I have chosen to travel to four countries, namely, Canada, England, Australia, and Jamaica, and I have decided to write about the travel advisories that have been issued for them.
Canada
For this destination, I will use the following sources to identify the travel advisories and health risks that have been issued for this area: Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) 2011, and Health Information for Travelers to Canada Center for Disease Control Prevention 2011. The travel advisories include the following. Travelers to Canada must have valid passports.
In addition, there have been new security measures for liquids, gels and aerosols at checkpoints and on bound the plane. Moreover, people wishing to travel to Canada are advised that they may be exposed to a number of diseases, although such diseases can be prevented through immunization (PHAC, 2011). Travelers are therefore advised to take pre-travel health assessment.
Health risks one may face from traveling to Canada include exposure to routine vaccine-preventable diseases, hepatitis B, rabies, plague, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, Lyme disease, insect bites, animal bites and scratches, and normal health concerns (CDC, 2011). In addition, travelers are advised to take necessary vaccination to avoid yellow fever into the country.
I would take the following precautions to protect my health in this country: first, before visiting Canada, I would ensure that the routine vaccinations are up-to-date, the yellow fever immunization and its certificate are in order and due to nature of my visit, I would also take rabies and hepatitis B vaccination.
Secondly, to prevent insect bites, I would use insect repellents and wear well-covering clothes. To prevent animal bites and scratches, I would take precaution by not feeding or touching any animals. Additionally, I would maintain the hygiene conditions through washing hands with soap before eating, being cautious of the food I eat, and observing traffic rules. Lastly, I would avoid engaging in highly risky behaviors.
London
For destination London, I will use the following sources to identify the travel advisories and health risks that have been issued for this area: Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2011, Smartraveller 2011, and Health Information for Travelers to United Kingdom CDC 2011. Travel advisories for the people traveling to London include, first, they should avoid eating raw tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce, following the outbreak of haemolytic ureamic syndrome (HUS) caused by E.coli in Europe (Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 2011).
Secondly, travelers are reminded of increased risk of terror; thus, they should be more cautious and monitor the security situation closely (Smartraveller 2011). Lastly, the travelers are reminded of global measles and Avian Influenza (H5N1) outbreaks thus they should take necessary measures to prevent contracting them.
The health risks one may face include exposure to routine vaccine-preventable diseases, hepatitis B, rabies, measles, tickborne encephalitis, leishmaniasis, variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob, trichinosis, HUS, H5N1, and hepatitis A (CDC, 2011). To ensure safety of my health during visit to this destination, I would do the following: first, take safety precautions as recommended for destination Canada. Secondly, I would avoid eating raw tomatoes and vegetables.
Thirdly, I would avoid traveling through the regions hit by the Atlantic Hurricane Season. Additionally, to avoid insect bites from tick and sand fly, which spread tick-bone encephalitis and leishmaniasis, I will apply insect repellent and wear long clothes. Lastly, I would keep a travel checklist and register with the consular registration service for emergencies.
Australia
For destination Australia, I will use the following sources to identify travel advisories and health risks that have been issued for this area: FCO 2011, Terminal U 2011, and Health Information for Travelers to United Kingdom CDC 2011. Travel advisories for people traveling to Australia include the following. First, Australia experiences seasonal natural disasters such as tropical cyclones, flash flooding, bush fires and dust storms, thus they should monitor affected areas carefully (FCO, 2011).
Secondly, they are reminded that Australia is home to many dangerous animals such as snakes, crocodiles, jellyfish, sharks, and poisonous insects (FCO, 2011). Lastly, ash cloud from the erupting Chilean volcano has moved towards Western Australia, forcing many airlines to cancel their flights; hence, they should confirm their flight schedules earlier to avoid inconveniences (Terminal U 2011).
Health risks one may face include exposure to routine vaccine-preventable diseases, hepatitis B, rabies, measles, Japanese encephalitis, H1N1, dengue, Murray Valley encephalitis, Ross River virus, and melioidosis (CDC, 2011).
To ensure safety of my health during the visit to this destination, I would first implement the health safety precautions I recommended for destination Canada. Secondly, I would be vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis. Thirdly, I would take extra caution on mosquito bites due to risk of Ross River virus, Dengue, and Murray Valley encephalitis. Lastly, I would register travelers emergency contacts and itinerary information.
Jamaica
For this destination, I will use the following sources to identify travel advisories and health risks that have been issued for this area: Jamaica: Country Specific Information 2011, Jamaica Warnings or Dangers 2011 and Health Information for Travelers to Jamaica CDC 2011. Travel advisories for the people traveling to Jamaica include the following.
