Category: Healthcare

Introduction

There is a need for personalized health care, especially for older patients, through education programs that make them self-aware and care for themselves. As such, physicians should spend quality time with patients to improve the health care results. The manner in which health education is offered is key to sustainable health practices. The physician should be responsive to the individual patients needs (Jung & Roh, 2020). Given that older members of society are vulnerable and susceptible to diseases, there is a need for enhanced health education through energetic and genuine engagement between the caregiver and the patient (Friedman, 2017). The paper discusses the influence patient education has on health care based on the interview of a person with diabetes, Mr. Riffat, a 75-year-old man, who got an education on self-care.

Did Patient Education Offer Instructions on Self-Care?

According to Mr. Riffat, self-care education informs his belief in the medical community that promotes physical activities and a good diet to reduce the health risks of diabetes. Compared to the period before he received an education, Mr. Riffat asserts that he did not have the proper knowledge of health practices to help him manage the condition; Mr. Riffat had personal behavior patterns that worsened it. Thanks to the teachings he obtained from his caregiver, Mr. Riffat says he is now aware of the best practices he needs to adopt to improve his health. For example, he says he is aware that eating less sugary food and doing more physical exercises are ways of improving ones health (Paterick, et al., 2017). The confession from Riffat reveals the irrefutable and convincing facts that exercising has the benefits of improving clinical results in diabetes.

Did the Physician Advise the Patient on Diet and Exercise?

Based on the evidence adduced by Mr. Riffat, health practitioners must promote health education through continuous engagement to improve the patients literacy. Health literacy is ones ability to look for health information, and interpret and understand the information to improve health. Low health literacy comes from a lack of understanding of physicians communication, leading to incomplete personal health management and irresponsibility to self-care (Friedman, 2017). Appropriate nursing practice requires physicians to be responsible for proactive patient interactions accessible to promote well-being and healthy practices (Paterick et al., 2017).

The responsibility of patients support for easy access to health interactions and improvement of health lies with their physicians. Therefore, the physician must determine how health literacy is improved. The improvement can include setting up time, open communication, factual health content, and proper mode of communicating the information to enhance sound health practices and decision-making (Paterick et al., 2017). In Mr.Riffats case, the physician behaved well and used open communication methodologies, which reduced the potential risks of a lack of health literacy (Gulbrandsen, 2020). The risks include avoiding medical vocabularies and actively engaging Riffat explain unique health norms through teaching back to improve understanding.

Did You Know of Any Food, Transportation that Would Help You Stay at Home?

As explained by Mr. Riffat, his health caregiver insisted on a proper diet and physical exercises. For example, Riffat explains that he is instructed not to take sugary food, to eat many fruits, and take plenty of water. Additionally, Mr. Riffat is under instructions to do morning jogs, runs, and sit-ups. Mr. Riffat understands that these exercises help him reduce blood clots and improve blood circulation and digestion. Mr. Riffat has an exercise schedule that helps him do different physical activities each day.

Moreover, the nurse joins Mr. Riffat in his morning and evening exercise. Further, the nurse recommends to Mr. Riffat food stores where to obtain organic food. Personalized care is key in improving a patients health, particularly when the patient is at the center of the care schedule. Mr.Riffats nurse is a responsible nurse that has taught him to do regular exercises that promotes good health.

Who Assisted You at Home After Illness?

Given that education is a process of time, Mr. Riffat says that his nurse connected him with gym instructors and food vendors to help him get care when the nurse is not available. Mr. Riffat appreciates the impact of health interventions on his present and long-term health care. Mr.Riffats physician spends time and energy educating him to ensure Riffat has behavioral change, improving health, and hence reducing morbidity and mortality due to diabetes. In conclusion, there is a cordial partnership between Mr. Riffat and his physician to improve his health.

References

Gulbrandsen, P. (2020). Shared decision-making: Improving doctor-patient communication. BMJ, m97. Web.

Jung, M., & Roh, Y. (2020). Factors influencing the patient education performance of hemodialysis unit nurses. Patient Education and Counseling, 103(12), 2483-2488. Web.

