The Future of the US Healthcare System - Essay Example

The Future of US Healthcare System The Future of US Healthcare System Introduction The American healthcare system is affected by a myriad of activities, which have resulted in significant transformation of different aspects of the system. The occurrence of such transformations seeks to bring fundamental changes in healthcare provision in the country and also change the availability of jobs within the sector. There are numerous micro-trends that have had significant effects in the transformation of the US health sector (Buerhaus, Staiger, & Auerbach, 2009). These trends will present an effect on the economy and the personal lifestyle of individuals as well consequently, transforming the entire health delivery system within the county. Economic Trends Various notable economic trends are expected to have significant influence in the US’s system of healthcare in the future. These include government control, increased accountability and standardization. Government Influence There is an anticipated increased government involvement in the provision of healthcare services within the United States. This government involvement will occur through the introduction of various regulations seeking to improve the way healthcare services are provided to the citizens across the country. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act seeks to bring significant evolution into the system, increasing government control of the delivery of healthcare services. Within the provision of this act, health benefit exchanges are expected to be introduced in all states, with the involved organizations offering a limited number of standard benefit packages (Swayne, Duncan & Ginter, 2012). The government’s influence is aimed at reducing the cost of providing healthcare services, a factor that should increase the number of Americans under medical insurance cover. While Medicaid will increase its income, the profit margins for the healthcare organizations will continue to reduce drastically. Increased Accountability The regulations imposed by the government will present accountability changes in the system. The focus of healthcare providers will shift from provision of episodic care to continuous care as medical insurance will cover people. Since this will increase the risk of the provider, the level of accountability will also be changed as the provider becomes answerable to the payer and patient as well. As the organizations seek to strategize on their plans, mergers could become common within the industry (Buerhaus et al., 2009). Organizations will merge in order to mitigate the risks that they face through increased accountability to the public. The healthcare organizations will be driven towards working together as they try to share the financial risks and benefits as well. The different expertise the organizations have will be maximized in these partnerships with the aim of enhancing the system’s efficiency. Standardization As regulations continue to increase within the system, there is a fundamental shift towards provision of standardized services across the healthcare sector. As organizations seek to increase efficiency, data sharing and storage becomes more prevalent. This will be a key driver towards standardization. As healthcare providers move towards value chain maximization, the general approaches that enhance the quality of services provided must be adopted within many settings (Yellowlees et al., 2008). Evidence based healthcare and health insurance products will all be moved towards standardization as organizations seek to increase efficiency in their systems. The various practices utilized within the sector shall be focused on quality and customer satisfaction. The increased sharing of data will in turn result into delocalization of the centralized healthcare system. The health provision standards will be focused on the administration, business functions and clinical activities. Personal Lifestyles and Behaviors The lifestyles that individuals live will also have a significant effect on the services provided and result in a general transformation of the healthcare sector in the future. The sector will have to adapt to this lifestyle and behavioral changes in seeking to enhance customer satisfaction through the services provided to the patients. Lifestyle Changes Due to the reduced prices of healthcare services, many Americans will be able to enroll for medical insurance; hence, become empowered to seek proper medical services from the providers. The number of individuals seeking the services is bound to increase tremendously, thus, increasing the emphasis on quality. The fundamental focus of the healthcare organization will be satisfaction of the customers, which will be attained by centering on the provision of better services rather than affordability of the services. Because of the rising number of persons seeking healthcare, the various risks involved will be focused on individuals rather than groups. The individual clients will become the large part of the consumers of these services. The value chain services provided within the sector could become focused on preventive care to ensure that the number of people seeking treatment remains relatively low. Payment Priorities There is a transformation that has occurred within the healthcare sector, and that is aimed at making the services affordable and accessible to the people. The element of affordability has changed the perceptions of the public towards medical insurance covers and many people within the population use such methods of payment. Since some of the methods involved seek to make healthcare affordable, individuals have been transformed and are now utilizing different forms of payment to settle their medical bills. The providers must adopt to these growing demands from the customers as a way of seeking to ensure that they remain satisfied (Swayne et al., 2012). The organizations risk losing customers if satisfactory service delivery is not achieved. Some of the trends that might be introduced could be the value based benefits that seek to encourage adopting healthy lifestyles by the people. Such will become encouragements to them while they remain beneficial to the providers as the rate of seeking healthcare services becomes reduced Modern Technology There is an increased utilization of technology for communication and other basic functions. Integration of these technological elements remains inevitable as all other sectors have already adopted such trends in their operations. These will be utilized in delivering information to the people, who are the main target customers for the healthcare institutions. Technological integrations can enable not only communication but also provision of improved services (Musson & Helmreich, 2004). As the modern technology becomes fully integrated into the healthcare system, satisfaction of the customers will be the fundamental focus. This will ensure that the customers access medical information through various forms of technical services including the social media, whose popularity continues to rise. Job Opportunities Emerging as a Result of the Future Changes 1. Home health care management: This will be expected to increase as providers seek to advance the provision of personalized care to their clients. The individual will be provided with home based care as a way of differentiating from the already standardized services which are available within the system. 2. Medical records and information management: There is an increased data and information sharing among many healthcare organizations and medical records will become essential in the provision of comprehensive healthcare services. The role of a database will be increased, and organizations will have to employ individuals to manage the information and records of the healthcare facility. 3. Healthcare administration: Anticipated partnerships between different organizations will transform the provisions of services within the sector. Administrative responsibilities will become increased as activities diversify within the healthcare sector. 4. Medical assistant jobs: Different aspects of the economic systems will be integrated into the management of healthcare as a way of enhancing service delivery. The role of medical assistants will be providing the professional in various fields with relevant resources to enhance services delivery within the industry. 5. Health educators: As the number of people seeking healthcare services increases the role of education will also increase. Medical educators will be utilized to convey essential information to the general public regarding the best services to seek in order to maintain healthy lifestyles (Musson & Helmreich, 2004). References Buerhaus, P. I., Staiger, D., & Auerbach, D. I. (2009). The future of the nursing workforce in the United States: Data, trends, and implications. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Musson, D. M., & Helmreich, R. L. (2004). Team training and resource management in health care: current issues and future directions. Harvard Health Policy Review, 5(1), 25–35. Swayne, L. E., Duncan, W. J., & Ginter, P. M. (2012). Strategic management of health care organizations. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Yellowlees, P. M., Marks, S. L., Hogarth, M., & Turner, S. (2008). Standards-based, open-source electronic health record systems: a desirable future for the US health industry. Telemedicine and E-Health, 14(3), 284–288.  Read More