Introduction
According to estimates, approximately 141 million people in the United States suffer from one or more chronic illness.1 This estimate is projected to significantly increase over the next decade; almost every other American may be living with one or more chronic condition.2 The trend in per capita spending portrays a very similar pattern. Chronic illnesses constitute 75% of total health care expenditures annually; spending is projected to triple from $ 273 to $818 billion by 2030 for cardiovascular diseases, for example.3 High expenditures associated with chronic illnesses are driven primarily by high hospital admission rates (including readmissions) and emergency care use.4 It is not surprising to learn that chronic illnesses contribute significantly to the leading causes of premature death in the United States with cardiovascular diseases leading the list (Figure 1).
The health care industry as well as policy makers is hastening to find ways to curtail rising health care costs and reduce lives lost amidst limited health care budgetary concerns.5 Disease management programs have been widely endorsed by both the private and government health sector as a potential solution for addressing growing healthcare costs and improving quality of medical care.1,6
Designed using elements from the chronic
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In light of the ambiguous findings, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid funded the first major Medicare study aimed to examine the effectiveness of disease management programs on coordination of care.4 Different from many other small observational or cohort studies, this was a large randomized control trial that involved randomizing eligible fee-for-service Medicare patients suffering from congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease and diabetes into the intervention (nurse led patient education and monitoring via telephone) or usual care.4 Claims data were analyzed for changes in hospitalizations and Medicare expenditures including other
This module of study has focused on many aspects of human health, anatomy, and the disease process. It has included such topics as the human organ systems, the mechanism of disease and the resulting disruption of homeostasis, the integumentary system, and the musculoskeletal system. The following case studies explore how burn classification will affect treatment, how joint injuries can disrupt mobility, and last, how a sedentary lifestyle can contribute to a decline in a person’s health status. The importance of understanding disease and knowing when to seek treatment is the first step toward enjoying a balanced and healthy life.
Health Care workers are constantly faced with legal and ethical issues every day during the course of their work. It is important that the health care workers have a clear understanding of these legal and ethical issues that they will face (1). In the case study analysed key legal and ethical issues arise during the initial decision-making of the incident, when the second ambulance crew arrived, throughout the treatment and during the transfer of patient to the hospital. The ethical issues in this case can be described as what the paramedic believes is the right thing to do for the patient and the legal issues control what the law describes that the paramedic should do in this situation (2, 3). It is therefore important that paramedics also
Over the last several years, the United States has experienced the emergence of countless lifestyle based illnesses. We have seen an increase of inactivity, poor nutrition, an increase of tobacco use, and more frequent alcohol consumption; Americans are living unhealthy lifestyles that are surely factors contributing to the pervasiveness of chronic diseases. Chronic diseases use to be seen as problems that older generations faced, but over the past several years the United States’ working age group has become a main target. For example, Americans are experiencing higher rates of diabetes, and heart disease. Conditions like these only lead to a diminished quality of life, could possibly lead to shorter life spans, disability, and quite possibly in the long run increased health care costs. Businesses are also impacted by an employees lifestyle decisions; absenteeism and presenteeism.
For the last five years of my life I have worked in the healthcare industry. One of the biggest issues plaguing our nation today has been the ever rising cost of health care. If we don't get costs under control, we risk losing the entire system, as well as potentially crippling our economy. For the sake of our future, we must find a way to lower the cost of health care in this nation.
When one examines managed health care and the hospitals that provide the care, a degree of variation is found in the treatment and care of their patients. This variation can be between hospitals or even between physicians within a health care network. For managed care companies the variation may be beneficial. This may provide them with opportunities to save money when it comes to paying for their policy holder’s care, however this large variation may also be detrimental to the insurance company. This would fall into the category of management of utilization, if hospitals and managed care organizations can control treatment utilization, they can control premium costs for both themselves and their customers (Rodwin 1996). If health care organizations can implement prevention as a way to warrant good health with their consumers, insurance companies can also illuminate unnecessary health care. These are just a few examples of how the health care industry can help benefit their patients, but that does not mean every issue involving physician over utilization or quality of care is erased because there is a management mechanism set in place.