Paterick, T., Patel, N., Tajik, A., & Chandrasekaran, K. (2017). Improving health outcomes through patient education and partnerships with patients. Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, 30(1), 112-113. Web.

The system of public health pursues global objectives, addressing issues of immense magnitude on a nationwide scale. However, the field remains multifaceted, and meaningful efforts at a lower level should not be disregarded. Aside from global concerns, local communities demonstrate a range of varying hazards, the nature, and severity of which depend on the particular location. Accordingly, public health professionals and authorities are to execute pointed assessments of each case and provide accurate interventions. This paper focuses on the town of Gonzalez, Louisiana, as an excellent example of a small community with its distinct features and hazards. An examination of local characteristics has the potential to enhance public health workers understanding of the challenges they faced in this particular area.

Gonzales is a small town in the Eastern part of Louisiana with a set of distinct characteristics. According to the United States Census Bureau (2019), the population of the area is estimated to be 10,957 people; Figure 1 shows the detailed demographics of the town. There is little data available regarding mortality rates in Gonzales. Overall, the average life expectancy in the area is slightly below the average number for Louisiana, which is 75.6 (Arias et al., 2021). The windshield survey has shown that the town mostly has decent private residences with yards and a central air supply. The area has a selection of open green spaces, which are used for fitness activities and family recreation. The area does not have a developed public transit system, which is why most residents have to use automobiles. There is significant construction activity, including both residential and public areas, suggesting that the city is seeing economic development. However, Gonzales has one of the highest crime rates in the United States (Crime rate in Gonzales, n.d.). The city creates an impression of a small, close-knit community, which enables its strength through unity.

As for the public health hazards, aside from crime and natural disasters, there is a concerning amount of chemical production plants for such a small area. These industrial facilities increase the risks of chemical poisoning, air pollution, and toxic waste contamination. Accordingly, the intensity of chemical production forms the primary area of concern from the public health perspective. The proposed intervention is to comprise two major aspects, educational and practical ones. The first element suggests the necessity of sharing vital information with the community. People should learn more about the effects of chemical pollution, as well as the way to prevent it or mitigate its consequences on the scale of a single household. As the Covid-19 pandemic showed, public safety measures are significantly more effective if the population is aware of the fundamental concepts behind them. Ideally, the education initiative should reach the engagement level of at least 60% within one year to encompass most households in the area.

Such an educational initiative is a highly effective intervention instrument for Gonzales city. Chemical production is an important industry for the countrys economy. Consequently, people in such areas should know how to live healthy in such hazardous areas and act in case of a potential emergency. Extended public education on chemical safety will provide the population of Gonzales with an understanding of the toxic pollutants effect on their well-being while highlighting the most important prevention measures. This way, residents will be aware of the basic, everyday methods of minimizing the risks of chemical poisoning in the everyday environment. Furthermore, if an emergency occurs, the population will possess the required knowledge regarding the safest and most optimal plan of action. As a result, the people of Gonzales, Louisiana, will benefit from better health and well-being, despite the existence of dangerous production in the area.

References

Arias, E., Bastian, B., Xu, J., Tejada-Vera, B. (2021). U.S. State life tables, 2018. National Vital Statistics Reports, 70(1), 1-18. Web.

Crime rate in Gonzales, Louisiana (LA): murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, arson, law enforcement employees, police officers, crime map. (n.d.). Web.

United States Census Bureau (2019). Gonzales City, Louisiana. Web.

Several decades ago, people realized that healthcare delivery must become more complex in the future. There needed to be a significant paradigm shift that came with establishing High Reliability Organizations (HROs). Such organizations were developed to operate in complex, high-hazard domains for extended periods without serious accidents. They cultivate resilience by prioritizing patient safety over other performance pressures (Levine et al., 2020). These healthcare organizations have shifted in the way HROs view errors. Unlike several decades ago, HROs consider any appearing errors an organizational issue and not a personnel incompetency one (Oster, 2016). The change of perspective needed to be made within the healthcare industry because of the many preventable errors occurring. A medical error is now addressed from the administrating processs point of view without pointing fingers at specific personnel members.