First, gang violence and crime rates are high in certain areas of Kingston and Montego Bay, thus, travelers are advised to avoid the high threat areas and be cautious of their personal security at all times of their stay (Jamaica: Country Specific Information, 2011). Secondly, they are advised of high number of lottery and investment scams and high prevalence of illegal drug use (Jamaica: Country Specific Information, 2011).
Additionally, they are advised not to backpack through Jamaica due to violence levels in some areas of the country and since tourism mostly occurs only in selected and secured areas (Jamaica Warnings or Dangers, 2011). Lastly, they are warned that Jamaica experiences hurricanes from June to November each year.
The health risks one may face include exposure to routine vaccine-preventable diseases, hepatitis B, rabies, dengue, hepatitis A, typhoid, leptospirosis, malaria, histoplasmosis, and ciguatera poisoning (CDC, 2011). To ensure safety of my health during the visit to this destination, I would first implement the health safety precautions I recommended for destination Canada. Secondly, I would make sure that I receive vaccinations on hepatitis A and typhoid.
Thirdly, I would avoid any recreational activities in the Jamaican fresh waters to avoid contracting leptospirosis. Additionally, I would vigilant of my personal security and avoid high-threat areas. Lastly, I would take some anti-malaria drugs for prophylaxis.
References
FCO. 2011. Travel advice for Asia and Oceania. Web.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 2011. Travel news. Web.
As a long time scholar, I would define ESPDT as a Medi-Cal gain for any person below 21 years old. Similarly, title V is a section of Medi-Cal that handles both mothers and childrens problems. According to the Human and Health Services Agency, ESPDT provides services to youths (Health Resources and Services Administration, n.d., para. 1). Note that these youths may be at risk of penetrating into the Juvenile justice system. There are various definitions of the term in question. However, the definition above is sufficient for the scope of my discussion. That said this work provides a detailed overview of ESPDT and title v by providing a clarified discussion on the topics in question. It gives the benefits of ESPDT and discusses how San Diego has implemented the program to tackle health care issues among the youth.
The Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment program are structured to meet the regulations of pediatric care by achieving the emotional, developmental, and special physical necessities of low-income children. Developed in 1967, the program has an aim of identifying the handicapped problems for the children of the United States of America. It also provides a constant treatment so that no one overlooks the handicapped children. In fact, the federal law requires that the program covers detailed services and benefits for the children.
There are mainly five steps, which can be retrieved from EPSDT. These initials stand for Early, Periodic, Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment steps. The first step involves problem identification where the problem has to be identified as early as possible. Secondly, Periodic reveals that it is crucial for the childrens health to be checked regularly. The next step involves performing screening tests in order to identify possible problems for these children. To add onto the list, Diagnosis involves making the necessary follow-ups after a problem is identified. Ultimately, Treatment involves providing remedies to the identified problems (Health Resources and Services Administration, n.d., para. 2).
Title V possesses multiple similarities to the ESPDT program. Just like the ESPDT program, there is a social security act that covers the details of the title Vs section. This act strives at improving the health of all children and all mothers. The health improvement is achieved by coordinating ESPDT and providing treatment to children with individual health care units (Health Resources and Services Administration, n.d., para. 2). It also shares data gathering duties predominantly those connected to infant mortality. Evidently, the main benefits of ESPTD include additional medical services, private duty nursing, mental and nutritional evaluation, and case management (Mollow, 2002, P. 11).
Two systems can be implemented to address the healthcare risk in children. These systems can prove to be very useful for San Diego. To begin with, there is a fee-for-services system. This is whereby physicians receive direct payment from the state. They in turn provide Medicaid services to the American population. In this system, a child is able to get services from a physician devoid of prior permission from the state. It sufficed to note that such a system requires the parent to select a physician for his/her child. The second system available is the managed care system. This is whereby the state reimburses a managed health care plan for providing healthcare solutions. A perfect example of a managed health care plan is the health maintenance organization (Knipper, 2004, P. 7). The county also provides private duty nursing where the nurses their services in the home (Mollow, 2002, P. 11).
There are a number of healthcare services necessary for the at-risk youth. These are some of the services that were omitted by the EPSDT. Nonetheless, these services are a prerequisite for a healthy society. The ESPDT only covers a small section of the possible health risks affecting the youth. It only covers the diseases that were identified previously. This reveals that conditions such as chronic diseases and newly discovered illness must also be included in the program. Moreover, the standards used for EPSDT provide treatment only for the existing illness. These standards should be extended to cover injuries and also prevent development of illness to susceptible individuals (Knipper, 2004, P.12).
