Despite the countless advanced in technology and the abundance of health care organization popping up all over the place, whether they are free standing clinics, hospitals, urgent cares or etc, many people still lack the ability to receive quality health care. This has become a concern throughout the world, but especially a more vocal concern for residents of the United States in the past few years. In this paper we will discuss the reasons preventing access to quality health care and how we can overcome the many obstacles that stand in our way to provide quality health care to many who lack it today. Some studies have shown in recent years that the high cost of health care is due to the high cost of defensive medicine . “Defensive medicine” is a term best described as a way to treat a patient without the burden or worry of possible litigation should something go wrong during treatment. According to a recent survey by Jackson Healthcare and Gallup, defensive medicine costs in 2009 were between $650 - $850 billion annually. Which is also roughly 26% – 34% of the average health care cost in the United States? Also according to this survey, many physicians actually practiced more “rule out” type medicine as opposed to diagnostic treatments, due to the fear of litigation. 76% of physician’s survey stated that defensive medicine decreases a patient’s access to health care. Tort reform has been seen as a way to alleviate some of the high health care cost and a way to stop the act of “defensive medicine”. According to the American College of Surgeons, “Medical malpractice premiums have reached a crisis point in many areas of the United States, thus driving many surgeons away from high risk specialties.” In one medical practice w... ... middle of paper ... ...on "Economists Against the FDA: Publications: The Independent Institute." The Independent Institute. 1 Sept. 2010. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. . Senger, Alyene. "Point-By-Point: The Case Against Obamacare." The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation. 1 Mar. 2012. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. . Cowen, Tyler. "Following the Money, Doctors Ration Care." The NewYork Times. 11 Dec. 2010. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. . "Maryland Health Care Commission." Legislative Reports. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. . Van Heerden, Larry. "Abolishing the FDA." Home. 1 Mar. 2007. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. .
Klein, E. (2014). A health industry expert on ‘the fundamental problem with Obamacare.’ The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2/8/14 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/01/09/a-health-industry-expert-on-the-fundamental-problem-with-obamacare
In Canada, access to health care is ‘universal’ to its citizens under the Canadian Health Care Act and this system is considered to the one of the best in the world (Laurel & Richard, 2002). Access to health care is assumed on the strong social value of equality and is defined as the distribution of services to all those in need and for the common good and health of all residents (Fierlbeck, 2011). Equitable access to health care does not mean that all citizens are subjected to receive the same number of services but rather that wherever the service is provided it is based on need. Therefore, not all Canadians have equal access to health services. The Aboriginal peoples in Canada in particular are a population that is overlooked and underserved
In America, it has become a battle to earn a high paying job to cope with the expenses of a typical American. It has become even more of a battle for some people to afford medical prescriptions to keep healthy. Health becomes a crucial issue when discussed among people. No matter what, at one point or another, everyone is going to stand as a victim of the pharmaceutical industry. The bottom line is Americans are paying excessive amounts of money for medical prescriptions. Health-Care spending in the U.S. rose a stunning 9.3% in 2002, which is the greatest increase for the past eleven years. (Steele 46) Many pharmaceutical companies are robbing their clients by charging extreme rates for their products.
good side. The FDA has a public mission to keep our country healthy and I feel quite safe in their
The National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (NHQDR) (2012) identified three key themes. The themes are health care quality and access are suboptimal, especially for minority and low income groups; overall quality is improving, access is getting worse and disparities are not changing; and urgent attention is warranted to ensure continued improvements in: quality diabetic care, maternal and child health, adverse events, disparities in cancer care and quality care among the states in the south.
Turner, Gracie M. "The Top Ten Worst Things in Obamacare | National Review Online." National Review Online. N.p., 28 June 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. .
Despite the established health care facilities in the United States, most citizens do not have access to proper medical care. We must appreciate from the very onset that a healthy and strong nation must have a proper health care system. Such a health system should be available and affordable to all. The cost of health services is high. In fact, the ...
