...Analysis: The Affordable Care Act and Nursing Problem Identification Healthcare costs are soaring in the United States today. More people than ever before are uninsured or underinsured. In 2006-07, there were 46 million people uninsured (Gulley, Rasch, & Chan, 2011), and 9 million children also did not have health insurance (Coddington & Sands, 2008). A change in how healthcare is managed and financed is greatly needed to avoid worsening of this situation. Background The cost of healthcare and the number of uninsured individuals has become a critical issue today. Healthcare spending in the U. S. has grown faster than the economy, by about two to three percent per year since the end of World War II (Brown, 2009, p. 1). If nothing changes, Medicare will cost as much as the sum of all federal income taxes in about 75 years (Brown, 2009, p. 2). Healthcare premiums have become so unaffordable, that many families do without. The lack of insurance has a direct effect on poor health outcomes, increasing morbidity and mortality, which also contributes to increased healthcare costs (Coddington & Sands, 2008, p. 1). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as Obamacare, was signed into law on March 23, 2010, and the Supreme Court made a final decision to uphold the law on June 28, 2012 (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services). The PPACA is an attempt at healthcare reform by expanding public coverage programs and strengthening protection...
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...Medicine 2010 Report Guiding the Future of Nursing Susi Rubendall Grand Canyon University: NRS-430V-0506 February 22, 2015 Nurses are critical to the future health and healthcare of America. The enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) calls for a transformation of healthcare to provide a safer, more affordable, more accessible and higher quality of healthcare. Central to these goals is high quality nursing care and practice. In 2008 the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to become a partner to examine and consider what it would take to radically change and address the biggest issues of healthcare, cost and improved care. This ground breaking and far reaching collaborative effort resulted in the presentation in 2010 of a cohesive document “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health”. The report focused on recommendations for improvements which include nursing’s important role in improving healthcare in America. This paper will look at the impact of the IOM 2010 report on nursing practice, nursing education and nursing leadership. Impact on Nursing Practice Nurses as the largest part of the healthcare workforce are poised to have an important role in transforming healthcare to provide quality care and improve health outcomes in America. An important message of the IOM report is the Key Message #1: Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training (IOM, 2010). One...
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... in one form or another. Because healthcare varies between cultures, nurses have historically taken on many different roles: a folk healer, a healer with religious ties, and that of a servant (Ellis & Hartley, 2012). Because of these various roles, some may not realize, or accept, that nursing has evolved into a much needed profession. This essay will discuss what a profession is, the criteria needed to be present in order to be considered a profession, and the reasons why nursing should be considered a profession. Criteria of a Profession In order to understand why I consider nursing a profession, you must first understand the meaning of the word. There are many varied definitions of the word profession. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines profession as a noun meaning “a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation” (n.d.). Harkreader, Hogan, and Thobaben build on the previous core definition by including five criteria: “provides an essential service to society, has a theoretical body of knowledge, requires relative independence in decision making in practice, requires specialized education, and has a code of ethics for behavior of its members” (p.2, 2007). Examples of how nursing meets each of these criteria of a profession are listed below. Provides an Essential Service to Society. Nurses provide a service that is unable to be substituted by any other member of the healthcare team. The body of knowledge that nurses...
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...Running Head: Healthcare System Healthcare System in US [Name of the Writer] [Name of the Institution] Healthcare System in US Introduction United States is the largest and most diverse society on the globe. It spends almost 2 trillion dollars every year on health care, which is one in every seven dollars in the economy. U.S is one of the very few nations where all its citizens do not have medical coverage. Although it spends heavily on per capita on health care, and it has the most advanced medical technology system in the world, still it is not the healthiest nation on earth. The system performs so poorly that it leaves 50 million without health coverage and millions more inadequately covered (Garson, 2010). Discussion History of Medicare In 1945, the United States president Harry Truman decided to bring to the attention of the Congress. The message was in an attempt to develop a universal plan that would be applicable to all United States citizens. The Congress contemplated the bill that would establish a healthcare plan. The debate for a comprehensive plan carried on for twenty years. The prolonged wait made president Truman give up on the idea. Even though the president had given up on the healthcare bill, Social Security system and a number of other participants continued the efforts. After two decades of struggle, in 1965, the Medicare and Medicaid plans became legislation after the Congress approved the bill. President Lyndon Johnson’s vision of a “Great...