In conclusion, the State of San Diego has achieved majestic limits in administering the EPSDT program. This is clarified by Knipper who used data from San Diego to make his arguments. An ESPDT Centre was opened in July 2010 (Knipper, 2004, P.18). It offers a logical screening for all children that enter into foster care. Furthermore, a variety of treatments are available for children with special needs. These treatments include trauma informed treatment, psychotherapy, and cognitive focussed treatment. He further established that 67% of the children exhibited significant improvements in social, emotional, and behavioral problems. The report also reveals that 100% of the children were screened for social and developmental delays. To add insult to injury, 100% of the children received caregiver participation as a remedy to their problems. Evidently, the State of San Diego has done proud to its population.
National standard of care from a legal perspective definition is a parameter utilized as a benchmark for evaluating a doctors real work. This illustration is considered in a case concerning a medical malpractice. The doctors lawyer would insist on proof that activities by the doctor conformed to the expected standard of care. On the other end, it is expected that the complainants lawyers reveal what violation of the standard of care or the extent of negligence was committed by a doctor. From a legal perspective, the standard of care definition is based on the concept of custom in legal terms. National standards on a clinical perspective mean a formal process of diagnosing and treatment by a doctor, which usually follows. This particularly applies for a sick individual with a specified disease or exhibiting certain patterns of symptoms. The standards of care thus have to be in line with the guidelines that are considered by experts as most appropriate (Grol, 1990).
Licensing of institutions, providers, and accreditation play an important role in quality control of healthcare. Licensing is regarded as a non-voluntary process whereby an agency or department in the government regulates the practices in a certain profession. Giving licenses to individuals in healthcare practice provides them with permission to participate in activities associated with healthcare. Licensing of nurses means that practicing nurses qualify with a given degree of competency that is expected of the nurses in their duty of ensuring that welfare, health status and safety of the patients are appropriately protected. Licensing is usually based on actions by legislative bodies that qualify individuals to practice nursing within a given local state or federal level. A licensing law legitimizes healthcare actions performed by individuals in engaging in the occupation depending on possession of a license in the healthcare profession. Nurses are usually licensed within the state so that they may work as registered nurses (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). Licensing usually aims at eliminating unqualified people to reduce unsafe performance. In licensing, tests are undertaken to gauge performance (Varkey et al., 2007).
Accreditation, on the other hand, is different from the licensed RN/LPN testing in certification. This process usually judges and evaluates institutions, which offer healthcare instead of individuals. Many accreditation programs reveal a merit of institutions as opposed to only providing a guarantee regarding an individuals safety. The process of nurses accreditation can be performed voluntary just like certification but in some cases it is not. Hence, accreditation is needed for such a healthcare institution that presupposes collecting Medicaid bills. Thus, as a process, accreditation evaluates the merits of agencies and institutions, as well as programs meant for educating people on health. In this case, accreditation of healthcare institutions ensures that they are granted with certificates. The licensing and certification engages individual practitioners (Varkey et al., 2007).
The tort law will assist in avoiding errors and, at the same time, promote the quality of higher healthcare. The legal system tries to offer health in a safe manner, with the highest quality and incentives on delivery of healthcare through the tort law. The law moderates specific medical malpractices by the negligence rule (Kessler & McClellan, 2002). Individuals are held liable by the rule, which ensures that ethics of personal acts are adopted to minimize any impending harm and thus foster responsibility of individuals. Such an ethic is appropriate especially when healthcare professionals gain access to treatments and examinations. The tort law ensures accountability of healthcare providers to patients with the public exerting concerns in the jurisdiction of the law that uses different means in addressing healthcare issues.
References
Grol, R. (1990). National standard setting for quality of care in general practice: attitudes of general practitioners and response to a set of standards. The British Journal of General Practice, 40(338), 361.
Kessler, D., & McClellan, M. (2002). Malpractice law and health care reform: optimal liability policy in an era of managed care. Journal of Public Economics, 84(2), 175-197.
Varkey, P., Reller, M.K., & Resar, R.K. (2007). Basics of quality improvement in health care. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 82(6), 735-739.
All the nations of the world fall into economic, social and political strata of some sort. As a result, terms such as developing and industrialised nations have come into existence. Developing nations are often characterised by poor socio-economic and political conditions. As such, the existing international system expects industrialised nations to support the developing nations in their economic development endeavours. Rwanda is one of the poorest countries across the world, but courtesy of foreign aid, it has made spectacular progress in the right direction. This progress is especially noticeable in its health care sector.