Currently, the Leapfrog Safety Grade (LSG) for Timpanogos Regional Hospital (TRH) is an A. Compared to previous years, TRH has improved over the years, going from grades B and C in 2017/2018 to straight A in 2019 (Leapfrog hospital safety, n.d.). TRH scores above average in the infection and surgical issues tab, error prevention, and safety problems. Although it received low grades for insufficient numbers of intensivists and scoring average for nurse communication with patients, effective leadership in preventing errors, adequate qualified nurses, communication with physicians, and staff responsiveness rated above average. Evidently, TRH has a variety of strengths that involve the delivery of patient care and nurse communication. However, some physicians find it challenging to adapt to the charting system essential for patient safety. Overall, knowing the facility and its workers, I believe TRH complies with the given grade. I have and will continue to recommend TRH to friends and family as I know the hospitals interworkings and its high integrity.

References

Levine, K. J., Carmody, M., & Silk, K. J. (2020). The influence of organizational culture, climate, and commitment of speaking up about medical errors. Journal of Nursing Management, 28(1), 130-138. Web.

Leapfrog hospital safety grade. (n.d.). The Leapfrog Group. Web.

Oster, C. (2016). High reliability organizations: A healthcare handbook for patient safety & quality. Sigma Theta Tau.

The growing rate of medication errors poses a serious threat to the hospital in question and requires a close examination of its roots to determine the steps required for its reduction. One of the universal solutions to the issue is the adoption of a digital framework that will help medical personnel control prescriptions. A drug distribution system that provides computer assistance for nurses, physicians, and pharmacists alike is a crucial source of improvement of prescription accuracy (Ellsworth et al., 2016). Digital medical systems are proven to have the highest rate of error-proof operations, and they have a positive impact on the time taken to analyze data (Lan et al., 2015). Electronic medical records provide a unique opportunity for the hospital to increase patient safety, decrease drug-related errors, and avoid unnecessary expenditures on compensations for patients who suffered from them.

Two out of three patients who suffered from the actions of the hospitals personnel deserve to have their excess medication costs and time spent in the hospital covered by the organization. One person sustained damage and pain due to the error and deserves additional compensation. To determine the responsibility of the hospital staff for each of the three cases, the hospital must evaluate their actions in accordance with the hospitals standards of care and consequences of their errors. Since the described errors were avoidable, they may result in a negligence action to cover the costs of benefits provided to the patients who suffered from these mistakes. Since all cases are relatively minor, the employees responsible for the prescription errors will be required to cover the bed and medication costs, as well as the damage for inflicted pain in a case that resulted in a decrease in health.

References

Ellsworth, M. A., Aakre, C. A., Dziadzko, M., Peters, S. G., Pickering, B. W., & Herasevich, V. (2016). Early Computerization of patient care at Mayo clinic. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 91(7), e93e101.

Lan, H., Thongprayoon, C., Ahmed, A., Herasevich, V., Sampathkumar, P., Gajic, O., & OHoro, J. C. (2015). Automating quality metrics in the era of electronic medical records: Digital signatures for ventilator bundle compliance. BioMed Research International, 2015, 1-6.

People graduate from one stage of life into another throughout their entire life based on their advancement in age. Specifically, life stages are infancy, childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age. People in these subdivisions exhibit varying health needs and complications, and their needs are addressed distinctively by the family and the health care system. Inevitably, infants, children, and the elderly receive more care than youths and adults when encountering medical facilities. For this activity, I interviewed an elderly friend of mine who is a 72 years old grandmother. Mrs. Rose has been ailing from diabetes and hypertension since she was 38 years old. As a result, she has had numerous encounters with the health care system. Currently, Mrs. Rose is in the old age bracket, although her initial encounter with hospitals for diabetes and hypertension commenced during her early adulthood.

