnesses require continuous monitoring and regular intervention. This is usually costly and ultimately forces healthcare providers to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of long-term care against the financial burden. Furthermore, there is a need to maintain an adequate and highly motivated staff. Investing in staff training, fair pay, and a work environment that promotes growth is important for quality (Nguyen, 2020). However, it puts a strain on operational expenses. Another competing factor is the need to expand access to healthcare. The provision of healthcare to underserved populations needs significant funding for various infrastructure and resources. All this is needed against a backdrop of limited financial resources. Policymakers have to consider all these factors when creating policies. They should come up with solutions that maintain good quality and accessibility of care while effectively managing costs.

The impacts of the competing needs are profound. They affect sustainability, access, and quality of healthcare services. High costs can prevent patients from seeking healthcare services. Quality may be substandard due to staff shortages or outdated equipment. Policies can address these challenges by promoting value-based care models that focus on outcomes rather than volume. For example, the implementation of Accountable Care Organizations motivates healthcare providers to deliver efficient, high-quality care (Bao & Bardhan, 2022). This potentially reduces costs through coordinated care and prevention of chronic diseases. Investment in telehealth also reduces costs by reducing in-person visits. Targeted subsidies or sliding-scale payment systems can be introduced. This will make treatment affordable for patients without compromising the budget of the care provider. Finally, initiatives like Loan Repayment Programs can attract and retain healthcare professionals (Last et al., 2024). These programs can offer loan repayment assistance for those working in underserved areas. All in all, these strategies aim to balance the competing needs within the healthcare system. They aim to ensure affordability, accessibility, and quality care.

References

Bao, C., & Bardhan, I. R. (2022). Performance of accountable care organizations: Health information technology and quality–efficiency trade-offs. Information Systems Research, 33(2), 697–717. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2021.1080

Cometto, G., Assegid, S., Abiyu, G., Kifle, M., Tunçalp, Ö., Syed, S., … & Ajuebor, O. K. (2022). Health workforce governance for compassionate and respectful care: a framework for research, policy and practice. BMJ Global Health, 7(3), e008007. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021-008007

Haleem, A., Javaid, M., Singh, R. P., & Suman, R. (2021). Telemedicine for healthcare: Capabilities, features, barriers, and applications. Sensors International, 2, 100117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sintl.2021.100117

Last, B. S., Crable, E. L., Khazanov, G. K., Scheinfeld, L. P., McGinty, E. E., & Purtle, J. (2024). Impact of US Federal Loan Repayment Programs on the Behavioral Health Workforce: Scoping Review. Psychiatric Services, appi-ps. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20230258

Nguyen, C. (2020). The impact of training and development, job satisfaction and job performance on young employee retention. Job Satisfaction and Job Performance on Young Employee Retention (May 1, 2020). https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3930645

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Quite often, nurse leaders are faced with ethical dilemmas, such as those associated with choices between competing needs and limited resources. Resources are finite, and competition for those resources occurs daily in all organizations.

Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues

For example, the use of 12-hour shifts has been a strategy to retain nurses. However, evidence suggests that as nurses work more hours in a shift, they commit more errors. How do effective leaders find a balance between the needs of the organization and the needs of ensuring quality, effective, and safe patient care?

In this Discussion, you will reflect on a national healthcare issue and examine how competing needs may impact the development of policies to address that issue.

To Prepare:

• Review the Resources and think about the national healthcare issue/stressor you previously selected for study in Module 1.
• Reflect on the competing needs in healthcare delivery as they pertain to the national healthcare issue/stressor you previously examined.
• Post an explanation of how competing needs, such as the needs of the workforce, resources, and patients, may impact the development of policy. Then, describe any specific competing needs that may impact the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected. What are the impacts, and how might policy address these competing needs? Be specific and provide examples.