Introduction
It is undeniable that USA healthcare spending has been expensive and increasing as time goes by. This means that there is a large number of Americans who can not access medical care and this are some of the issues that need to be sorted out. As far as this paper is concerned, medical homes which is a collaboration between community based organizations and hospitals has been proposed as the best approach towards the provision of medical care for the undeserved. This is based on the fact that there is evidence on the ground to show that they decrease uncompensated costs. The main idea behind medical homes is to ensure that members of the public can be able to access medical care more cheaply. Collaboration between community based organizations and hospitals is very healthy in enhancing the availability of medical homes for the undeserved (Bates 2010, 32). As much as this should be encouraged, there are specific interfaces that need to be sorted out through proper identification. All in all, there is an enthusiasm for medical homes in the country because it has been growing. As much as this enthusiasm is there, transformation has been difficult and that is why there is need for improvements.
Care delivery in medical homes is very challenging and that is why many stakeholders have advocated for continual improvements. It should be known that efficiency takes time and a lot of investments which explains why this needs to be done by involving all stakeholders in the healthcare delivery system. Different health centers can be transformed into good medical homes although this needs a lot of collaboration for long term sustainability. Low income and vulnerable members of the society have been unable to get good medical care and there are a lot of opportunities that can be explored to ensure that they are also covered. Successful transformation has emerged as the only way out to ensure that the undeserved in the society can also access medical care (Appleby 2008, 13). All this withstanding, there are challenges that have emerged as time goes by. Interfaces between the hospital and clinic are supposed to be identified early enough for long term sustainability. The boundary between hospitals and clinics should be effectively understood for efficacy in relation to medical homes.
There has been a lot of deficiency in communication in relation to hospitals and clinics which should be sorted out to enhance collaboration. In this case, there are problems that are shared by the two as far as the provision of medical care is concerned. It can be unanimously agreed that proper identification of interfaces will play a crucial role in ensuring that medical homes are successful in offering healthcare services. Medical homes have processes that need continual improvement which has been necessary to involve all stakeholders (Porter 2009, 26). Primary care is very important for undeserved patients and that is why there should be caution. In the long run, it is undeniable that medical homes can be used to enhance equity in the provision of Medicare. This means that there should be few disparities in specific outcomes that will be realized in the end. The society will not have an equitable healthcare system without good intervention strategies and that is why medical homes come in to ensure that this is achieved. As much as there are people with little resources, they also need to be taken care of.
Discussion
There are many relationships that have been identified to ensure that medical homes are successful as far as the provision of Medicare is concerned. These referral relationships should be encouraged and explored for long term sustainability. Strengthening of referral relationships creates a good network that will develop the healthcare delivery system and this is a fact. The three main referrals are necessary to create a good relationship that will ensure that the undeserved are attended to effectively (Porter 2009, 37). This is based on the fact that some medical homes do not have enough facilities and resources. Referrals can not be avoided in the healthcare delivery system because this is the only way that patients can be attended to.
Key players
Based on results, medical homes will continue to play an important role in ensuring that patients can access medical care. This is because they provide continuous and coordinated services to various patients. In this case, we have a number of players who have been in the forefront to ensure that medical homes are running well thereby discharging their duties. On the other hand, there are key players who will continue being behind the success of medical homes and this is a fact. Physicians are very important as far as the provision of primary care is concerned and this means that they are key players. There are cases where some medical homes do not have enough physicians to attend to different patients and this explains why there should be collaboration. In this case, physicians are ultimately responsible for patient care (Rittenhouse 2009, 56). This means that they can not be ignored or left behind as far as the success of the healthcare delivery system is concerned. As earlier noted, the US government has been spending a lot of money on healthcare but it still remains expensive. This is the ultimate reason why there are all initiatives to strengthen this system with an aim of ensuring that people can access medical care.
Medical homes can only be strengthened by involving all stakeholders that have a role to play in the healthcare delivery system. This means that there are a lot of players who can not be ignored in any case. In this case, the interest to strengthen these medical homes has come from pediatrics. Primary health care orientations should be enforced by the government to ensure that people have better health outcomes. There should be low costs as far as the provision of these services is concerned and that is why the government is a big player. Specialty care in the US is the backbone of the healthcare delivery system which requires a lot of collaborations and partnerships. Medical care that different patients get should be consistent with the features of a medical home and that is why a lot needs to be done. The community is very important as far as the success of medical homes is concerned because they are the basis upon which it operates (Brody 2009, 32). Medical homes provide a regular source of care to the society and community at large which necessitates partnerships. Advancement of medical homes in the US will continues as time goes by based on results that are seen by the society at large.
