Case One
Despite being an elderly citizen aged 78 years, Raymond should not have died in the hands of medical practitioners. Several inefficiencies are notable in the first case study that can result in poor care delivery. The first one is the absence of proper mechanisms for responding to emergencies and ensuring that wait times reduce significantly. Raymond has to lie on a gurney placed in the hallway for six hours. The second one revolves around the lack of efficient and timely strategies to respond to patients’ needs (Kovner & Knickman, 2011). Despite being in a medical facility, the reader observes that the physician takes long to examine Raymond’s health status. The third gap in the system is the absence of electronic health records (EHRs) that professionals should consult whenever an emergency is reported. This weakness in the health care system explains why the involved physicians took much time to determine Raymond’s medical condition. Finally, the overall coordination in care delivery is poor, thereby it negatively affects the outcomes of the targeted patients.
Case Two
In the second case, the reader observes that several inefficiencies exist in the specific hospital. The first one is that the pediatric facility lacks proper initiatives for identifying medical conditions and suggesting the best treatments. The second notable challenge arises from the manner in which the practitioners make their resolutions regarding Tanya’s treatment method (Kovner & Knickman, 2011). The studied case reveals that the involved pediatric nurses are empowered to make such decisions without the involvement of key specialists. The third notable inefficiency is the hospital’s inability to engage children’s parents and provide timely updates. This weakness explains why Tanya’s parents remain confused and unsure of the proposed medication plan (Kovner & Knickman, 2011). The fourth gap that affects the overall quality of care delivery is the absence of proper mechanisms and approaches for investigating all key symptoms. Consequently, the reader observes that the child would later be found to have a collapsed lung. The identified inefficiencies explain why the involved professionals are unable to agree on the best procedures to treat Tanya’s collapsed lung and pneumonia.
Proposed Changes in the Health Care System
The studied case studies expose a number of inefficiencies that result in reduced quality of patient care. Both Tanya and Raymond appear to become victims of such gaps due to the nature of the promoted health care system. These issues explain why timely changes are recommendable to ensure that more individuals eventually record positive medical outcomes. In the first place, the involved leaders in the sector should begin by introducing the use of EHRs (Boonstra et al., 2022). These revolutionary technologies will allow the involved medical professionals to consult patients’ medical histories without the need of undertaking additional medical investigations (Kovner & Knickman, 2011). The presence of such systems could have made it possible for the physicians involved in Raymond’s case to prevent the recorded predicaments. Furthermore, the introduction of superior mechanisms for reporting and responding to emergencies can help transform the situation. Such a model will integrate all key partners, including responders, medical facilities, first aid providers, and referral entities. The strategy will improve the manner in which patients experiencing emergency situations receive personalized treatment.
Additionally, the health care system needs to introduce additional facilities that are equipped with relevant technological systems and medical practitioners who can provide patient-centered care. Such institutions will embrace the concept of specialization to ensure that they offer high-quality services depending on the available resources (Kovner & Knickman, 2011). This initiative will make it possible for physicians and specialists to make informed decisions after examining all symptoms. Moreover, the wider health care system described in these two cases could benefit significantly from additional technologies and procedures for evaluating, examining, and monitoring patients. The new practice will improve the manner in which specialists take samples from individuals and complete laboratory tests to determine diseases more accurately. This achievement will increase the chances of providing timely and reliable treatment.
The introduction of decision support systems (DSSs) can guide more specialists to make timely deliberations based on the identified signs and symptoms. Such technologies will allow the involved professionals to minimize the chances of making medication errors (Boonstra et al., 2022). This consideration could have helped the studied medical facilities to avoid the reported problems. Then, the sector should implement additional policies to guide professionals whenever providing medical support to their patients. For instance, such standards should identify who ought to make specific decisions whenever complicated medical scenarios emerge. Finally, the concept of culturally competent care should guide new changes in the system (Kovner & Knickman, 2011). This idea will compel the involved medical experts to involve patients’ parents and other family members throughout the care delivery process. Their involvement can help improve the responsiveness of the targeted individual throughout the treatment process. The consideration of these recommendations will, therefore, make it possible for the health care system in question to report improved patients’ medical outcomes.
References
Boonstra, A., Vos, J., & Rosenberg, L. (2022). The effect of Electronic Health Records on the medical professional identity of physicians: A systematic literature review. Procedia Computer Science, 196, 272-279. Web.
Kovner, A. R., & Knickman, J. R. (Eds.). (2011). Jonas and Kovner’s Health care delivery in the United States (3rd ed.). Springer Publishing Company.