...Important Attributes Of Quality Health Care: Consumer Perspectives - Brief Article IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTES OF QUALITY HEALTH CARE: CONSUMER PERSPECTIVES M H Oermann, T Templine Journal of Nursing Scholarship Vol 32 no 2 (1998) 167-172 Personnel at contemporary health care agencies are identifying patient outcomes to evaluate services and patient care. This research focuses on consumer perspectives of high quality health care. Consumer perspectives or expectations have been found to be based on demographic characteristics, health care experiences, and specific concerns related to consumers' unique health problems. Further, patients evaluate their experiences by comparing their expectations to actual events. Satisfaction occurs when events match expectations. The purpose of this research was to allow consumers to identify important attributes of quality health and nursing care and to examine the relationship of consumer perspectives to health status and selected demographic variables. Method and sample. This exploratory study examined a convenience sample of 239 health care consumers, of which 50% were recruited from homes in neighborhoods of a large metropolitan area (ie, urban and suburban) in the Midwest, and 50% were recruited from waiting rooms of clinics in the same neighborhoods. These participants included 149 women (63.1%) and 87 men (36.9%). These gender totals equal 236, whereas previously stated the sample size was 239. This discrepancy was not addressed in the article...
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...Summary UPMC is the largest health network in Pittsburgh area, comprising of several hospitals with many specialties where they are highly ranked as some of the first in quality care in the nation. UPMC is nonprofit organization and it is the first health network with this status to fully comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley law. UPMC is also the largest employer in Pennsylvania with more than 55,000 employees and a large innovator in information technology, where products are commercialized nationally and abroad. Besides specialty hospitals, UPMC also operates several academic and community hospitals, as well as more than 400 outpatient centers (UPMC, 2013). This paper will measure UPMC's performance utilizing a balanced scorecard in order for the organization to focus on what they need to maintain or improve their future perspective and performance. UPMC's main objective is to remain the largest provider, innovator, employer while being a charitable organization. UPMC also focus in customer satisfaction, therefore the balanced scorecard will also help measuring this important area. Introduction The balanced scorecard was created in order to focus on the objectives of an organization to achieve success. To build a workable scorecard it is necessary to link measurements to strategy and focus in how the organization will look different to customers, shareholders, internal process and learning, the critical process to achieve the four perspectives and the key measurements which...
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...Affordable Care Act - Applying Historical Perspectives to a Current Social Issue The University of Washington, School of Social Work The Affordable Care Act - Applying Historical Perspectives to a Current Social Issue Universal health care for Americans has long been a highly contested hot button issue in the United States. It is no secret that Americans pay much more for medical services than other comparable countries, however these higher price tags do not necessarily translate to better care (Keller, 2013). For example, the average price of the allergy nose spray Nasonex is $108 in the United States, compared to $21 in Spain. In many developed countries, a basic colonoscopy costs well under $1,000, but in the United States a bill for this procedure would likely be closer to the $7,000 to $9,000 range (Rosenthal, 2013). In the midst of the debate, and while Republicans and Democrats alike may claim that they want the best health care available for all American people, in the media more often than not this argument comes down to dollars and cents. However, it is of course too simplistic to say that only the power of money and no other forces are at play here. In this paper I will present the case of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), more commonly referred to as Obamacare, as it relates to a number of different political and economic ideologies presented in readings and in lecture. The goal of the ACA is to increase the quality and affordability of medical care and health insurance...
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...Criteria. |1-23-14 |135 | |Evaluating the Research |Select one of the articles collected in the Week One Annotated Bibliography assignment. | | | |Process |Write a 1,400- to -1,750-word paper that evaluates the research process within your chosen | | | | |article. | | | | |Explain the research process and what you can assume from the study from the following | | | | |perspectives: | | | | | | | | | |How is the literature review used in this research? | | | | |What are ethical considerations for data collection? | | | | |What is the data telling us in terms of statistical analysis? | | ...
