...of this researcher paper to compare health care systems in three highly advanced developed countries: The United States of America, Canada and Germany. The first part of this research paper will focus on the portrayal of health care systems in the above-mentioned countries, while the second part will examine, evaluated and compare the three systems. Finally, a synopsis of recent changes and proposed future reforms in theses countries will be provided as well. The U.S. Health Care System in Perspective According to (The World Bank Group, 2012), the United States is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. The U.S. health care delivery system is complex and massive. It is ran by the government and financed through general taxes. 49.9 million Americans were uninsured in 2010 and 256.2 million were insured (Stark, 2012). The U.S. health care delivery is divided into many sub systems: Managed Care, Military, Vulnerable Populations and Integrated Delivery. Managed Care seeks to achieve efficiency by integrating the basic functions of healthcare delivery. It is the most leading health care delivery system in the United States and is available to most Americans. Employers and government are the primary financiers of managed care. The Military medical care system is available free of charge to active duty military personnel of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Costal Guard. Certain uniformed nonmilitary services such as the Public Health Services and the National Oceanographic...
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...The U.S. Health Care System Yusara Millan Phoenix University HCS/531 Kenneth Feldiman February 20, 2012 The U.S. Health Care System Today’s health care system is a constant focus of debate those who argue about the American system been the best health care system in the world but there is also the part that argues that the U.S. waste more in health care system than any other nation in earth and yet many Americans have not insurance coverage. The intention of this paper is to search the health care system of the U.S and identify as well as understand the structure of the health U.S. health care system. According to Chua, K. (2006) the United States has a very distinctive health care system; it is not like any other health care system in the world. The US health care system consists of private and public insurers in which the private component dominates the public component. Public Health Insurance Medicare is a federal program that covers disabled individuals as well as over 65 individuals, which is funding by federal income taxes, payroll tax shared by employers and individual premiums. According to Chua, K. (2006) the benefits of Medicare Part A covers all the hospital services, the Part B covers the physician services, and Part D offers prescription drug benefits. The Medicare Part C refers to Medicare Advantage, which is HMO’s that control Medicare benefits (Chua, K.2006). According to Chua, K. (2006) there is many breaches in the Medicare coverage, which...
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...|College of Natural Sciences | | |HCS/235 Version 3 | | |Health Care Delivery in the U.S. | Whenever there is a question about what and when assignments are due, please remember this syllabus is considered the ruling document along with your Instructors Policies and Course Requirements located in our Course-materials forum. You will also find our Course Calendar at the end of this Syllabus. This will assist you with when all assignments and DQ’s are due. Course Description This course provides a broad overview of the various functions of the United States health care system. The historical evolution of health care is examined. The student is introduced to the various forms of provider models and service delivery systems found in private and public health sectors, including ambulatory, acute, mental, and long-term care. The financing aspects of health care and their influence on health care delivery and quality are outlined. Policies Faculty and students will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies:...
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...majority of health care spending in the U.S. Identify and discuss three ways we could potentially reduce spending on chronic diseases while improving health status. Chronic diseases account for 75% of the nation’s health care spending. Chronic conditions are expected to last a year or more, bestow limits upon the patient’s, and may require ongoing care. They are significant and presently a growing challenge in the U.S. health care system. People with chronic conditions have significantly higher health care costs. It is expected that by 2020, U.S. will spend $685 billion annually on chronic diseases medical costs. By 2015 nursing homes and home health care costs will double to $320 million. There are five conditions accounted for one half of the increases of health care spending. They include: heart disease, pulmonary disease, mental disease, cancer, and hypertension. Alzheimer’s and Diabetes will soon past these as the most common chronic diseases. Health literacy is a way we could potentially reduce spending on chronic disease while improving health status. Health literacy is defined in the National Library of Medicine as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services necessary to make appropriate health decisions”. Examples of understanding basic health information would be the ability to understand instructions on prescription drug bottles, comprehend medical forms, appointment slips, etc. Health literacy...
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...Health care and medicine in the 18th and 19th centuries also known as the Preindustrial era which lasted from the middle of the 18th century until the latter part of the 19th century and the postindustrial era, which began in the late 19th century. Both of these eras brought several aspects and characteristics that have had a major impact on shaping today’s U.S Health Care System. Some of those have been medical training, medical practice, medical institutions, medical professions, and the development of hospitals. In the late 1800s, the practice of medicine in the United States was more domestic than professional due to just learning the medical procedures. Medical training in the 18th century wasn’t received through a university instead it was received through individual shadowing and practicing with a physician. According to Leiyu Shi, “American physicians began opening medical schools, it is estimated that 42 medical schools were in operation in the United States in 1850.” If we take a look at today’s practice of medicine we can see that a lot of improvements have occurred since those centuries, medical training was provided before in able to practice medicine, and today it is still required to get the proper medical training to practice medicine with anyone. Before the 1880s, the United States only had a few isolated hospitals that were only located in large cities such as New York, Boston, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Philadelphia. In the beginning the United States was...
