...Mega Underlying Issues of State Health Care Reform in America Sabrina Ward AIU Online The shear purpose of this paper is to enlighten the reader and explain in detail the true meaning of the state healthcare reform act as well as its purpose. The serious matter of the state healthcare reform act has been an issue that has widely discussed in America, but yet often contemplated at the same time. At this present day and time it is very important to have healthcare because you never know when you may need it the most. It is important to understand the integral part of the healthcare reform. For most Americans the healthcare system is not designed for us to understand the mere scope of the problems involved directly and indirectly as well as effectively and ineffectively. In order to help fix the growing problem of healthcare reform you will first need to understand it. The healthcare reform is the process of making sure that healthcare is affordable and accessible to everyone in need and those who are not in need as well. It is a well-known fact that in this economy that more and more Americans either can or can’t afford health care at it’s finest. In fact with that being said nearly 46 million Americans have no insurance and the other half at 25 million are basically underinsured. One factor to take into consideration would be the fact that most employers are not quite offering insurance anymore due the exacerbating costs. In the...
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...Issues Paper Denise Turner Managed Care and Health Insurance HSM 420 Professor Sonya Beard February 22, 2009 Issues Paper Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic is a large psychiatric clinical facility that centers its services around social, biological, addictive, and psychological treatments (Mezzich, 1985). For more than 50 years it has serviced Western Pennsylvania with state-of-the art quality care to patients of all ages (Western psychiatric institute & clincic, 2009). It is a large facility that makes up one of 20 hospitals and facilities of UPMC’s vast Pennsylvanian hospitals. UPMC belongs to the University of Pittsburgh and does not publicize its annual report. It is a non-profit hospital system that is accredited by JCAHO(formerly called Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations), now known as the Joint Commission (Western psychiatric institute & clinic, 2009). Even with that accreditation the issue of quality of care has crossed the mind of many over this past year after the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s fall issues have focused on a significant amount of crimes committed by those who frequent the hospital’s services. Though quality of care can best be discussed by a professional clinician, psychologist, or financial representative, I as a student would like to focus on the aspect of length of stay as a deterrent to repeated offenses among psych patients. But first we should consider aspects of managed care organizations...
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...| Affordable Care Act | What is in store for the future? | Caitlin Dulon 6-14-2015 | According to Medicaid.gov “The Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress and then signed into law by the President on March 23, 2010. On June 28, 2012 the Supreme Court rendered a final decision to uphold the health care law.” (P. 1) the affordable care act brought about a lot of changes to the way American’s were able to get health Insurance. Many American’s could not afford health insurance even though they were working jobs, or their place of employment did not offer insurance benefits. After the Affordable Care Act was put in place American’s had a place to get health coverage no matter what their current situation was. According to Medicaid.gov “The Affordable Care Act actually refers to two separate pieces of legislation — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of that, together expand Medicaid coverage to millions of low-income Americans and makes numerous improvements to both Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).” (P.1) The Affordable Care Act has given many low-income families the chance to have health insurance and be able to afford this insurance. These families are now able to get the preventative care that they need and be able to try and stay healthy so that they do not burden the United States with more medical bills they are unable to pay. But, even though they have insurance many...
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...Ethical Healthcare Issues HCS545 May 11th, 2015 Ethical Healthcare Issues Ethical issues arise in all types of industry no matter the magnitude of the issue decisions will have to be made regarding it. The health care industry is no different, some of those ethical issues include patient privacy (or lack of), transplant allocation, refusal of care, patient dumping, access of care, biomedical research and patient noncompliance with treatment. For this paper I will focus on patient privacy, the ethical issue of patient privacy is how patient information is getting leaked unintentionally. An examination of how each of the four major ethical principles can be applied towards this issue will be provided. Patient Privacy The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) original intents were to enable workers to change jobs without fear of losing health care coverage (Liebler & McConnell, 2012), but HIPAA is more commonly known for protecting patient privacy. When organizations had to be HIPAA compliant by April 14, 2003 those organizations were required to train employees in the proper handling of protected health information (PHI), publish policies and procedures addressing the handling of patient medical information (Liebler & McConnell, 2012) . Any release of patient information for purposes other than treatment, payment, or operations requires written authorization (Buppert, 2002). Under the patient privacy rule EVERYTHING is protected, diagnosis...
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...TH E E C O N O M I C B U R D E N O F H E A LT H I N E Q U A L I T I E S IN T H E U N I T E D S TAT E S THE ECONOMIC BURDEN OF HEALTH INEQUALITIES IN THE UNITED STATES Thomas A. LaVeist, Ph.D. Darrell J. Gaskin, Ph.D. Patrick Richard, Ph.D. September 2009 foreward Not everyone in the United States enjoys the same health opportunities. Studies show that minority Americans experience poorer than average health outcomes from cradle to the grave. They are much more likely to die as infants, have higher rates of diseases and disabilities, and have shorter life spans. As the U.S. Congress and the Obama Administration work toward enactment of legislation to reform America’s health care system, a central focus of the debate has been the projected cost of ensuring accessible and affordable health care to every citizen. While some have struggled with the premise that health care reform can actually reduce health-related spending, the experience of racial and ethnic minorities under our current health care system is a strong indication that improving opportunities for good health – and minimizing inequities in health care access and outcomes – may well be good for the nation’s fiscal health, as well. This study, commissioned by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and carried out by leading researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, provides important insight into how much of a financial burden racial disparities are putting on our health...
