Care maps are widely used in healthcare throughout the world. There are multiple synonyms for the term “care map” such as process map, guidelines, and clinical pathways (De Bleser et al., 2006). Not having a single agreed upon definition of care map leads to confusion in healthcare organizations. Experts have tried to use different terms for care maps and clinical pathway. However, care maps and clinical pathways are still used interchangeably since both terms are designed to support clinical decision management, to organize care processes, and to enhance effective communication across different disciplines on healthcare teams (Schrijvers, van Hoorn, & Huiskes, 2012).
Is the Care Map a True Predictor of Health Outcomes?
The world’s population
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Moreover, advanced management of chronic illnesses results in longer life expectancy in older adults. Healthcare organizations use the care map integrated with the trajectory of illness. Many studies have exhibited lower hospital readmissions and length of stays while leading to improvement in quality, safety, communication and efficiency (Dubuc et al., 2013). Even though use of care maps result in positive health outcomes, the effectiveness of care maps in older adults remains controversial (American Geriatrics Society Expert Panel, 2012; Mutasingwa et al., …show more content…
Older adults are more likely to have more than one chronic condition which can affect their risks and treatments. Moreover, some effective clinical trial interventions recommended in a care map may not be practical for a particular patient setting. The hospital’s policy maker’s decisions based upon consideration of the feasibility, costs, and benefits of potentially effective interventions. While healthcare providers understand well the quality of care, a care map based on reimbursement limits may either constrain what they can provide or reduce the patient’s choices. Moreover, the ethical dilemma of ones’ inability to pay for health care services may be a factor. For example, older adults with no health insurance coverage may have inequitable access to healthcare services. Therefore, healthcare organizations need to improve the quality of care yet do so with limited
According to Statistics Canada Report 2013, “life expectancy in Canada is one of the highest in the world” and it is expected to grow, making the aging population a key driver to our health-systems reform. By 2036, seniors in Canada will comprise of twenty five per cent of the population (CIHI, 2011). Seniors, those aged 65 years and older are the fastest growing population in Canada. Currently there are approximately 4.8 million Canadians aged 65 or greater. It is projected that this number will increase to 9 to 10 million by 2036 (Priest, 2011). As the population get aged the demand for health care and related services are expected to increase. Currently, the hospitals in Ontario are frequent faced with overcrowding emergency departments, full of admitted patients and beds for those patients to be transferred to. It has been reported that 20% of the acute care beds in the hospital setting are occupied by patients that do not require acute hospital care. These patients are termed Alternate Level of Care (ALC). ALC is “When a patient is occupying a bed in a hospital and does not require the intensity of resources/services provided in this care setting (Acute, Complex, Continuing Care, Mental Health or Rehabilitation), the patient must be designated Alternate level of Care at that time by the physician or her/his delegate.” (Ontario Home Care Association, 2009, p.1).
The health care organization with which I am familiar and involved is Kaiser Permanente where I work as an Emergency Room Registered Nurse and later promoted to management. Kaiser Permanente was founded in 1945, is the nation’s largest not-for-profit health plan, serving 9.1 million members, with headquarters in Oakland, California. At Kaiser Permanente, physicians are responsible for medical decisions, continuously developing and refining medical practices to ensure that care is delivered in the most effective manner possible. Kaiser Permanente combines a nonprofit insurance plan with its own hospitals and clinics, is the kind of holistic health system that President Obama’s health care law encourages. It still operates in a half-dozen states from Maryland to Hawaii and is looking to expand...
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.
African American senior citizens face a health care crisis too. They have worked all of their lives to secure retirement, but their retirement has been threatened because of the rising cost of long-term medical care. Insurance companies have failed to provide affordable long-term care, protection that most senior citizens need. This lack of long term care and affordability has been a serious problem for the health care system. In some cities, the shortage of hospital beds is so serious that it is common for patients to stay in emergency rooms before they can be admitted to an inpatient room (Drake 109). More than one thousand hospital beds are occupied by people who could be better care for in nursing homes or through home health care (Drake 110). Of the disabled elderly 1.3 million reside in nursing homes (Drake 10). These patients are unable to perform two or more of the basic activities of daily living without assistance.
There are profound effects of ageism that can be harmful to a patient’s overall health. Ageism can cause physicians to consistently treat older patients unequally compared to younger adults. Unequal treatment can be divided into the under-treatment of symptoms and the over-treatment of symptoms. The imbalance in how a physician would treat a geriatric patient is ageist because the older adult is not getting fair treatment in every case. Under-treatment and over-treatment are different; however, they are both equally as harmful to a patients health.