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...Policy Analysis Paper The fate of uninsured Veterans: A policy Analysis University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Nursing Define the problem and assemble the evidence Too many Veterans in the United States lack health insurance and are ineligible to receive care provided by the Veteran’s Health Administration. According to American Community Survey (ACS) conducted in 2010, one in 10 of the nation’s 12.5 million veterans under the age of 65 is uninsured. A veteran is defined by federal law as any person who served for any length of time in any military service branch. Contrary to the presumption of most, not all veterans qualify for free healthcare through the Department of Veteran Affairs. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) operates as a branch of the Department of Veterans Affairs and is the largest health system in the nation. It is recognized for its commitment to providing high-quality population specific healthcare. The VHA also works closely with academic medical centers across the nation. Haley and Kenney (2012) identify eligibility for health care provided by the VHA as being on veteran status, service-connected disabilities and income level. Other factors include demographic location and cost sharing requirements. Health insurance coverage for veterans as with other groups of nonelderly adults has heavy dependence on access to employer sponsored insurance (ESI) and the costs of obtaining it. It must also be considered that the majority of...
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...describing how I would incorporate my findings into the HER selection and decision making process, I would analysis the criteria that must be met to qualify for functionality or certification. The basic functionality supports the belief that if a provider were armed with information about the functional capabilities of software, they would be better equipped to compare systems, resulting in making decisions about acquiring systems appropriate for their practice needs. The CCHIT, which is the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology, expects that the process of achieving goals of quality, safety, and cost effectiveness will accelerate initiatives toward the electronic health record. Electronic Health Record Functionality standards are or Certification is a ranking system for electronic health records systems. To qualify for HER certification, vendors had to meet more than 300 criteria devised by the Commission’s physicians, medical societies, vendors, and payer. Most of the requirements concerned HER functionality, security, and reliability. CCHIT, Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology, will ass new requirements for certification each year. Healthcare level H7, which is the application protocol for Electronic Data Exchange in healthcare environments, it is considered a gold standard benefit in the healthcare industry by helping answer question regarding EHR. EHR implementation should immediately determine how hardware and...
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...the rapid changes in a health care system around the world, healthcare organizations need to develop strategies that will help the organization to sustain with any difficulties that may arise. Healthcare systems expand their cultural leadership strategies in order to gain a thorough understanding of situations (Johnson, 2009) that will effectively improve their operations in community. Healthcare organizations use both the dynamic culture leadership (DCL) and the omnibus leadership as a model for implementation and a strategy for their success (Johnson, 2009). This paper will compare and contrast the strategies and applications of both model in an effective healthcare facilities that is committed in improving the health of the community As traditional leadership model fails to integrate the aspects of environment, cultural distinctiveness and higher power influences, the omnibus leadership model (OLM) was created to evaluate leaders and their leadership styles (Johnson, 2009). Under the omnibus leadership model, healthcare organization mission can be clearly defined only if the healthcare organization has appropriate resources; on the other hand, under the dynamic culture leadership model, health care system need to clearly state its mission so the employees can understand and know what is expected from them in the facility in order to better serve the community (Roberts, 2013). Few of healthcare organizations are unsuccessful in providing the necessary services...
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...Technology in Healthcare Crystal Waters HCA 320-01 Healthcare Service Management Fa11 2013 10/31/13 Jackson State University College of Public Service School of Health Sciences Technology in Healthcare Technology, coming from the oxford dictionary meaning “machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge.” and Healthcare also coming from the oxford dictionary meaning “the maintenance and improvement of physical and mental health, especially through the provision of medical services.” With these two word together it changed healthcare tremendously. The use of technology evolved in healthcare as early as in the 20th century. With technology emerging into healthcare there is a lot of research that goes into it before it is released. McGrady, E., Conger, S., Blanke, S., & Landry, B. L. (2010) explained how it is done while the researched three technologies they stated “The purpose of this prescriptive research is to help decision makers become better informed about three technologies emerging in the healthcare arena by providing a basic description of the technology and describing their current applications, future healthcare deployment, potential risks, and related managerial issues. Two of the technologies, radio frequency identification (RFID) and global positioning systems (GPS), are currently available to healthcare organizations and appear capable of decreasing cost but may require significant initial investment and...
