Turmoil in the Health Care System
Sara Windon
MHA 622: Health Care Ethics and Law
Dr. Smiles
November 13, 2017
Abstract
This paper will discuss why the current health care system is in turmoil and analyze two contributing factors to said turmoil. While analyzing the contributing factors, this paper will describe, in detail, how these factors impact consumers and the community. Finally, this paper will touch on the benefits of national health insurance and some of the risk factors that accompany it, as well.
To say that the U.S. health care system is inadequately run, is an understatement. Today’s society faces many shortcomings when utilizing health care in the United States and some of these inadequacies include diminishing
There are many factors that can contribute to the success or failure of an organization and often it is difficult to pinpoint just one cause. The viability of the health care industry does not solely rely on consumers; it relies on environmental factors, the economy, politics, efficient management, and motivation. There are many contributing factors to turmoil within the health care industry and these factors need to be addressed with caution, accuracy, and in a timely manner so consumers can experience better quality care and the sense of importance.
References
Madara, J., & Burkhart, J. (2015). Professionalism, self-regulation and motivation: How did health care get this so wrong? The JAMA Network. Retrieved from https://jamanetwork-com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/journals/jama/fullarticle/2290650
Shapiro, K., Peterman, N., & Wolnerman, D. (2013). Turmoil in the health care industry: what about the patients. The Americas Restructuring and Insolvency Guide, 100-106. Retrieved from http://www.americasrestructuring.com/08_SF/p100-106%20Turmoil%20in%20the%20healthcare%20industry.pdf
Zinn, J., Guglielmi, C., Davis, P., & Moses, C. (2012). Addressing the nursing shortage: the need for nurse residency programs. Patient Safety First, 96(6), 652-657. Retrieved from
The current health care landscape has been characterized by large scale consolidation and vertical integration of payers and providers. This has led to a handful of dominate players with substantial influence, and an increasing overlap in responsibilities between payers and providers. Although payers and providers have traditionally been on opposing sides, battling each other about quality of care versus cost-effective care, they are shifting to working together to achieve better value.
The prolonged shortage of skilled nursing personnel has been a serious concern to the healthcare industry, and this shortage has impacted the quality of care delivery. In addition, nursing turnover has also exacerbated the problem of nursing shortage. Nursing shortage has been blamed on many nurses retiring and less younger nurses joining the occupation. There is also an increase in life expectancy (baby boomers) leading an increase in both physical and mental ailment with subsequent demand in nursing care. Nurses are also leaving nursing profession because of inadequate staffing, tense work environment, negative press about the profession, and inflexible work schedules. Even though nursing is a promising career and offers job security, the
What Seems To Be The Problem? A discussion of the current problems in the U.S. healthcare system.
Insurance premiums are rising much faster than overall inflation & worker’s wages. Learning the history of our healthcare system is the only way for consumers to understand how the rising costs affects the system today. As demand has grown, so has technology which has steadily increased cost. Higher costs, as well as for-profit insurers have created a crack in the system through which many Americans fall. The need for healthcare reform is apparent. The solutions and responsibility of those solutions is not.
Ever since the Affordable Care Act went into effect, the healthcare industry has experienced an increase in hospital mergers throughout the country. Even though Affordable Care Act has made it easier for many Americans to have access to preventing medicine and despite many efforts, the system remains in a complete state of disarray. Patient care has not improved in the industry. Nevertheless, hospital administrators argue that mergers are going to benefit their patients by reducing cost, provide better services and help them to achieve their desired outcome with the minimum use of resources and efforts. On the other hand, experts believe that hospital mergers will influence the healthcare market by causing medical costs to inflate.
The United States health care system is one of the most expensive systems in the world yet it is known as being unorganized and chaotic in comparison to other countries (Barton, 2010). This factor is attributed to numerous characteristics that define what the U.S. system is comprised of. Two of the major indications are imperfect market conditions and the demand for new technology (Barton, 2010). The health care system has been described as a free market in
With so many changes in healthcare and the call to attention to reduce costs hospitals have been at the center of discussion in regards to health care reform. Many hospitals have gone out of business while others have simply gotten bigger and merged due to the complex and fundamental changes in deliveries care. Despite a history of strength and stature in America, the hospital institution is in the midst of massive and disruptive change (Houle and Fleece, 2012).
The comparison of expenditures by itself demonstrates an environment where growth is occurring in what should be a non-growth oriented industry. As costs for health care rise investment and growth in other areas will continue to stagnate. A troubling parallel aspect of the health care environment is that along with rising costs there is a significant lack of coverage for millions of Americans. The US not only leads OECD nations in expenses per person but also leads the other nations in terms of citizens without basic health care coverage (Blank, 2012).
Rapid changes in the health care industry should be a top concern for health care administrators. According to John McDonough (2015), “We’re in the midst of the most exciting, dynamic, and scary time for American health care that we have ever experienced. So much change is going on every day on so many levels, making it increasingly important that people in key health care leadership positions find new ways to stay relevant within the ever-evolving landscape” (p. 1). As stressed by John McDonough, health leaders should intensely focus on organizational changes occurring now in today’s health care industry. The nation’s health care environment has been drastically changing, creating a difficult and demanding environment for health care administrators.
The cost of industry has a significant impact on health care so much so that while health institutions attempt to save money with cutbacks they see little reward and few gain in return. With technological advances, reduced staff numbers, and further push for greater efficiency the health care industry should see a great amount in savings which then should be pasted on to patients unfortunately this is not the reality. With all of the rising health costs and increased demand, health organizations are being forced to absorb more costs associated to patient care. A majority of the savings that come from cutbacks are being used to make up for those losses so that the institution can stay afloat.
The health industry is a very dynamic environment where healthcare organizations are confronted with many challenges. As change is inevitable in this contemporary healthcare system, so must problem-solving process be obligatory in order to survive and be successful. According to Ginter, Duncan and Swayne (2013), any organization that resist change will find itself out of touch with the needs of the prevailing market. This may require healthcare leaders to be proactive and constantly evaluate processes needed to identify all factors influencing the success of the organizations. In fact, the nature of modern healthcare system makes it critical for leaders to anticipate changes in these factors and how the changes will impact the organization
The health care system is very complexed and it is tremendously different from what it used to be years ago. The United States has one of the poorest health care systems compared to England and Canada. Every new politician feels as if they have the better solution for healthcare (Wilensky, 2008).
The healthcare industry is the fastest growing industry in the U.S. economy. Guaranteed success in this industry stems from the many positions developed by U.S. government agencies. Healthcare power is shared among federal and state governments to allow proper distribution of regulation throughout the United States. The need for healthcare will only become greater so it is important for everyone to be educated on who, and what, keep America’s health industry well run.
If there’s one thing everyone can agree on in American politics, it’s that our healthcare system does not work as it should. We spend more than any other nation in the world on health care and yet have little to show for it: We’re often ranked lower than other industrialized nations on measures like infant mortality, amputations due to diabetes, or overall mortality. We spend more, but get less for our money.
Businesses have a very strained relationship with that individual consumers, lenders, investors, and employees. This relationship became strained because of the global economic crisis and the general public in the United cynical business. The challenges faced by businesses in the twenty-first century will affect the community due to the strained relations. Therefore, countries need to rethink the health care community, to repair the social contract, and long-term financial position of the society. The countries need to give impetus to businesses to do business in the twenty-first century to solve the problem (Rosenfeld et al.,