What Drives the U.S. Health Care Delivery System?

Drivers Affecting Health Care Organizations:
There are several drivers that affect the functionality of health care systems. These entities or controllers move medical services in different directions and substantiate the need for change in organizations around the world. One pressing issue that has caused concern for the United States and other nations is demographics (Drivers of change). Demographics is defined by the growth and age of the people, as well as the diversity of the community (Drivers of change). In the U.S., the average age of the public has increased substantially due to longer life spans (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012). This results in a maximization of hospital visits and cost to society (Shi & Singh, 2012). Unlike other countries, our health practices do not offer the best care at free or manageable cost (Reid, 2008). This nation is expected to continue to expand by 25% at the end of 2025 (Drivers of change). As a result, health disparities will require diversification of access, utilization, quality, and the health environment (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012). A need for cultural integrity must be instituted for all people based on race, ethnic background, religion, and class (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012).
The next driver of importance for world health is technology. The implementation of innovative medicine is a primary interest for the U.S., Japan, and Germany (Reid, 2008). Unlike these other countries, the United States has a greater commitment to technology than it does to health care expenditures (Barton, 2010). This regard has led to changes in clinical practices and the level of knowledge of consumers (Drivers of change). Patients gather information pertaining to disease or illnesses from reliable m...

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... the average value is set on the upper end of the scale, hospitals and clinics are unable to survive the day to day operations.

References:
Barton, P. (2010). Understanding the U.S. health services system (4th ed.). Chicago: Health Administration Press.
Buchbinder, S., & Shanks, N. (2012). Introduction to health care management (2 ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Drivers of change. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://acs.etxahec.org.
Field, C. (Producer), Field, C., & Reed, C. (Directors). (2006). Salud! [Motion Picture]. Cuba: Decatur, Ga: Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba.
Levi, J., & Linden, T. (n.d.). Future Trends in U.S. Health Care.
Reid, T. (2008, April 15). Sick Around the World. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org.
Shi, L., & Singh, D. (2012). Delivering health care in America: a system approach. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.