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...Governance in Non-Profit Healthcare MGMT 640 Executive Summary Good leadership, financial management, and governance are the essentials for success in any organisation, whether the organisation is a non-profit organisation or a for-profit organisation. In non-profit healthcare the seamless interaction of all the parts makes the organisation successful as a whole. Service provided must be consistent with the goals of the organisation. Agencies and watchdogs have become even more visible seeking accountability and transparency. But how do leaders within the organisation work together to make it a success, how are they governed to achieve the goals of the organisation? In for-profit effective governance is easily recognisable, and achieved. The most important element in an organisation that operates for profit is its balance sheet, great sales and rising stock prices, profits being paid out as dividends, no mention of fraud in the company accounting, these are all excellent indicators of effective governance. In non-profits more so in healthcare, it is terribly difficult to measure or see effective governance. Also, the idea of optimum efficiency may have differing connotations for each stakeholder. Non-profits benefit from the luxury of not having to suffer agency conflicts; nevertheless they must ensure that there are measures in place that ensures transparency. Based on the five (5) overarching strategies suggested...
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...Baldrige National Quality Award for Health Care Organizations Elaine Reeves HCA 375 – Ashford University Paula Arceneaux December 5, 2011 Quality Improvement in Healthcare Health care is something commonly visited with my family and me. Having three children in the last seven years, my family and I have had our share of hospital and medical office visits. The quality in care does not go unnoticed as I see many areas that need improvement, as well as other areas that are exemplary. One measure that many organizations utilize is continuous quality improvement (CQI). It is a structured organizational process by which personnel plans and executes a constant flow of improvements in order to provide exceptional quality healthcare (McLaughlin & Kaluzny, 2006). CQI is an approach to quality management, where traditional quality assurance is implemented and emphasizes on the systems of the organization. Aside from gaining satisfaction and confidence from patients, quality improvements of a healthcare organization (if applied successfully) can earn prestigious awards. When quality in healthcare meets government regulations and standards, and when satisfactory is met with the public and/or patients, many organizations are recognized for their achievements in quality. Some organizations are rewarded, along with their recognition, with awards reflecting their success. One such award is the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Stated in the article Four U. S...
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...AFT Task 4: Periodic Performance Review Accreditation Audit Case Introduction The accreditation process is designed to assist healthcare establishment to identify and enhance the patient’s safety and the quality of service delivery. This paper presents a review of the readiness Nightingale Community Hospital for accreditation audit. The paper comprises of a periodic performance review of the establishment. The review has focus of several priority areas. These areas include; assessment and care; quality improvement; patient safety, and staffing effectiveness. Trend within the hospital indicates the Nightingale has made significant progress towards fulfilling the standards of the Joint Review Commission. However, the trends in staffing effectiveness are limiting the organization’s compliance. Periodic Performance Review (PPR) The PPR is based on data collected in the Joint Commission Survey. The survey utilized the priority focus methodology to evaluate the compliance of Nightingale Community Hospital. The priority focus process is a methodology that makes use of data to establish priority areas for reviewing compliance. This process has utilized of both external and internal data to evaluate the compliance of Nightingale Community Hospital. This methodology identified several priority areas. These include; assessment and care services; quality improvement activities, and patient safety. This paper evaluates Nightingale’s compliance in these three priority areas. Compliance...
