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Aspen N502 Mod 1 - Module 1 Assignment
Aspen University
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Running head: HEALTH CARE PERSPECTIVE 1
Health Care Perspective
Aspen University
Author Note N502 Health Care Systems
December 2019
Health Care Perspective
The United States has made tremendous technological advances in medicine; however, it still falls short in helping those that need care the most. Insurance and health care in this country, for all its technological advancements, are still far behind other modern countries around the world when it comes to access and cost. With the enactment of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, one of its major goals was to extend coverage to millions of additional people. (Young & Kroth, 2018) The following paper provides a discussion of disease prevention with new technology, the hospital's financial bottom line, and a single-payer healthcare system. How do medical professionals focus on disease prevention with modern technology and advancements? Can hospitals balance the ever-changing and growing costs without sinking the fiscal bottom line and risk closure? Could a single-payer healthcare system resolve some of the financial burdens while opening access to all? In this country, medical professionals must continue to be lifelong learners and problem solvers to keep up with the globalized medical and financial changes to healthcare. Characteristics of Healthcare Healthcare in the United States encompasses the public (patients), providers, healthcare facilities (i., Hospitals, Outpatient Centers, etc.), insurers (i., employers, health insurance, and other third-party payers), and the government. (Young & Kroth, 2018) It requires little to some input, action, or investment from each of these participants for Healthcare in this country to occur if one of them contributes nothing, then patient care can be adversely affected. Ultimately, they all affect patient satisfaction and potentially patient outcomes.
Financial Focus The focus on the fiscal bottom line has become more apparent with the hospitals exercising more cost-cutting measures such as faster patient discharges, higher patient to nurse ratios, and some tests only being offered as an outpatient. The business first approach has offended the staff and the public. Most feel that it should be patient care that comes first and foremost. Above all else, however, hospitals still have to pay the bills to stay open. Telehealth improves patient-centered care utilizing coordinated and effective monitoring through the retention of experienced and dedicated nurses. (Peck, 2005) Facilities are employing telehealth nurses in conjunction with onsite nurses to actively collaborate care for a larger patient load, thereby saving money, especially with the nursing shortages. (Peck, 2005) Telehealth is also saving money and time in primary care, the patient can talk via video with the provider, and medications can be sent directly to the pharmacy. Not only does this save time for the patient and the provider, but it also reduces the need to staff and clean an exam room between patients. The ACA established four broad goals that it specifically addressed, providing new consumer protections, improving quality and lowering costs, increasing access to affordable care, and holding insurance companies accountable. (Young & Kroth, 2018) Each of these goals has set forth specific methods that the ACA would deliver affordable healthcare to those that qualified. Before the ACA, Medicare reimbursements were paid based on the billing code assigned to the admitting diagnosis; now, it is paid based on patient outcomes combined with patient satisfaction. The Electronic Health Record (EHR) is another potential source of financial losses. A twenty-eight hospital system in Arizona went live after extensive planning with a new EHR, and
immediately providers started reporting more medical errors and billing issues. (Arndt, 2018) Implementation of EHR should have a detailed strategy and have extra revenue integrity support staff at go live to help discover and recover any missed opportunities. (Arndt, 2018) The new software can be customized and tailored to meet the demands of the facility; it is the testing that cannot account for or anticipate everything that happens in the real world, which costs the end- user money. Many health systems have lost substantial amounts of revenue due to glitches or missed a revenue stream completely during implementation due to poor planning and execution. Single-Payer Insurance The American people have been going through insurance reform for the past ten years. ACA began in 2010 with certain nuances that would take effect slowly in the years to follow some affected the masses while others only a subset of the population. It started with considerable opposition, including having lawsuits filed to repeal it entirely. When the nuances would take effect each year, one problem remained the people that did not qualify still are without access to healthcare. For real reform to happen, the greed and corruption in Washington DC that has allowed the lobbyists from insurance and pharmaceutical companies to pad the pockets of our government officials must end. Instead of making a few rich, the money could provide access for those still without. The United States has already established single-payer healthcare for part of the people. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is essentially a British model, while Medicare more closely resembles the Canadian model. (Brown, 2019) If a uniform healthcare system were all-encompassing, thereby negating all other insurance effective day one, the billing would be uniform, and the disparities eliminated. For a single-payer system to work for the entire population of the United States, it would need a strong and solid central
References Arndt, R. Z. (2018). No end in sight: EHRs still cause operational and financial headaches, while benefits are slow to materialize. Modern Healthcare, 48(42), 6. Retrieved from search.ebscohost/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=132479848&site=eho st-live Brown, L. D. (2019). Single-Payer Health Care in the United States: Feasible Solution or Grand Illusion? American Journal of Public Health, 109(11), 1506–1510. doi/10.2105/AJPH.2019. Peck, A. (2005). Changing the face of standard nursing practice through telehealth and telenursing. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 29(4), 339–343. Retrieved from search.ebscohost/login.aspx?direct=true&db=c8h&AN=106377068&site=eho st-live Young, K. M., & Kroth, P. J. (2018). Sultz & Young’s HEALTH CARE USA Understanding Its Organization and Delivery. Burlington: Jones & Barlett Learning
Aspen N502 Mod 1 - Module 1 Assignment
University: Aspen University