State and local public health departments throughout the country have the responsibility for improving health in workplaces, schools, and communities through identifying top health problems within society and developing a plan to improve. Barriers the public health system has encountered over the years include: changes in the overall health system that support cost containment and improved health, and an increase in the number of individuals with insurance coverage for direct preventive services; reduction of qualified public health professional and funding at all levels of government; increasing focus on accountability, with higher expectations for demonstrating a return on investment in terms of cost and health improvement (Trust, 2013). In the near future, health departments ...
Formed in 1998, the Managed Care Executive Group (MCEG) is a national organization of U.S. senior health executives who provide an open exchange of shared resources by discussing issues which are currently faced by health care organizations. In the fall of 2011, 61 organizations, which represented 90 responders, ranked the top ten strategic issues for 2012. Although the issues were ranked according to their priority, this report discusses the top three issues which I believe to be the most significant due to the need for competitive and inter-related products, quality care and cost containment.
In order to make ones’ health care coverage more affordable, the nation needs to address the continually increasing medical care costs. Approximately more than one-sixth of the United States economy is devoted to health care spending, such as: soaring prices for medical services, costly prescription drugs, newly advanced medical technology, and even unhealthy lifestyles. Our system is spending approximately $2.7 trillion annually on health care. According to experts, it is estimated that approximately 20%-30% of that spending (approx. $800 billion a year) appears to go towards wasteful, redundant, or even inefficient care.
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 ...
According to Harry A. Sultz and Kristina M. Young, the authors of our textbook Health Care USA, medical care in the United States is a $2.5 Trillion industry (xvii). This industry is so large that “the U.S. health care system is the world’s eighth
The contentious debate about our healthcare system is an epitome of the ongoing political circus in America. With the 2012 elections looming just around the corner, we can expect the vitriol to rise rapidly. Our country spends twice as much on health care per capita compared to other developed countries. The current system is so dysfunctional and projected spending will increase every year, putting an unbelievable strain to our fragile economy. Majority of health care dollars spending are channeled on to patients with chronic illnesses, many of which can be prevented. Unfortunately, medical doctors practicing preventive care are being squeezed out of the equation. The shortage of primary care doctors in America is inevitable because of limited income, lesser prestige, and fewer opportunities.
Patients with chronic diseases do not receive established and operative treatments to help them successfully manage their condition. These complications are aggravated by an absence of organization of care for patients with chronic diseases. Nevertheless, the fundamental disintegration of the health care system is not unexpected given that health care providers do not have the imbursement support or other tools they need to interconnect and work together successfully to improve patient care (Brennan et al., 2009; Renders et al., 200;).
There are new challenges every year in the health care field. Research on the future of the U.S. Healthcare System is of paramount importance to the entire health care industry as well as the citizens of the U.S. To begin with, the research will discuss how challenges for future healthcare services can be enhanced by reducing the costs of medication. By creating a better quality of health care, Information technology advancements, including future funding, lower rising costs, the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The research will also discuss the challenges of market share for different ages of people populating and maintaining a skilled workplace. It will further discuss the tentative solutions to these challenges.
Roughly 2.8 trillion dollars is spent currently on health care in the United States (Kliff, 2014). In 2013, the United States spent almost 50 percent more than the next highest health care spender, France (The Commonwealth Fund, 2016). Many experts agree health care costs consumes a significant portion of economic output as well as increased premium costs. Several factors are contributing to cost escalation such as defensive medicine, increase in the elderly population, and growth of technology (Shi & Singh, 2016). The United States is considered to have mostly a private health care system, however it spends more money on the public health care system than countries with a completely public health care system. Government funded programs, such as Medicare, play a considerable roll in health care expenditures. It is projected that Medicare expenditures will rise to 9 percent of the GDP by the year 2050 (Shi & Singh, 2016). Further concern arises with drug costs in the United
Over two thirds of deaths in each year among estimated yearly deaths are due to non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetics, cancer and upper res...