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...decision made is the most preeminent for the problem. When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice (James, 2010). Decision Making Technique The decision making model goes well with our circumstances and organization. This model offers immense features on how to concentrate while trying to make a decision. To establish Kaiser Permanente’s greater presence in Kava the decision making model allows us to break down our problems and evaluate each problem put forth. This model allows us 1. Identify the problems Kava offers. 2. Define criteria, goals and objectives. 3. Evaluate the effects of the problem. 4. Identify causes of the problem. 5. Frame alternatives. 6. Evaluate impacts of alternatives 7. Make the decision. 8. Measure Impacts. 9. Implement Decision. The decision making model permits our organization to effectively focus on the problem of establishing a facility in Kava to provide healthcare. Defining criteria, goals and objectives is for the most part likable because those are issues that necessitate being thought of prior to our organization making a valid decision if we are going to build a new facility in a new location with many obstacles to overcome. This model not only allows us to stare at our difficulty but moreover allows Kaiser Permanente to define what criteria is needed regarding building a new facility in a disastrous area. What goals are we setting for our organization and the people in which...
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...Benedictine University Professor Uche S. Onwuta Background Rural Healthcare Disparities The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (2010) defines rural as a twofold concept: “micropolitan statistical area” of 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants and “noncore statistical area”, which is smaller than a micropolitan area. Despite 25 percent of Americans live in rural communities, they have unique healthcare concerns; “Compared with urban Americans, rural residents have higher poverty rates… tend to be in poorer health, have fewer doctors, hospitals, and other health resources, and face more difficulty getting to health services” (AHRQ, 2010, p. H-10). The AHRQ (2010) explains further, “Residents of micropolitan areas had worse access to care for 50% of access measures. Residents of noncore areas had worse access to care for about 40% of access measures” (p. H-11). Rural children suffer health the aforementioned disparities; more than 30 percent of young children in the rural southern United States are poor. Due to their developing bodies; younger children are especially vulnerable to negative health outcomes. Childhood health problems can persist into adulthood. McKenzie, Pinger, & Kotecki (2008) explain it is difficult for unhealthy children to learn. Early childhood poverty is correlated with fewer years of completed matriculation, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty (Mattingly & Stransky, 2010). Community Description Donalsonville, GA is a rural community...
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...recognized as detrimental to the development of those subjected to it. This paper will outline some of the damaging effects of maltreatment on learning and cognitive processing, the difficulties of assessing risk in children who have been maltreated, and summarize the theoretical basis for the present study. A great deal of research has focused on re-victimization, the likelihood of victims to become abusers and the long-term negative psychological and physical effects that abuse has on people (Sunday, Kline, Labruna, Pelcovitz, Salzinger, & Kaplan, 2011; Easton, Coohey, O’Leary, Zhang, & Hua, 2010; Garrido, Culhane, Petrenko, & Taussig, 2011; Loeb, Gaines, Wyatt, Zhang, & Liu, 2010). Child abuse may lead to internalizing behaviors and externalizing behaviors (Buckner, Bearslee and Bassuk, 2004; Feiring, Simon & Cleland, 2007; Moylan, Herrenkohl, Sousa, Tajima, Herrenkohl, & Russo, 2010). Internalizing behaviors include emotional issues such as posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. Externalizing behaviors include actions such as aggression and delinquent behaviors. All of these internal and external conflicts can severely damage a child’s ability to navigate a variety of social contexts which may in turn decrease their likelihood of thriving within an academic environment. Previous research has found that children who are maltreated tend to have overall lower levels of intelligence, higher instances of learning disabilities, and academic difficulties and...
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...The Love-Hate Relationship between the U.S. Healthcare Industry and the U.S. Economy The healthcare industry plays an important part in the economy of the United States. The sustained increase and high level of spending on health care has been the subject of discussion and scrutiny for several decades. The enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) was hardly the first fiscal policy for healthcare in the history of the economy. There is a long list of fiscal policy attempts from predecessors such as Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon and most recently Bill Clinton (Sparer, p462). In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt drafted amended provisions to his pending Social Security legislation to include publicly funded health care programs but ultimately removed the provisions due to opposition by the American Medical Association (Coombs, p5). Following the Second World War, President Harry Truman called for universal health care as a part of his Fair Deal in 1949 but strong opposition stopped that part of the Fair Deal (Peon, p161-168). On July 30, 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the legislation establishing the Medicare and Medicaid program, social insurance programs administered by the United Stated government providing health insurance coverage to people who are either 65 or meet other special criteria for need (Roemer, p845). In October 1972, President Richard Nixon signed the Social Security Administration Amendments...
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