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...Communication Paper HCS 490 Communication Paper “With the widespread use of electronic e-mail communication, health care experts are increasingly interested in employing newer technology to improve and lower the costs associated with medical care” (Zickmund & et. al, 2008). Good characteristic of health care depends on the health care provider’s ability to correspond effectively diagnosis and care for, in addition to providing proper health education information. Written and verbal communications have been customarily the principal means for sharing health information. Modern technology, such as Internet functions for communication among health care providers and patient are rising as a different feasible possibility for patient communication. E-mail has taken on importance as a form of communication that is accessible to consumers and health care providers. The use of e-mail by health care providers’ permits him or her to follow-up patient care. E-mail establishes a written documentation that eliminates uncertainty about what information the health care provider wishes to share. E-mail can give support to the health care delivery procedures by permitting written follow-up instructions, test results, and educational materials for patients, in addition to, a way for patients to reach easily his or her physician on n0n-emergency health questions. At the same time, concerns of privacy, confidentiality, and security must be dealt with to make sure the efficacy and effectiveness...
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...Health Care Communication Communication is when two or more people are interacting with each other and understanding one another and sharing information that has meaning (du Pre, 2005). According to Basset (1974), communication has at least five major facets: verbalization, definitions, control, body or silent language, and sharing experiences. When communicating with people there are basic things that need to be done to ensure that each person ends with the same outcome and understand one another. When interacting with people the person must start by listening. Listening consists of hearing the person and watching the person’s body language. There are things that a person can tell you through their body language that they might not be saying with words. The tone needs to be set. The tone set initially will be the tone throughout the communication process. If someone greets someone in a rude manner then the person is going to react by being rude back. That might just ruin the persons day and every person he or she interacts with will get an unpleasant experience. If someone is having a stressful day and do not know how to handle their stress well they may take it out on someone they are dealing with. That person may in turn shut down because they do not know how to communicate with a person who is upset. Working in the health care field there is certain terminology that is used. A health care professional is able to understand the words and there meanings...
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...Patient Affordable Care Act “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (The U.S. Constitution Online, 2010). When the United States Congress met on July 4, 1776, the men who enacted the United States Constitution had no idea what the health care section would turn into. According to Shi and Singh (2008), health care products and, services were delivered by “anyone who had the inclination to set himself up as a physician” (Shi & Singh, 2008, pg.85). In 2012, the theory of all men are created equal is proved wrong because not every man, woman, and child is privileged to be covered by a health care plan. On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama put into act the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act will benefit children at first and eventually all the people of the United States. The Affordable Care Act will ensure that insurance companies will no longer be able to deny people coverage because of a pre-existing condition, will end lifetime limits on policies and, will let patients chose the physicians he or she wants to see. The Affordable Care Act will also ensure that the “most egregious practices of the insurance industry” (United States Department of Health and Human Services, n.d. para. 2) are stopped and businesses and patients will be able to use the health care system appropriately...
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...services for consumers. Health Maintenance Organization, Emergency Medical Services and Cox Health systems work to provide health coverage for consumers and quality care for each consumer. HMO is a type of health care plan that consumers can chose for health coverage. Emergency Medical Services collaborates with teams to advance EMS systems. Cox Health systems provides a variety of services through their facilities. Cox health, like EMS, provides emergency treatment to patients. They also utilize the EMS for emergency patient transfers and admissions. Cox health also has to deal with HMOs and PPOs on a daily basis when treating patients and billing insurance companies. Cox Health is a good example of the other three organizations combined to provide excellence service to the consumers. The similarities and differences of HMOs and PPOs is first they are both networks. However, HMO allows one to choose a health care provider within the HMO network much like PPO. But, with PPO one can choose a primary care physician out of network as well. This is not so with HMO, one has to choose their PCP or Primary Care Physician within network. Another difference is one must have a referral from HMO to see a specialist but PPO a referral is not needed. Each organization communicates and operates differently, therefore what would work for one may not work for the other. An organization such as a PPO or HMO will deal more with office issues and staff management. They contact with consumers is generally...