Notably, she asserts that her encounter with the health care system has often varied with advancement in her age since, at the moment, she receives ample attention from doctors, unlike before in adulthood. Moreover, most of her encounters with hospitals are clinics as she seeks medication for her both diabetes and hypertension. Her treatment is attended to in the Endocrinology and cardiology clinics specializing in treating diabetes and hypertension, respectively (Ferdinand & Nasser, 2017). As a result, she is attended to by doctors from these departments, making them her primary contact when in hospital (LeRoith et al., 2019). However, she adds that all medical practitioners are substantially nice to her at her age as they respect and find the need to help her, unlike when she was in her forties.

Mrs. Rose says that she has always received the care she needed from doctors in all hospitals that she has attended. However, when she was diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension at 38 years old, she was often treated like any other patient with no favors. Additionally, due to her age, she communicates everything regarding her health to her doctors, thus, obtaining all the help. Even though she often goes to the hospital for clinics, she has also been hospitalized severally due to variations in her blood sugar. Furthermore, she recalls when her condition was worse, and she was rushed to hospital by ambulance since it was an emergency.

In addition, she appreciates her family for their support in ensuring that she comfortably accesses the services she requires within the hospital. Notably, Mrs. Rose asserts that having her family by her side empowers her to remain vital in fighting her infections. She states that her doctors collaborate with her family to ensure that she is well cared for at home. The doctors instruct her caregivers how to give medicine and undertake regular checks for her blood pressure to ensure that it is within the necessary range since the elderly need more care (Calder et al., 2018). As a result, her family is always included in her post-procedure instructions, especially when released from the hospital.

This interview with Mrs. Rose demonstrates that Stages-of-Life contributes substantially in influencing patients encounter with the health care system. According to Mrs. Roses story, medical practitioners have a soft spot for the elderly and afford them more attention and privileges in their treatment compared to other society members. Additionally, the family is highly involved in health matters about elderly family members since they require more guidance and care than other adults.

References

Calder, P. C., Carding, S. R., Christopher, G., Kuh, D., LangleyEvans, S. C., & McNulty, H. (2018). A holistic approach to healthy aging: how can people live longer, healthier lives?. Journal of human nutrition and dietetics, 31(4), 439-450.

Ferdinand, K. C., & Nasser, S. A. (2017). Management of essential hypertension. Cardiology clinics, 35(2), 231-246.

LeRoith, D., Biessels, G. J., Braithwaite, S. S., Casanueva, F. F., Draznin, B., Halter, J. B.,& & Sinclair, A. J. (2019). Treatment of diabetes in older adults: an endocrine society clinical practice guideline. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 104(5), 1520-1574.

Operation management is essential for any organization to ensure effective administration and maximize operating profit. Supply chain management and the value chain of any industry require planning and management of production, logistics, and collaboration with partners (Yanamandra, 2018). Indeed, supply chain management was proven to be helpful in cost reduction in various spheres of business (Yanamandra, 2018). The healthcare value chain is considered more complex than in other organizations (Aldrighetti et al., 2019). This value chain incorporates five main participants: producers, providers, purchasers, products, and fiscal intermediates (Yanamandra, 2018). Providers are hospital physicians, nurses, and pharmacists whose work is multifaceted; thus, it demands significant financial resources. Healthcare organizations need specific diagnostic and surgical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and human resources to provide appropriate patient care. One of the main challenges in healthcare is that service cost reduction should not affect health outcomes in patients (Borges et al., 2019). Therefore, one possible way to reduce healthcare costs and increase diagnostic efficiency is automation and digitalization of patient assessment using artificial intelligence to interpret physical findings and imaging results.

Partial automation of the diagnostic process can reduce physicians workload and decrease healthcare costs. For example, applying artificial intelligence for image processing of a patients nails can help diagnose various illnesses from anemia and pulmonary disease to liver problems and cancer (Foster & Johansyah, 2019). Similarly, eye sclera, skin color, and patients gate can be helpful for the establishment of the diagnosis (Foster & Johansyah, 2019). Although this approach may slightly reduce physicians income, they will have more time for other tasks. Still, this system will require training to achieve the highest possible accuracy in image processing and representation. Furthermore, a certain amount of financial investment will be necessary to implement the new diagnostic software in hospitals. Nevertheless, diagnostics automation can reduce overall costs in the future, which is beneficial to patients who are also participants in the healthcare value chain.