this will cause healthcare providers with the training and education needed for clinical documentation improvements to be installed effectively. It is important that having a specialized team who can create solutions towards Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) in order to minimize the failures that may occur. In this case, investing in training for the materials/tools necessary for healthcare providers to excel in their work with CDI. Essentially, Clinical Documentation is used throughout the healthcare system for the analysis of care, communication, and medical records. This is important because the information of medical records that healthcare providers are able to access, will help patients track their health conditions. Thus, clinical documentation improvement has a direct impact on patients by providing quality information. On the other hand, the new technological advancements will also be able to address the efficiencies in health care system that differ from paper-based charting. Improving on the quality of information will also have the effect upon the ethical and effectiveness of care that is being provided. This has a significant impact in order to maintain patient care that ensures the documentation is accurate, timely, and reflect within the services provided. Documentation assessments can be utilized so there can be improvements on the education for healthcare providers as they intend implementation standards take effect immediately. In this case, failures must be analyzed so that they will have the ability to comprehend and determine an organization’s strengths and weaknesses
The paradox of excess and deprivation in the United States health care system is that some people receive too little care while others receive too much care. There are certain groups of people who receive too little care or do not receive care in a timely manner. For example, if a person is uninsured or have Medicaid, they will have to wait a longer period of time to be treated for illnesses and receive appropriate tests. Other groups of people who are elderly or insured receive additional care which leads to too much excessive care. Elderly people are most likely to have health problem, so they run more test like CT scans or MRI scans and do more medical procedures that are basically unnecessary. Due to the health crisis in the United States, it is very confusing why they will give additional care or perform unnecessary test. This is a good topic to just trying to get paid more money by giving additional care.
...6 in 2050” (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2012, p. 15). Comparatively, in 1900 the average life expectancy was 47 (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2012, p. 15). This is relevant with regards to ageism in that the need for trained health care professionals in the field of gerontology will be astounding, but because of the current perceptions of older adults there is a gross lack of these specialty providers. “It has been estimated that by 2030, 3.5 million formal health care providers-a 35 percent increase from current levels-will be needed just to maintain the current ratio of providers to the total population” (Ferrini & Ferrini, 2013, p, 15). The prediction is that all health care providers will spend at least 50 percent of their time working with older adults; increased competency while eliminating ageist attitudes is paramount for quality health care (Ferrini & Ferrini, 2013, p. 15).
The expected hierarchy among health care providers is led by physicians. The doctor has long been the “expert” on anything to do with the human body, whether it is disease or injury. The evolution of technology brought the World Wide Web readily to every consumer’s doorstep resulting in a slight shift of this everlasting faith. Older adults continue to retain some of this confidence in their physicians due to their tendency not to use the internet and search for their own ...
The U.S. population is getting older: the Census Bureau reported the population of people less than 45 years old dropped from 65.6% in 2000 to 60.5% in 2010. While the percent of people 65 years and over increased by 15% between 2000 and 2010 (US Census, 2011, p.2). Age is associated with increased health care demand. Over 56% of people 65+ and 65% of people 75+ make four or more visits to health care professionals. While only 31% of people 18-44 years old make four or more visits (US Census, 2012, table 166). In 2000, people over 65 years old visited the hospitals three times more than the general population, and people over 75 years old visited the hospitals four times more than the general population (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003, p.8). Therefore, due to the fact that ageing population brings about an increasing demand for health care, With the population getting older and thus increasing demand for health care, the US needs to increase the supply of health care professionals.
Today, the world’s population is aging at a very fast pace and the United States is no exception to this demographic change. According to the U.S Census Bureau, senior citizens will account for 21% of the American population in 2050 (Older Americans, 2012). Although living longer lives may not seem like a negative sign, living longer does not necessarily mean living healthier. Older adults of today are in need of long-term health care services more than any generation before them (Older Americans, 2012). Because of the growing need for senior care, millions of families are facing critical decisions on how to provide care for their parents.
The concept map has the advantage of allowing healthcare professionals to brainstorm and develop treatment plans that are disease specific and patient-specific (Aberdeen, 2015b). Furthermore, the concept map permits the healthcare professionals and the patient to manipulate and visualize the map to gain a deeper understanding of how a goal must be addressed to accomplish the desired outcomes. This promotes learning and encourages patient participation and compliance, which improves patient outcomes (Aberdeen, 2015b). However, the GMD patient must invest in the ideas of the concept map, choose to participate, and follow through with the interventions to improve the quality of care, and patient outcomes (Green, Fettes, & Aarons,
Access to health care refers to the ease with which an individual can obtain needed medical services. Many Americans face barriers that make it difficult to obtain basic health care services. These barriers to services include lack of availability, high cost, and lack of insurance coverage. "Limited access to health care impacts people's ability to reach their full potential, negatively affecting their quality of life." (Access to Health Services, 2014) Access to health services encompasses four components that include coverage, services, timeliness, and workforce
It involves the mental, physical, emotional, and medical domains of the individual’s life, but due to the fact that many of these services are publicly funded, gaps exist. Cox (2007) reported that “community resources were generally perceived as inadequate. None of our participants had ready access to social workers in the office, so arranging home health care, adult day care, and other community services added to the difficulty of primary care” (p. 82). Not only are the services and programs inadequate, recent economic dilemmas and ‘recession’ has reduced public spending to meager allowances. Another sore problem is Medicare and general health care programs for the less wealthy. This was the sentiment echoed by one physician interviewed: “If you told me I had to run this place on the basis of what I get from Medicare, I would have to tell you I couldn’t do it, which is kind of sad, because they claim that they’re bankrupt and everything. Where in the hell are they spending their money? They sure ain’t giving it to