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...northern New Jersey’s drug corridor, where most of the international Pharmaceutical companies have their headquarters, mobilized for action” (Aitken & Holt, 2000, p. 82). According to Aitken and Holt (2000), this was the day that the US Food and Drug Administration issued temporary guidelines the, for the first time, permitting the drug makers to specify the uses of their prescription remedies in their radio and television advertisements (p. 82). Marketing and advertisement has been around almost since the beginning of time. One of the ethical dilemmas concerning television and radio advertisements for prescription drugs is the potential for the consumer to self-prescribe or evaluate their symptoms. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2013), doctors believe that patients understand that they need to consult a health care professional about appropriate treatment (p.1). On the other hand, it could be possible for the patient to adapt their own symptoms for the sake of obtaining a desired medication. “Intellectual property (IP) is the work product of the human mind. Novels, paintings, computer programs, songs and inventions are all examples” (Halbert & Ingulli, 2012, p. 316). “Activist caution that the rights created by intellectual property laws grant monopolies that can stifle not only creativity but also the competition on which our free market economy is based” (Halbert & Ingulli, 2012, p. 317). If a monopoly is created in regards to a product, all...
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...Review Test Construction Project Online Health Information Seeking Behavior The purpose of this literature review is to briefly discuss the existing literature about online health information-seeking behavior. For the purpose of this particular research we will focus on these behaviors by adults only and from the perspective the Health consumer. Other studies have looked at these behaviors in adolescents, who happen to have very different reasons for internet health information seeking than the adult demographic. And some studies have also considered the perspective of the health professional. But I will touch only briefly on this perspective for my research. According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (2011), since the introduction of the World Wide Web in the early nineties, there has been a building interest in the internet as a communication tool for health-related information.” Given the overall general lean of society towards technology based mediums for a majority of communication endeavors, this trend towards online health information seeking behavior seems inevitable. This provides a means for the health consumer to be proactive about their health and become more educated about health matters. Ybarra and Suman (2006) found that proactive patients who ask the right questions “may hasten the diagnosis and treatment process.” The primary purpose of my research is to document the prevalence of health information seeking behavior on the internet...
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...Opinion Paper Health care communication is an important factor in proper health care. If there is no communication or trust between the health care provider and the consumer, this could affect the quality of care for the consumer. This paper is an overview of effective communication, the basic elements of communication, the encouragement of a reluctant consumer, and the impact cultural difference that may influence communication. To incorporate the basic elements of communication, providers must first examine what exactly effective communication is. This involves more than just sharing an understanding, it involves feelings, thoughts, wants, needs, and the intentions of the communicators (Cheesbro, O’Conner, & Rios, 2010). According to Cheesbro, O’Conner, and Rios, there are six components to the communication process; sender and receiver, encoding, decoding, message, channel, and feedback (Cheesbro, O’Conner, & Rios, 2010). In the first component a person will act as a transceiver, meaning he or she is sending and receiving messages. Encoding is the process of changing thoughts and feelings into symbols and decoding is assigning meaning to those symbols. The message will be the thought or idea, the channel is how the message travels, and feedback is the to the senders message. In order for a provider to encourage a reluctant consumer to communicate candidly, he or she must influence what people expect form doctors and nurses. It is important for a care provider to...