The next step in provider cost reduction is introducing artificial intelligence programs to analyze radiological images to assist doctors in increasing the efficiency and accuracy of diagnostic procedures. Increasing precision in diagnosis will contribute to the healthcare value chain by maximizing customer satisfaction and minimizing costs (Foster & Johansyah, 2019). Implementing the new image processing system will consist of a series of six specific steps. The first two steps will be data input and processing of the provided data by the software program (Foster & Johansyah, 2019). During the third step, thresholding, the image will be adjusted to reduce errors and misinterpretation due to poor quality (Foster & Johansyah, 2019). The fourth and fifth steps are image segmentation and analysis using a neural network (Foster & Johansyah, 2019). Finally, the program will suggest the primary and differential diagnoses based on the provided information (Foster & Johansyah, 2019). This technique can markedly reduce diagnostic costs once system training achieves high accuracy and precision.

To sum up, the value chain is a critical component of operations management aimed at cost reduction and increasing work efficiency in an organization. Healthcare value chain management is complex and expensive because it requires the collaboration of multiple players to provide high-quality care to patients. Therefore, to reduce healthcare costs and increase efficiency, patient assessment and diagnosis automation can be introduced in hospitals. This approach may slightly affect healthcare workers salaries, but it will give them more time to complete other tasks. Furthermore, the new system will require multiple training to reach maximum accuracy, but the outcome will be lower healthcare costs, patient satisfaction, and more free time for physicians.

References

Aldrighetti, R., Zennaro, I., Finco, S., & Battini, D. (2019). Healthcare supply chain simulation with disruption considerations: A case study from Northern Italy. Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, 20(1), 81-102.

Borges, G. A., Tortorella, G., Rossini, M., & Portioli-Staudacher, A. (2019). Lean implementation in healthcare supply chain: A scoping review. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 33(3), 304-322.

Foster, B. & Johansyah, M. D. (2019). Image processing as a value chain to enhance competitiveness in the healthcare retail business. International Journal of Supply Chain Management, 8(6), 87-91.

Yanamandra, R. (2018). Development of an integrated healthcare supply chain model. Supply Chain Forum: An International Journal, 19(2), 1-12.

Introduction

Due to the ongoing technological breakthrough, social media has become part and parcel of everyday life. Furthermore, social networks have started to be viewed as the tools that can be used to improve communication processes in business and other domains of peoples lives (Kass-Hout & Alhinnawi, 2013). Healthcare is one of these areas, and social networks can be viewed as a crucial tool for managing the essential strategies used to connect to the community members and encourage consistent knowledge acquisition among them (Thielst, 2011). To shift the focus of healthcare experts as far as the conversation with the community is concerned from one-sided communication to the dialogue and, therefore, active promotion of awareness among not only patients but also the rest of the community, one will have to consider the use of social media as one of the most efficient tools for disseminating information and uniting people, as well as monitoring the outcomes with the help of analytic tools.

Social Media as the Tool for Improving the Connection with the Community

A recent study indicates that social media is one of the most efficient frameworks for enhancing the process of communication with the community (Ventola, 2014). Given the fact that online communication takes a significant part of peoples daily interactions, it will be quite legitimate to claim that the use thereof will help build stronger ties with the target demographics: HCPs can use social media to potentially improve health outcomes, develop a professional network, increase personal awareness of news and discoveries, motivate patients, and provide health information to the community (Ventola, 2014, p. 491). In other words, the authors of the study point to the fact that, with the focus on modern social media as the tools for connecting with the community, healthcare professionals will be able to keep track of the changes in the identified environment and make sure that the essential information should be delivered to the target population in a timely and efficient manner. Furthermore, a successful feedback system can be introduced (Ventola, 2014).

