U.S. Health Care System
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The American Health Care System
A key challenge facing the American healthcare structure relates to finance. More specifically, the high healthcare cost in America negatively impacts quality patient care and health outcomes. Crowley et al. (2020) note that America's current healthcare architecture is inefficient, inaccessible, unaffordable, and unsustainable for many citizens. A feasible healthcare improvement solution to enhance effectiveness in finance includes increasing the uptake of private medical insurance. Implementing this solution would ensure that hospitals receive payment faster and deliver health care services promptly. While healthcare reform is a protracted and meticulous process, it has far-reaching impacts on the American healthcare architecture and its relevant stakeholders.
Effectiveness of Finance on Health Outcomes and Excellent Patient Care
The cost of accessing health care is a crucial finance tenet that negatively affects quality patient care and health outcomes. According to Shrank et al. (2021), approximately 50% of adults in the United States have shunned or delayed medical care due to high costs. The high cost of health care presents a significant challenge to Americans in the face of growing financial insecurity and stagnant incomes. Low-income earners struggle to afford vital prescription medication and often skip doses. These behaviors may result in serious health problems and increase healthcare costs over time.
The significant cost of care in America is attributable to various factors. One such aspect includes a marked uptick in federal healthcare spending following the adoption of the ACA (Shrank et al., 2021). The ramifications of the accelerated spending trend include increased national debt, burgeoning financial insecurity among Americans, and strained local, federal, and state budgets. Additional causes of high healthcare costs include novel technologies and the need for physicians to perform multiple diagnostic tests. New technologies, including EHRs and EMRs, are expensive to acquire, maintain, and run and the costs are often passed down to patients. Physicians have a legal responsibility to give the correct diagnosis, resulting in more diagnostic tests per physician visit.
Potential Health Care Reform Solution and Its Expected Effect
Streamlining administrative activities in healthcare organizations is a potential healthcare reform solution. Organizations can minimize the significant amounts of money they expend on administrative activities like insurance filing, billing, and scheduling by automating critical tasks, executing industry-wide changes, and creating a payer-provider communication platform. A key industry-wide change would include enhancing Medicare quality-of-care reports. An expected effect of the health care reform solution consists of a lower cost of access to health care, high-quality patient care, and better health outcomes for patients.
Impact of Comprehensive Health Care Improvement on the American Health Care Architecture and Its Relevant Shareholders
Improved, affordable and efficient healthcare delivery constitutes a notable effect of transformation on the American healthcare architecture. Key stakeholders such as pharmaceutical companies will register a dip in revenues attributable to a decline in prescription drug prices. Health insurance providers will also record lower profits as insurance premiums dip.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while healthcare reform is a long-drawn-out and painstaking process, it has wide-ranging impacts on the American healthcare structure and its pertinent stakeholders. A potential healthcare reform solution includes streamlining administrative activities in healthcare organizations. Lastly, a notable effect of reform on the American healthcare system would consist of improved, affordable, and efficient healthcare.
References
Crowley, R., Daniel, H., Cooney, T. G., Engel, L. S., & Health and Public Policy Committee of the American College of Physicians*. (2020). Envisioning a better US health care system for all: coverage and cost of care. Annals of internal medicine, 172(2_Supplement), S7-S32.
Shrank, W. H., DeParle, N. A., Gottlieb, S., Jain, S. H., Orszag, P., Powers, B. W., & Wilensky, G. R. (2021). Health Costs And Financing: Challenges And Strategies For A New Administration: Commentary recommends health cost, financing, and other priorities for a new US administration. Health Affairs, 40(2), 235-242.