Compared to Switzerland, the US spends twice as much on health. In 2019, the average cost of health care in the US was $11,582 per person (Chen et al., 2020). This expenditure is a result of the increased pay-outs to physicians and hospitals. Moreover, the expense also results from higher costs of running and maintaining health care facilities throughout the country. Furthermore, the government caters for care delivery expenses in the United States through federal initiatives, including Medicaid, Medicare, as well as commercial healthcare companies and consumers. As a result, the government should fund healthcare by utilizing taxes levied on citizens.
Individual access to care services is a fundamental right provided for in both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the World Health Organization’s Structure. These two organizations are found within the United Nations’ umbrella (Frechette, 2019). This is because there is widespread agreement worldwide that health (along with all factors that influence health) is a universal human right that should be granted to every person. Furthermore, the United Nations Declaration states that the enjoyment of the best achievable quality of health is one of the basic needs of the human being without regard to race, faith, political viewpoint, or socioeconomic position (Chen et al., 2020. It also emphasizes that a healthy nation is a thriving society, and it is the government’s responsibility to guarantee that its residents have access to medical care.
In my opinion, the US health care system has the following shortfalls: first, the rising cost, which according to Health Cost Institute, has increased in recent years and is set to grow further (Chen et al., 2020). This is due to lack of insurance coverage, high medical costs, and increased prices of drugs and diagnostic tests. Second, there is a shortage of caregivers due to a rise in demand for health care by the increased population of older people. Third is the inefficiency caused by the occurrence of preventable medical errors. The above results in an increased rate of readmission of patients, which eventually places the clients’ health at risk (Chen et al., 2020). Fourth is the lack of transparency, whereby the system is affected by fraud and cover-ups, which creates a ridge between insurers and health providers, leaving the consumers stuck in the middle.
Despite the practices to lower the cost, the best solution is to provide consumers with health information. This would enable them to improve their health, thus reducing the risk for preventable conditions. This would lower the demand for health care, thus driving prices down. Standardized insurance benefits would solve the transparency problems between the insurers and health care providers (Frechette, 2019). The government should redesign the system as they have the mandate to provide affordable and efficient services.
The 2010 Patient Protection, as well as the Affordable Care Act, provide increased access to insurance and expansion of care services. It also controls rising medical expenses, enhances customer security, heightens disease deterrence, and progresses the excellence and performance of the healthcare structure (Potera, 2017). On the one hand, the legislation intends to provide rights and safeguards to make health care increasingly equitable, while on the other hand, the reimbursements earned would make care services more accessible to all individuals. As a result, people would access medical care that they might not have been able to afford otherwise (Potera, 2017). Thus, this act has assisted in increasing access to proper healthcare for all individuals while reducing preventable diseases. Nonetheless, the economy of the US might drop should there be a reduction in demand for healthcare.
Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) is an institution of voluntary collaborations of physicians, healthcare facilities, and other healthcare workers who deliver high-quality integrated care to Medicare beneficiaries. The establishment also increases the quality of healthcare while lowering medical costs. It creates improved communication resulting in easier management of care. ACOs solve the increased cost of healthcare and quality concerns by providing better quality care at affordable rates.
Nurses play an essential part in providing care in the US healthcare system. They evaluate and monitor patients, assist doctors in making care plans, and execute care plans when prescribing medication and administering treatment (Potera, 2017). Thus, the Institute of Medicine’s report regarding the nursing profession aims to broaden caregivers’ roles. The analysis suggests that nursing staff be permitted to maximize the potential of their learning and skills and that an enhanced education system should result in greater stages of the learning process (Chen et al., 2020). It also proposes that caregivers be full participants in all the undertakings of the healthcare sector, and stronger information infrastructure and better gathering of information should be adopted. This is because nurses play such a vital part in the health service.
Registered nurses should be working as life coaches, providing information to avert sickness and promote wellness. This profession is influential as it enables patients to access proper care even without a doctor. Nurses in the US have no common voice, and no labor union represents them as a unit since each operates in its respective state. According to the Institute of Medicine report, there is a future where the healthcare system is driven by primary care and disease prevention, normalized inter-professional cooperation and coordination, and affordable healthcare (Potera, 2017). Therefore, nurses and physicians should partner with other healthcare specialists in restructuring healthcare policies and improving the information framework (Chen et al., 2020). Hence, I agree with the report’s conclusion that greater training and increased duties for clinicians will contribute to improvements in healthcare.
References
Chen, G., Peirce, V., & Marsh, W. (2020). Evaluation of the national institute for health and care excellence diagnostics assessment program decisions: Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio thresholds and decision-modifying factors. Value in Health, 23(10), 1300-1306. Web.
Frechette, J. (2019). Shared vision in nursing. The Health Care Manager, 38(2), 156-165. Web.
Potera, C. (2017). United States flunks an international health care analysis. AJN, American Journal of Nursing, 117(10), 16. Web.