Social Media as the Means of Enhancing the Efficacy and Quality of Care

With the increase in communication efficacy levels, the premises for meeting the needs of a diverse population can be built. It would be wrong to expect that healthcare experts, no matter how well educated they are, will start working with the target population with precise knowledge of what the identified demographics exactly need. Therefore, it is necessary to make sure that healthcare experts should have resources that will allow them to expand their knowledge about specific cultures. Schulz, Auvinen, and Crotty (2013) show that engaging with the needs of diverse population can only be successful once one can define the unique properties of the said groups and, therefore, come up with an appropriate strategy that can help provide the community members with the required support: Social media can be used to provide a valuable and useful source of peer, social, and emotional support to individuals, including those with various conditions/illnesses (Schulz et al., 2013, p. 85). In this sense, modern media is extremely helpful as the analysis of the information that it supplies gives an extensive representation of the target community: Social media brings a new dimension to health care as it offers a medium to be used by the public, patients, and health professionals to communicate about health issues with the possibility of potentially improving health outcomes (Schulz et al., 2013, p. 85).

Social Media as the Device for Building Awareness

Loeb et al.s (2014) study shows that the use of analytical tools as the means of controlling the process of knowledge dissemination should also be considered one of the obvious advantages of social media. By conducting an analysis of the activity levels in a social media community, one will be able to monitor the changes in the awareness levels regarding a specific healthcare issue and, therefore, introduce the strategies that will help address the emerging problems. Therefore, social networks must not be overlooked as an essential source of important information (Luxton, June, & Fairall, 2012).

The study also indicates that the analysis of the data provided by social networks, such as Instagram, can provide the results that allow determining a specific trend in the identified community. For instance, the evaluation of the information supplied by the users of Twitter has shown that the awareness regarding urology-related issues rose significantly after the introduction of the relevant recommendations (Loeb et al., 2014). Based on the outcomes of the analysis, a forecast can be built regarding the further changes in the identified community, the concerns that may have to be addressed, the challenges that are likely to appear, etc.

It should be noted that there are the limitations of social media as the tool for conducting a statistical analysis: For the demographic of Twitter participants, it is evident that the most influential participants (as measured by Symplur statistics) are those individuals or organizations with established social media profiles whose social networks are very large (Wilkinson, Basto, Perovic, Lawrentschuk, & Murphy, 2015, p. 1). Nevertheless, the study points to the fact that social media can and should be used as an important means of identifying the current and emergent trends in the context of social networks. Thus, the foundation for a comprehensive assessment of the community members needs and the quality of the provided services can be created.

Conclusion

The use of modern media, in general, and social networks, in particular, is essential for healthcare experts in the context of the presentday environment so that awareness levels could be raised regarding a range of topical and complex issues. Thus, the risk of prejudices, dangerous myths, and misconceptions regarding a particular health issue, such as HIV/AIDS and STD, will be reduced to a minimum, and the process of building the support system for patients can begin. Studies show that the incorporation of modern media in the list of tools that healthcare experts can use to communicate with a specific demographic is likely to lead to a significant improvement. Furthermore, the incorporation of social media as one of the most efficient strategies for disseminating information among the members of the target population is bound to help promote unity. Therefore, it is imperative to include social media, such as popular networks, into the range of devices used by healthcare experts and organizations to deliver specific information to the members of a community. More importantly, active use of the analytical tools that social media has to offer, as well as a general analysis of the information that social networks offer, must be viewed as a crucial source of the important data concerning the current trends in the target community.

References

Kass-Hout, T. A., & Alhinnawi, H. (2013). Social media in public health. British Medical Bulletin, 108(1), 5-24.

Loeb, S., Bayne, C. E., Frey, C., Davies, B. J., Averch, T. D., Woo, H. D.,& Eggener, S. E. (2014). Use of social media in urology: data from the American Urological Association (AUA). BJU International, 113(6), 993-998.

Luxton, D. D., June, J. D., & Fairall, J. M. (2012). Social media and suicide: A public health perspective. American Journal of Public Health, 102(Suppl 2), S195-200.