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...Sciences HCS/531 Version 3 Health Care Organizations and Delivery Systems Copyright © 2012, 2011, 2007 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course is a comprehensive approach to health care delivery systems that provides the student with an in-depth understanding of health systems and organizations. Students will examine historical evolutions of the health care industry and recent impacts that influence the delivery of health care. Policies Faculty and students will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Shi, L., & Singh, D. A. (2012). Delivering health care in America: A systems approach (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett. All electronic materials are available on the student website. Assignment Breakdown Week One Individual Assignment: Significant Health Care Event Paper 10 Week Two Learning Team Assignment: The Evolution of Health Care Paper and Timeline 10 ...
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...What aspects and characteristics of American health care of the 18th and 19th centuries have had a major impact on shaping today’s U.S. health care system?” The main historical developments that have shaped the health care delivery system in the United States. Knowledge of the history of health care is essential for understanding the main characteristics of the system as it exists today. For example, the system’s historical foundations explain why health care delivery in the United States has been resistant to national health insurance, which has been adopted by Canada and most European nations. Traditionally held American cultural beliefs and values, technological advances, social changes, economic constraints, and political opportunism are the main historical factors that have shaped health care delivery Because of these factors, health care in the United States is mainly a private industry, but it also receives a fairly substantial amount of financing from the government. However, government financing is used mainly ▪ Cultural beliefs and values • Self-reliance ▪ • Welfare assistance only for the most needy ▪ Social factors • Demographic shifts • Immigration • Health status• Urbanization ▪ Advances in science and technology • New treatments • Training of health professionals • Facilities and equipment Major changes driven by social, cultural, technological, economic, and political forces will be instrumental in shaping the future of medical services in the...
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...STRATEGY FOR IMPROVING HEALTHCARE DELIVERY AND ORGANIZATION PERFORMANCE The present report is focused on identifying strategies for defining, measuring, and improving performance of the healthcare delivery system in any organization. The scope of the report is kept limited to the frontline health service delivery system like hospitals and clinics which directly interacts with patients. The main objective of the report is to identify important determinants of organizational performance in healthcare and to present examples of solutions which can improve its functioning and performance. Identifying present performance: Before formatting future strategy for any organization, it is important to evaluate its present performance. It is important for any organization to deliver healthcare of high quality, high efficiency, easy accessibility, and easy utility; to be considered as a high performance organization. Additionally, the high performance organization must be open to enable learning and to have well planned strategies to access support from different parts of the society to attain sustainability. Thus section discusses the six main outcomes required by high performance organization which are quality, efficiency, utilization, access, learning, and sustainability. 1. Quality: Research on the clinical quality of the healthcare is as old as the healthcare delivery system itself. The researchers identify clinical quality as safe and medically appropriate healthcare. Furthermore...
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... The economics of health care field studies demand and supply of health care resources, that is, allocation of the resources, within a given health care system. The health care system is defined as “the organizational arrangements and processes through which a society makes choices concerning the production, consumption, and distribution of health care services.”6 Because health care resources are limited, each society has to make decisions in terms of the distribution, consumption, and production of these services. A key factor that shapes the delivery of health care in any health care system is the evolving system for financing and reimbursement for health care services. The types of services delivered and the organizational approaches to delivering services are heavily influenced by how health care is paid for. In this paper I will discuss some values of healthcare professionals understand the discipline of health economics, the importance of considering the complex nature of health and healthcare when examining the economic principles, and the main potential benefits of learning about health economics. In the health care market, patients or consumers, health care providers or producers, and third-party payers are three major players. According to the principles of economic theory, consumers or patients on the demand side seek to maximize their utility or satisfaction, which is largely determined by the consumption of medical services and quality of care. On the supply side...
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...In the United States (U.S.), Private Health Insurance is the primary source of healthcare system for most people. For elderly citizens and eligible children and families from low-income households, public programs are the main source of health cover. Public programs consist of Medicare, Medicaid, State Children Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP). In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) carries out a mandate that every American must have health insurance, or pay a fine [1]. ACA, also known as ObamaCare, aims to reduce healthcare costs, and provide affordable healthcare for everyone. Accordingly, the health insurance coverage increases from 84% to 88.5% [2]. The ACA health insurance marketplaces, namely health insurance...