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...Current Issues in Health Care University of Phoenix Health Law and Ethics HCS 545 Professor: Dr. Michael Grossman February 14, 2015 Current Issues in Health Care Medical errors persist despite modern technology. Although, this is not a new issue it remains in the forefront of the health care community. Health care is a decade or more behind many other high-risk industries in its attention to ensuring basic safety (Institute of Medicine, 1999). Medical errors have been in the spotlight since the 1990's when government studied the sudden increase in the number of hospital deaths. According to Lester and Tritter (2001) "Medical error is an actual or potentially serious lapse in the standard of care provided to a patient or harm caused to a patient through the performance of a health service or health care professional". A study in the Journal of Health Care Finance from Wolters Kluwer finds medical errors in the U.S. may cost up to $1 trillion per year (Goedert, 2012). Medical errors can occur in many ways including but not limited to wrong site surgery, surgical errors, medication errors, adverse drug reactions, medical equipment failure, diagnostic error and communication errors. The Journal of Patient Safety estimates that the numbers of deaths in 2014 that are directly related to medical errors top 210,00 and may reach 440,00 (Allen, 2013). The statistics indicate that to ensure patient safety the reduction of medical errors must become a priority of...
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...| Ethical health care issue. Being ethical is one thing that is so important to all and sundry. In every manner of life, whether at home, at the work place, or any social place, ethics shape our behavior. The health care field is one sector that has ethics to be part of the practices. Ethical issues continue to be serious issues for discussions in the trends of the health care system. Viewing ethics as the fundamental platform for health care practices, the recognition of rights, an economic issue and shifts in social and family systems throws light on the ethical issues more in the health field (Fernandes & Moreira, 2013). Individual or group ethics of professionals may go a long way to change the organizational values. An organ donation situation occurred in a facility that was of ethical concern, the situation; its ethical implication and evaluation are discussed in this paper. This issue is being evaluated and discussed based on the four ethical principles, autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. The story of a father and daughter wanting to save each other poses an ethical issue of consent. This is a father who is willing and able to donate his only kidney to his needy daughter. The daughter here is in dire need of a kidney transplant. His father in 1996, according to CNN’s Kahn J.F donated one of his kidneys to his daughter while in jail (2000). The response to the transplant thereof has not been positive. Her father is ready to do an exchange and...
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...Healthcare in the United States is an industry that would be categorized as a fortress. It is regulated by Government policies that were mandated with the intentions of keeping the citizens safe, making sure everyone had coverage, and offering protection against those with inadequate credentials. Unfortunately what was created was a system that protects a small number of physicians and insurance companies and while most people are covered, that coverage of the quality it could be if healthcare were in a frontier market. The most substantial pitfall that keeps government projects in a fortress market is the idea that innovation can be controlled or produced on demand. People and companies are placed in the fortress, therefore the Government is stating that those inside are the chosen ones, they were handpicked to be industry leaders in safety, care, and innovation; this is a flawed notion. There is no way to adequately predict who will be the “Bill Gates” of...
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...Ethical Healthcare Issues Paper Robert Cordero HCS/545 May 23, 2011 Richard Nordahl Ethical Healthcare Issues Paper There are numerous ethical healthcare issues that current affect our society. This one is at the forefront of what makes us a society, the ability to reproduce. One of the most important things for most couples who unite is to start a family. Children make up an important part of our society by ensuring that our species continues to evolve. The majority of couples accomplish this by reproducing by sexual intercourse or naturally, but this is not always the case as some couples have trouble conceiving. Also, same sex couples and single women who may chose to have a child without a partner cannot reproduce this way, thus requiring alternate methods in order to conceive a child and reproduce. Artificial insemination is a process that doctors might suggest for couples who have trouble conceiving a biological child. The process requires that the husband’s, partner’s, or donor sperm be placed directly in the female’s reproductive tract. Donor sperm is used if the partner’s or husband’s sperm count is too low or in the case of same sex couples or single females trying to conceive without a partner (Baxamusa, 2011). The doctor monitors a woman’s ovulation cycle and once the best day is determined semen is placed directly on the reproductive tract and the waiting period begins to see if fertilization occurs. There are several procedures used to artificially...
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...The Ethical Issue Stated In this case, there are conflicting responsibilities and loyalties. The medical team feels strongly that the patient (Sarah) has a mental illness that requires hospitalization to ensure her safety. Although she is not agreeable to psychiatric admission, Sarah has demonstrated significant acts of self-harm and has lost the ability in her situational stress, mood disorder, and intoxicated state to make decisions that are in her best interest. She is clearly a danger to herself, and in good faith the medical team feels that it is their duty to provide services that will protect and rehabilitate the patient, Sarah. The nurse feels as if she needs to advocate for the patient’s best interests. However, there is always...