Schulz, P., Auvinen, A. M., & Crotty, B. (2013). A new dimension of health care: Systematic review of the uses, benefits, and limitations of social media for health communication. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15(4), 85.

Thielst, C. B. (2011). Social media: Ubiquitous community and patient engagement. Frontiers of Health Services Management, 28(2), 3-14.

Ventola, L. C. (2014). Social media and health care professionals: Benefits, risks, and best practices. Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 39(7): 491-499.

Wilkinson, S. E., Basto, M. Y., Perovic, G., Lawrentschuk, N., & Murphy, D. G. (2015). The social media revolution is changing the conference experience: analytics and trends from eight international meetings. BJU International, 115(5), 839-846.

A regularly used method in handling ethical challenges emphasizes moral principles, including respect for patient autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice. The four-quadrant approach is utilized to analyzing moral values as it questions a given case based on the patients liking, value of life, and appropriate features. Accountability is tolerating ones actions in that nurses have to be responsible for their work and should accept any consequences that come with them. According to beneficence, any action taken should be to promote good and at the same time eradicate and control harm (Mahase, 2020). Thus, nurses must be fair when providing care without grouping the patients based on any feature. Clinicians ought to uphold their proficient promises by giving high quality safe care and in an experienced way, and they should not harm clients, whether unintentionally or not. Patients decisions must be taken into consideration, and there has to be no judgment or coercion from the nurse as the patient in making decisions. Healthcare workers advised not to hide or keep any information from the patient, even when the truth would lead the sick person to distress.

The Process Took to Analyze Ethical Dilemmas

Knowing what a patient is suffering from and giving proper prescriptions is very important. Therefore, the steps taken in analyzing such cases are highly important. Firstly, a clear description of the problem of the dilemma should be stated along with any other conditions surrounding it (Suikkanen, 2020). Secondly, before any decisions are made, relevant evidence and recorded data must be reviewed and analyzed. The affected individual hast to be looked at both as the primary and secondary participant. All possible solutions, their insinuations, and alternatives are explored and gauged. The best answer is then selected from all the possible suggestions, and the most ethical step is taken. The chosen resolution has to be performed to solve the ethical dilemma.

Ethics Principles versus Biblical Worldview

The above discussed concepts and practices can be successfully integrated within the biblical worldview since the scriptures have always guided mankind to clear claims regarding morals, Gods standards of human actions, and ethics. Moreover, in business, biblical teachings, commands, and demands can have an impact on peoples actions as having a good sense of right and wrong and ethical basis will help propel the provided services and personal career to new heights.

References

Mahase, E. (2020). Complaints: Only 38% of hospitals in England report any action taken in response. BMJ. Web.

Suikkanen, J. (2020). Consequentializing moral dilemmas. Journal of Moral Philosophy, 17(3), 261-289. Web.

Introduction

Healthcare professionals play an essential role in society because they treat the sick, assess risk factors, advise the public against unhealthy behaviors, and mitigate outbreaks, among other roles. Jobs in healthcare include pharmacy and surgical technicians, sonographers, doctors, and nurses. A shortage of health workers in one sector makes the available care providers overworked, leading to mistakes or overlooking critical health issues. This was the case in the Milwaukee area, which faced a decline in people willing to work in healthcare.¹ The county, alongside other stakeholders, formed a pivotal program to encourage more people to study and work in health care. The Center for Healthcare Careers of Southern Wisconsin was created by Employ Milwaukee supported by five health systems, including Aurora Health Care, Childrens Hospital of Wisconsin, Columbia St. Marys, Froedtert Health, and Wheaton Franciscan.¹ The aim of supporting the new center was to facilitate training in different healthcare fields, including food service, medical assistants, physical therapists, certified nursing assistants, and registered nurses. The Center for Healthcare Careers graduates are assured of work because of the countys high demand for healthcare professionals.