The benefits of strengthening the country’s health care delivery system can be seen through medical homes. In this case, clinical organizations have been on the forefront to advocate for the establishment of more medical homes to take care of different patients’ needs. Different stakeholders who are being supported by clinical organizations will continue to advance this concept as time goes by because of the benefits that it has. This therefore means that clinical organizations are key players in the advancement of medical homes in the country. Different pediatrics have been coming up with various projects that are aimed at ensuring that medical homes are successful in the provision of basic services. As a matter of fact, the projects that they have initiated have shown the benefits of medical homes as time goes by. This means that as much as such professionals might come in, it is also necessary that the community be involved to expand these services to other target populations (Willson 2005, 61). There are State agencies that are responsible for the provision of medical services and that is why they are supposed o be involved. This therefore means that they are key players as far as the success of medical homes is concerned.
The idea of medical homes has been strongly advocated for by community based organizations and that is why they are also big players. Community organizations have been a link that hospitals and clinics have relied on to ensure that medical homes are successful. This is because they understand the society and community that they are operating in. The congress has been a key player in the legislation of medical homes though effective legislation. As a matter of fact, there are other bills that will play an important role in incorporating this concept. Physicians around the country have been advocating for medical homes as the best way to ensure that the underserved members of the society can also access medical care. In this case, they have encouraged its adoption because they are aware of its benefits. Because they are supportive of this approach to medical care, it can be said that physicians are also key players in the success of medical homes (Barr 2005, 41). Insurers have been cited as key initiators of this idea and this has been done by reimbursing face to face visits. It has been challenging to sustain medical homes and this is where insurers have occasionally come in. It should be known that most coordination services are not paid for and this explains why they will continue being players.
The US has a very complex and fragmented health care delivery system and that is why there are a lot of players. This means that consumers who happen to be patients should be at the core of medical homes. In this case, most medical homes are oriented towards patients meaning that they are patient centered. As a matter of fact, they coordinate services for various patients in collaboration with different stakeholders. There is renewed interest for medical homes by the society and this will continue as time goes by. This implies that everybody should support the idea of medical homes because it ensures that the underserved members of the society can also access medical care. Medical homes will continue being implemented successfully as long as there is proper identification of specific needs in the society. This therefore requires the support of all stakeholders who also happen to be key players in the healthcare delivery system (Brody 2009, 75). There are specific health care needs of the society that need to be sorted out but it should be known that this idea can be extended to the general population based on their needs.
Restraining and facilitating factors
There are various restraining and facilitating factors that revolve around the establishment of medical homes. Behavioral risk factors have emerged to restrain the establishment and success of medical homes as time goes by. These behavioral risk factors have come up as a result of the society’s complex nature. In this case, it is not easy to identify behavioral risk factors in different medical homes. A behavior like physical abuse has been on the rise and this limits the ability of various patients to access and receive medical care. There is under treatment that has restrained the success of medical homes in the society and this has had a bad perception on the general public (Starfield 2004, 29). Overcharging or double billing has also emerged as a major challenge that has restrained the establishment of medical homes. This means that there are certain expenses that need to be incurred as far as the establishment and running of medical homes is concerned. In this case, there should be enough funding to ensure that underserved members of the society are effectively attended to. Another restraining factor that has been identified is the attitude towards medical homes.
Medical homes are supposed to enhance the provision of medical care but we have members of the society who despite the fact that they are underserved, they have a poor and bad attitude towards them. This has proved to be a big problem because they can not be effectively treated with that attitude. Medical costs will continue to restrain the growth of medical homes as time goes by and this is something that needs to be sorted out. In addition, the availability of physicians and staff is a big challenge as far as restraining factors are concerned. This means that medical homes struggle to attract the best practitioners who can attend to different patients (Backer 2009, 48). The financial nature of the country’s medical care system is a restraining factor that will continue to emerge and play out as time goes by. All this withstanding, there are other facilitating factors that have enhanced the establishment of medical homes as a way of ensuring that underserved members of they society are attended to. The need to ensure that underserved members of the society can access medical care has facilitated the establishment of medical homes. This has been as a result of pressure from various community and clinical organizations.