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...Health Care Issues in the United States Lori Schaffer Professor Gilliland Health Services Organization July 15, 2011 Health Care Issues in the United States Our health is affected by behaviors, economics, and social structure. Numerous behaviors and lifestyle patterns affect our health, such as: exposure to violence, vehicular accidents, alcohol, drugs, and infectious agents. (Williams/Torrens, p 67) Alcohol consumption and illicit drug use are examples of personal decision making and patterns of behavior that have tremendous adverse effects on health and on the economy. Alcohol abuse can lead to diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver, various cancers, intestinal disorders, and brain function deterioration. (Williams/Torrens, p 68) Drug abuse can lead to violent behaviors, liver, kidney, and brain deterioration. Tobacco abuse is associated with numerous diseases, including cardiovascular disease, lung and oral cancers. The above mentioned dysfunctional behaviors are made by personal choice. Some other behaviors that are detrimental to our health and affect the health care system are food choices. America is one of the heaviest countries, full of individuals that not only are overweight, but have unhealthy eating habits. This, too, can lead to illnesses. There is also the issue of unsafe sexual practices which lead to sexually transmitted diseases. A lot of these diseases go undiagnosed until irreversible damage to one’s health has occurred, such as, syphilis...
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...of the liver and cardiovascular disease. Sexual Transmitted Disease (STD) such as gonorrhea, AIDS, syphilis, and high levels of infertility, cancer, and other complications are results of bad sexual behavior (Williams & Torrens 2008). Social and economic structure have as consequence for the decision making and patterns of behavior: violent crime, to global social dysfunction, besides many other untoward consequences likewise vehicular accidents, workplace injuries, divorce, poor job performance, poor fetal outcomes associated with fetal alcohol syndrome, spousal and child abuse are also common (Williams & Torrens 2008). Furthermore, economics and social structures affect health in the sense that a person’s ability to access quality healthcare in a timely manner is affected by whether that person can afford to pay health insurance or pay cash on his or her own and that person’s willingness to seek medical help when they believe they need it. These factors are influenced by a person’s income level, education, societal status – married or unmarried - and psychological characteristic such as his/her believe system, also among other things, which have a correlation with his/her social structure. Describe the three stages of medical technology development. A...
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...1 Health Care Issues in the United States Ashley Barnes Dr. George Ojie-Ahamiojie Health Services Organization Management July 15, 2010 2 Describe how health is affected by behaviors, economics and social structure. When it comes to our health, there are numerous factors that play a part in whether or not we stay healthy or not; some factors we can control(physical activity & nutrition), while others are not always up to us to decide (poverty level, income). There are six key factors identified by the Centers for Disease Control(CDC) (2010) that affect the health of individuals: alcohol and drug use, smoking, injury and violence, physical activity and sexual risk behaviors. A majority of these factors an individual can chose to engage in or not, however, economic situation and social structure can impact those decisions as well. For people who are in a less affluent status, they may not be able to purchase the more nutritious option in a grocery store and will have to resort to buying enriched and over processed food products that are less expensive. These types of groceries do not provide the necessary nutrition and with prolonged consumption of these goods, can lead to adverse health effects such as obesity and diabetes. Engaging in behaviors such as drinking, risky sex and violence can lead to issues later in life if started at a young age, and contribute to education and social problems that the United States currently faces (CDC, 2010). Certain...
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...Web based healthcare and its need are growing as quickly as technology. Many people are turning to web based healthcare for ease of access and the swiftness of the consultation. Because of the recent interest in web based healthcare, many leading healthcare institutions and law makers are redefining what it means to be a patient and the provider of care. Many believe that there are certain privacy concerns with medical assistance through the internet, and web based locations. The main concern comes from, what many refer to as “hackers”, or individuals using the web to find and dig up information regarding individuals. Meaning that someone’s private medical record and personal information is now all going to be in one place and someone could...
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...Case Study: Partners HealthCare Systems Case Study: Partners HealthCare Systems Partners HealthCare is a non-profit, health system located in Boston that created a data based transformation (Davenport, 2013). It integrated a new system that aligned the participating organizations to cohesively run as one and to help shape the future of the organization. The system didn’t stop there as it was responsible for bettering the patient financing experience and the delivery of healthcare information to other organizations (Davenport, 2013). The initial goal of the organization was making patient care more affordable and accountable by providing integrated, evidence based, patient-oriented care. Problem Identified Partners HealthCare, which was created by major contributing hospitals and medical facilities in the Northeast, initially began as a way to focus on the patient needs; however, the company soon found themselves separating from their initial goal. There was more than one problem identified within the realms of the company. There are three main issues that this case study produced. The first outlying issue is called Alert/Warning Fatigue (Davenport, 2013). This derives from alerts that were placed in the system to warn doctors of notices that could be anything from mixing prescriptions to simple notifications that most doctors already knew or was not in their field of study. A second issue that requires resolution to create a successful working system is the sense...
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