Healthcare Costs Drivers in Wisconsin

Understanding healthcare cost drivers help determine if people visit hospitals when sick. Expensive hospital services mainly affect middle and low-income families who cannot afford medical insurance. One healthcare cost driver is pricing failure, where costs are divided into medication, payer-based health services, and laboratory-based and ambulatory prices.² Many hospitals lack pricing transparency, leading to overcharging of services to the insurance. Fraud and abuse lead to more misuse of healthcare funds. For instance, an analysis focusing on the Medicare population revealed that $58.5 billion to $83.9 billion is lost annually due to fraudulent activities.² The age of the population is also an important aspect considered in healthcare. An older population causes an increase in hospital costs because of the demand for health services such as physicians and pharmaceuticals.² The high demand due to the aging population strains the available healthcare resources, leading to increased costs.

The misuse and overuse of medical services such as unnecessary tests and procedures drive up healthcare costs without noticeable health outcomes. The overuse of health services leads to a strain of resources, which could increase medical errors and preventable mistakes that also add to the healthcare costs. For instance, overtreatment and low-quality care waste around $75.7 to 101.2 billion, while lack of preventative practices, clinical inefficiencies, and hospital-acquired conditions costs $102.4 billion to $165.7 billion.² The severity of a disease, type of care received, and duration of the treatment are also significant factors determining healthcare costs.

Average Cost of a Stay in a Hospital in the Milwaukee Area

The hospitals in Milwaukee are ranked as the most expensive in the country. For instance, in 2016, the national average for knee arthroscopy that treats torn ligament with surgery was $14,257, while it cost an average of $21,635 in the Milwaukee area.³ The price difference shows that Milwaukee healthcare services are higher than the national average. Another example is childbirth, which averages $12,485 nationally for vaginal delivery, but the same service averages $16,750 in the Milwaukee area, ranging between $14,333 and $18,722 hospital charges.³ The medical services costs vary depending on the severity of the disease and hospital stay duration. However, the prices for common healthcare services were 81% higher in Wisconsin than the national average.³ The pricing information also depends on the healthcare plans, age, and location within the Milwaukee area.

References

1. Boulton G. Five health systems to collaborate to build workforce. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 2016. Web.
2. Shrank WH, Rogstad TL, Parekh N. Waste in the US health care system estimated costs and potential for savings. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2019;322(15):1501-1509. Web.
3. Boulton G. Wisconsin second-highest for medical prices. Post Crescent. 2016. Web.

For this assignment, I picked two reference materials for evaluation. Their score for every parameter from the Information Source Evaluation Matrix are listed below.

There is a variety of reasons why I chose Accessible and affordable healthcare over the other source in regards of the different points mentioned above. Concerning the criteria of the credibility of the author, Zurynski is a Professor of Health System Sustainability, which makes her opinion relevant in the field, unlike the author of Bio-based materials, who is not an academic researcher, but a business consultant. The second article views the topic from different angles, giving the reader a broad scale of the problem of healthcare affordability. The first one focuses on the difficulties of implementation of new technologies and does not possess much of an academic value. Thus, the situation in which the author applies the point is slightly different and narrower than in the task  while the credible source provides a good overview. Zurynskis et al. article is recent as well, being published in 2020, while the Tracys et al. one is still acceptable, but older, with the possibility of some information provided being already outdated. Zurynski et al. (2020) explain the reason for the article as to describe the views of health consumers with or without chronic illnesses, thus painting an accurate picture of the subject, the only downfall of which is being focused within one country, Australia (p. 2). Tracys et al. aim, however, is the technical applications of bio-technology and building a business out of it. Therefore, Accessible and affordable healthcare is the more credible one, with it being more relevant, up-to-date, and better describing the subject than the other article.

References

Tracy, A. A., Bhatia, S. K., Ramadurai, K. W. (2018). Bio-based materials as applicable, accessible, and affordable healthcare solutions. Springer.

Zurynski, Y., Ansell, J., Ellis, L. A., Pomare, C., Holt, J., Root, J., Gillespie, J., Wells, L., & Braithwaite, J. (2020). Accessible and affordable healthcare? Views of Australians with and without chronic conditions. Intern Medicine Journal. Web.