Proper identification of interfaces between hospitals and clinics has ensured that there are effective partnerships and collaborations that can enhance the establishment of medical homes. This is because medical homes are not in a capacity to deal with all cases and problems that patients might have which calls for referrals. Collaboration of partnerships is one of the facilitating factors towards the establishment of medical homes in the US. This is because partnerships ensure that all stakeholders who matter a lot as far as the provision of medical care are involved. In the process, this has facilitated the ability of medical homes to take care of different and specific needs. The strong pursuit of medical organizations towards medical homes has played a big role in creating awareness on their importance (Trapp 2008, 54). As a matter of fact, the presence of medical homes will increase access to medical services. Active facilitation from the government through effective legislation is another factor that will increase medical homes in the country. Proper identification of specific needs is a facilitating factor because the society has different population groups. When such specific needs and problems are effectively identified, it will be easy to establish medical homes because the target has been identified.
Recommendations
There is evidence on the benefits of medical homes in the country and this means that people will continue being interested as time goes by. In this case, there is need to increase awareness on the benefits of medical homes so that the underserved members of the society can be given effective medical care. Legislation is the best way to ensure that medical homes can operate within a good environment as a solution. So long as patients are sure that they will be attended to effectively, they will have more confidence in medical homes. The panel of medical doctors who coordinate these services in medical homes should be enforced for long term sustainability.
This is because doctors are supposed to be there to attend to specific patient needs. Insurance will play a big role in the expansion of medical homes because coverage in this area has been low (Silva 2009, 44). As a matter of fact, access to medical homes should be increased through various initiatives like identification of specific population needs. Because everybody has seen the benefits of medical homes in the society, there should be deliberations by all stakeholders on how different people can be treated. More referral relationships and partnerships will play an important role in ensuring that patients are treated effectively. This is based on the fact that the healthcare delivery system needs to partner in various areas for long term sustainability.
In fact, it is good to embark on effective research to find better approaches that can be used to run medical homes. Patient centered medical homes are the best option through good and effective strategies that will involve all key players that have been identified. Employers should be able to pay for medical homes because they are the most cost effective way of ensuring that the underserved members of the society receive medical care and attention. Insurers know pretty well that this is the only strategy that will cut costs and they should therefore support it fully. Programs that target people with specific needs should be developed as a way of increasing access to medical homes for long-term sustainability (Arnst 2009, 16). Current facilities should be improved and enhanced to take care of more members of the society who are underserved. In this case, there are people who have developed a bad attitude towards medical homes and this should be reversed by offering them good services. Quality and high standards should be maintained in medical homes to attract other people who might be skeptical. This will ultimately increase and create more awareness on the need to embrace medical homes as a cost effective way towards medical care. Overall, the only way to increase access to medical care in the US is through effective medical homes.
Reference list
Appleby, J. 2008. Old-fashioned docs inspire new medical homes. New York: USA Today.
Arnst, C. 2009. The family doctor: a remedy for health-care costs? New York: Routledge.
Backer, M. 2009. Building the case for the patient-centered medical home. New York: New York Times.
Barr, G. 2005.The advanced medical home: a patient-centered, physician-guided model of health care. USA: American College of Physicians.
Bates, B. 2010. The future of health information technology in the patient-centered medical home. Minneapolis: Rockport Publishers.
Brody, J. 2009. Personal health: a personal, coordinated approach to care. New York: New York Times.
Porter, S. 2009. Transformed evaluators detail initial lessons from demo project: Massive practice change harder than expected. New York: Routledge.
Rittenhouse, S. 2009. The patient-centered medical home: will it stand the test of health reforms? Illinois: University of Illinois.
Silva, C. 2009. Medical homesteading: moving forward with care coordination. New York: American Medical News.
Starfield, B. 2004. The medical home, access to care, and insurance: a review of evidence. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Trapp, D. 2008. AMA meeting: delegates back medical home, want pay issues resolved. New York: Am Med News.
Willson, C. 2005. Community care of North Carolina: saving state money and improving patient care. Carolina: University of Carolina.