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...Research Brief NO. 8, OCTOBER 2008 How Engaged Are Consumers in Their Health and Health Care, and Why Does It Matter? By judith h. hiBBard and peter j. cunningham Patient activation refers to a person’s ability to manage their health and health care. Engaging or activating consumers has become a priority for employers, health plans and policy makers. The level of patient activation varies considerably in the U.S. population, with less than half of the adult population at the highest level of activation, according to a new study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) (see Figure 1). Activation levels are especially low for people with low incomes, less education, Medicaid enrollees, and people with poor self-reported health. Higher activation levels are associated with much lower levels of unmet need for medical care and greater support from health care providers for self-management of chronic conditions. Figure 1 Level of Activation of U.S. Adults, 18 and Older, 2007 Level 1 (least activated) 6.8% Level 2 14.6% Level 4 (most activated) 41.4% Level 3 37.2% Note: Four levels of patient activation have been identified through the Patient Activation Measure (PAM). At Level 1, the least-activated level, people tend to be passive and may not feel confident enough to play an active role in their own health. At Level 2, people may lack basic knowledge and confidence in their ability to manage their health. At Level 3, people appear to be taking some action but may still...
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...Improving Quality and Value in the U.S. Health Care System By: Niall Brennan, Nicole Cafarella, S. Lawrence Kocot, Aaron McKethan, Marisa Morrison, Nadia Nguyen, Mark Shepard and Reginald D. Williams II Share on email Share on twitter Share on facebook Share on linkedin More... Share on google_plusone_share Share on stumbleupon Share on reddit Share on print Executive Summary The U.S. health care system faces significant challenges that clearly indicate the urgent need for reform. Attention has rightly focused on the approximately 46 million Americans who are uninsured, and on the many insured Americans who face rapid increases in premiums and out-of-pocket costs. As Congress and the Obama administration consider ways to invest new funds to reduce the number of Americans without insurance coverage, we must simultaneously address shortfalls in the quality and efficiency of care that lead to higher costs and to poor health outcomes. To do otherwise casts doubt on the feasibility and sustainability of coverage expansions and also ensures that our current health care system will continue to have large gaps — even for those with access to insurance coverage. There is broad evidence that Americans often do not get the care they need even though the United States spends more money per person on health care than any other nation in the world. Preventive care is underutilized, resulting in higher spending on complex, advanced diseases. Patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension...
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...common knowledge that "the delivery of health care is primarily driven by the medical model, which emphasizes illness rather than wellness” (Shi & Singh, 2015, p. 73). Faced with issues like chronic illnesses, fragmentation, and population of baby boomers that affect the challenges of cost, access, and quality of care; it can be argued that the use of health information devices has positive impact on the delivery of healthcare. Since “the future of healthcare technology is now” (Glandon, Smaltz, & Slovensky, 2014, p. 27), developments in the production of healthcare information devices have been on the increase, popular, and widely used by patients and providers. Some of these devices, which include smart phones, computers, smart glasses like Google glasses, activities trackers, and wearable devices, have impacted and transformed the delivery of healthcare in ways that include cost of healthcare, access to healthcare, and quality of the care delivered. Introduction It is a common knowledge that developments in technology is continually changing, is responsible for globalization, helps with effective evaluation of business and decision-making, and enables the growth of information technology. Similarly, the areas of information technology and healthcare delivery are also presently active, developing, and constantly changing. As a result, the management of health information technology is currently enabling versatility in the delivery of healthcare, helping...
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...Bitner • A service is a time-perishable, intangible experience performed for a customer acting in the role of a co-producer. James Fitzsimmons 4 Definition of Service Firms Service enterprises are organizations that facilitate the production and distribution of goods, support other firms in meeting their goals, and add value to our personal lives. Role of Services in our Economy 5 Percent Service Employment for Selected Nations Country United States Canada Israel Japan France Italy Brazil China 1980 67.1 67.2 63.3 54.5 56.9 48.7 46.2 13.1 1987 71.0 70.8 66.0 58.8 63.6 57.7 50.0 17.8 1993 74.3 74.8 68.0 59.9 66.4 60.2 51.9 21.2 2000 74.2 74.1 73.9 72.7 70.8 62.8 56.5 40.6 Percent of U.S. Labor Force by Industry Percent of U.S. Labor Force 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1929 1948 1969 1977 1984 1999 Year Source: Survey of Current Business, April 1998, Table B.8, July...
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...Health-information technology, such as sophisticated electronic health records, has the potential to improve health care.1-3 Nevertheless, electronic-records systems have been slow to become part of the practices of physicians in the United States.4,5 To date, there have been no definitive national studies that provide reliable estimates of the adoption of electronic health records by U.S. physicians. Recent estimates of such adoption by physicians range from 9 to 29%.4,5 These percentages were derived from studies that either had a small number of respondents or incompletely specified definitions of an electronic health record.5,6 To provide clearer estimates of the adoption of electronic-records systems by U.S. physicians, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology of the Department of Health and Human Services4 supported our project to develop and test measures of adoption and to deploy those measures in a representative national survey of U.S. physicians. The goal was both to gather accurate information on current levels of adoption and to provide survey items that could be used to generate similar data over time on the diffusion of electronic health records and on physicians' perceptions of the effect of such systems on their practices. This report addresses the following questions: What proportion of physicians report that outpatient electronic health records are available to them in office practice? How satisfied are physicians who use such...
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