Marmor, T. (2009). The obama administration's options for health care cost control: Hope versus reality. Annuals of Internal Medicine, 150(7), 485-489.
Healthcare professionals want only to provide the best care and comfort for their patients. In today’s world, advances in healthcare and medicine have made their task of doing so much easier, allowing previously lethal diseases to be diagnosed and treated with proficiency and speed. A majority of people in the United States have health insurance and enjoy the luxury of convenient, easy to access health care services, with annual checkups, preventative care, and their own personal doctor ready to diagnose and provide treatment for even the most trivial of symptoms. Many of these people could not imagine living a day without the assurance that, when needed, medical care would not be available to themselves and their loved ones. However, millions of American citizens currently live under these unimaginable conditions, going day to day without the security of frequent checkups, prescription medicine, or preventative medicines that could prevent future complications in their health. Now with the rising unemployment rates due to the current global recession, even more Americans are becoming uninsured, and the flaws in the United States’ current healthcare system are being exposed. In order to amend these flaws, some are looking to make small changes to fix the current healthcare system, while others look to make sweeping changes and remodel the system completely, favoring a more socialized, universal type of healthcare system. Although it is certain that change is needed, universal healthcare is not the miracle cure that will solve the systems current ailments. Universal healthcare should not be allowed to take form in America as it is a menace to the capitalist principle of a free market, threatens to put a stranglehold on for-...
The U.S. expends far more on healthcare than any other country in the world, yet we get fewer benefits, less than ideal health outcomes, and a lot of dissatisfaction manifested by unequal access, the significant numbers of uninsured and underinsured Americans, uneven quality, and unconstrained wastes. The financing of healthcare is also complicated, as there is no single payer system and payment schemes vary across payors and providers.
Vastag, Brian. "FDA Reviews Expanded Claims On Health Benefits Of Certain Foods." JNCI: Journal Of The National Cancer Institute 96.16 (2004): 1198-1199.
Reforming the health care delivery system to progress the quality and value of care is indispensable to addressing the ever-increasing costs, poor quality, and increasing numbers of Americans without health insurance coverage. What is more, reforms should improve access to the right care at the right time in the right setting. They should keep people healthy and prevent common, preventable impediments of illnesses to the greatest extent possible. Thoughtfully assembled reforms would support greater access to health-improving care, in contrast to the current system, which encourages more tests, procedures, and treatments that are either
Approximately 1 in 5 Americans do not have medical insurance and are more likely to lack a usual source of medical care, and more likely to skip routine medical care because of the very high costs, increasing their risk for serious health conditions. For the program, increasing the access to routine medical care and medical insurance are very important steps to achieve their goal of improving America’s health. The access to health services leading health indicators are those with medical insurance and a usual primary care provider. The access to health services in a regular basis can prevent disease and disability, detect and treat health conditions, increase quality of life, decrease the probability of premature death, and increase life
Today, there are many issues that hinder the quality of healthcare. Studies show that most people reported unfavorable evaluations of seeking medical care due to factors related to physicians, health care organizations, and similar affective concerns. Also, many participants stated that they do not seek medical care due to traditional barriers such as high costs, inability to obtain health insurance, and time constraints (Taber, Leyva, & Persoskie, 2015). To solve these issues, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement has create an initiative that they hope will improve healthcare and make it more accessible to all populations.
The US health system has both considerable strengths and notable weaknesses. With a large and well-trained health workforce, access to a wide range of high-quality medical specialists as well as secondary and tertiary institutions, patient outcomes are among the best in the world. But the US also suffers from incomplete coverage of its population, and health expenditure levels per person far exceed all other countries. Poor measures on many objective and subjective indicators of quality and outcomes plague the US health care system. In addition, an unequal distribution of resources across the country and among different population groups results in poor access to care for many citizens. Efforts to provide comprehensive, national health insurance in the United States go back to the Great Depression, and nearly every president since Harry S. Truman has proposed some form of national health insurance.