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...paradigms when it came to health care policy and law as it relates to historical terms and social, economic, and political views dominated a particular era; professional autonomy, social contract, and free market perspective. Professional autonomy was in place from 1880 to 1960. This perspective focused on the premise that physicians were experts when it came to medical issues and therefore should have the legal authority to rule over all aspects of an individual's healthcare. Social contract perspective was enacted between 1960 and 1980. This policy did not think giving all the power to the medical professional was a good idea and was potentially dangerous to the patients care. They believed that public policy and law should enforce "social contracts" to take some control from the physician and ensure the patient's well-being. From 1990 to currently the free market perspective has been in place. It states that competition, deregulation, and freedom of choice will lead to consumer empowerment, thus leading to and very efficient health care system. As a chief operating officer of a hospital and being tasked with designing the structure a new ambulatory care center in my city, I would lean toward the free market paradigm. The free market paradigm allows for the collaboration between the private and the public health care sectors. One advantage is it give patients a freedom of choice. They get to choose their level of care from quality to cost. Using this perspective allows our facility...
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...place in all professional settings to ensure that things are managed well and run efficiently, but in health care things tend to change. Health care communication is something that varies from person to person because it is situational. The basic rules apply but there is a twist when receiving the information and the demonstration in the results. With the rise of the Internet over the past few years, public figures speaking out, and television advertisements it should become easier for people to talk about their concerns but still people can be reluctant to discuss certain problems with their health care providers. Fear and human nature puts people in a place where they do not want to feel alone. Properly educating patients allows them to feel more comfortable to share their concerns about things that may be occurring or something that they feel might be wrong. Effective communication incorporated with the basic elements of communication is something that is instilled in everyone from a young age. The essential elements of communication begin with a sender and then passed to the receiver. The message of the communication must be delivered correctly to the receiver and then that person must acknowledge understanding and proper delivery of the message. With these steps, effective communication can be demonstrated by anyone who wishes to achieve them. Good communication in health care is necessary when it comes to caring for patients, the patient's life may be on the line. Basic...
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...MOV E R S S H A KE RS A LOOK AT HUMANA’S INTEGRATED HEALTH APPROACH: A Conversation with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Roy Beveridge March 2014 “We Accelerate Growth” MOV E R S & S H A KE R S Movers & Shakers Inter view with Dr. Roy Beveridge Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Humana March 2014 Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is a leading provider of commercial health plans, specialty insurance plans, and integrated health and wellness services. Headquartered in Louisville, Ky., the company was founded in 1961 and currently serves 12 million members across the US through individual and employer markets. Humana is the fifth-largest company in terms of medical membership in the country. Humana is particularly strong in the Medicare market and has developed deep expertise over its 25-plus year experience with the program. Humana currently has Medicare offerings in all 50 states and offers Medicare Advantage plans and standalone prescription drug coverage for approximately 5.8 million members. In addition to selling insurance products, Humana also delivers primary care, urgent care, wellness, and other healthcare services through its operation of medical centers and worksite medical facilities via its Concentra subsidiary, CAC Medical Centers in South Florida, wellness company LifeSynch and other affiliated businesses. Humana’s president and CEO is Bruce Broussard, who was named president in late 2011 and appointed CEO in 2013.The company reported $41.31 billion...
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...operational applications of various information technology (IT) and advance systems concepts for healthcare services delivery within an individual, group, and more appropriately; an organizational perspective (Tan & Payton, Pp. 7). However Health Information Technology (HIT) is a small of this ever changing industry. It is an intensifying and fluctuating field in today’s state-of-the-art world. Ample advances in technology have led to better-quality systems and devices for patient care. It is essential for today’s patients and health care providers. Without an adequate form of compiling information on any given patient that follows his 2- I want to suggest integrated personal health records (PHRs). PHRs offer a substantial possibility to motivate transformational changes in health care delivery and self-care by patients. Integrated PHRs promote active, ongoing patient relationship in their care delivery and decision making. Personal health records (PHRs) are tools that can toughen consumers’ capacity to vigorously manage their own health and health care. While the capabilities of PHRs fluctuate ominously, they characteristically include provisions to capture information about a person’s diagnoses, medications, allergies, lab test results, immunization records, and other personal health information. Many PHRs also offer connections to convenience tools like requesting appointments, requesting prescription...
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