Introduction
The worlds nations are diversely stratified along political, economic, and social lines. This stratification serves as the basis for the classification of countries into developed and developing nations. The latter category is characterised by low national income, excessive poverty levels, poor infrastructure, and low education. Additionally, low life expectancy and poor health care systems are key features of developing countries. Nielsen (2011) notes that most of the worlds countries fall into this category. Nations in this category require official development assistance (ODA) because they cannot raise adequate funds on their own to facilitate their development (Dicks-Mireaux, Mecagni & Schadler, 2000). This assistance comes from industrialised nations and international lending institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. This paper explores the economic, social, and political impact of ODA on Rwanda with special attention to the health care sector.
Overview of Rwanda
Apparently, developing countries exist all over the world. Nonetheless, of particular interest to this discourse is the Republic of Rwanda. It is a small country located in the Great Lakes region of central Africa (Assessment of Development Results, n.d.). What makes it a subject of interest in this paper is its widely touted spectacular economic growth in the last two decades. After its devastating genocide of 1994, the international community decided to support Rwanda to expedite its recovery. Ezemenar, Kebede & Lahiri (2008) assert that for several years, Rwanda received close to US$1 billion constituting over 50 percent of its budget.
Social, Economic, and Political Impact of ODA on Rwanda
According to Ezemenari, Kebede and Lahiri (2008), ODA plays an instrumental role in the Rwandan economy. It serves as the major source of capital inflows and funds for the budget. Since foreign direct investment is scarce, the country also uses ODA to establish macroeconomic stability. In this respect, the aid arguably serves a meaningful economic purpose. On the flip side, the foreign aid influx instigated the increase of inflation as well as other significant changes in GDP. The effects of these changes include devaluation of the Rwandan currency by up to 45 per cent and higher domestic borrowing.
In the social sense, foreign aid has helped Rwanda to make notable steps in the right direction. The U.S., the U.K., the World Bank, and the IMF have rated Rwandas overall progress in terms of attaining the millennium development goals MDGs positively. One of the prominent aspects of the MGDs is the empowerment of women. Rwanda is one of the two countries across the world that has a higher percentage of women in the legislative assembly than men (Ezemenari, Kebede and Lahiri (2008). Apparently, Rwandas desire to impress its donors has enabled it to make major steps in the social sense.
In the political sense, Rwandas political elite is obliged to maintain a cordial relationship with the donors since the absence of such a relationship can mean reduced or no foreign aid. On the one hand, this unwritten rule has helped strengthen the governance structures of Rwanda because establishing a cordial relationship with the World Bank and the IMF does not necessarily require good personal relationships, but rather the ability to maintain high levels of integrity and commitment to existing agreements.
The Benefits of a Healthy Population to the Economy of Rwanda
Rwanda has expressed a desire to move from the aid-dependent economy to a self-sustaining economy. This transition calls for a healthy population. Incidentally, the countrys achievements in health-related MDGs have delivered a healthier population for Rwanda. As a result, the country has recorded steady growth in its revenue collection. Ezemenari, Kebede and Lahiri (2008) note that between 1994 and 2002 revenue as a percentage of GDP grew from 4 percent to 12.2 percent.
Second, Musango et al. (2006) assert that Rwandas population has universal health insurance. Since the government caters for the costs, a healthy population implies that less money goes into hospital bills. Consequently, the funds can be used elsewhere to fast track economic development. Third, the increase in revenue collection implies that apart from a stronger and more reliable labour force, the private sector is also coming up strongly in Rwanda. This assertion stems from the fact that the Rwandan government currently places emphasis on TVET programmes to foster entrepreneurship.
Fourth, Rwanda is looking to achieve a per capita income of US$1000 (Ezemenari, Kebede & Lahiri, 2008). This feat requires a healthy and productively engaged population. However, an important to note is that for the country to make such a projection, it has done some groundwork and concluded that the feat is achievable. As such, Rwandas progress in building a healthy population is opening the country up for sustainable economic growth.
The Impact of Foreign Aid on Rwandas Health Care System
The first and most notable example of using foreign aid to develop health care in Rwanda is the establishment of universal health insurance for all citizens. This investment has placed Rwanda among the counties with the most elaborate health care systems in the world (Musango et al., 2006). Clearly, without foreign aid, such an achievement would have been impossible for Rwanda considering its situation immediately after the genocide. Elsewhere, when Global Fund, PEPFAR and other partners decided to pump health aid into Rwanda to combat HIV, the countrys leadership capitalised on the opportunity and concentrated the funds on enhancing primary care (Price et al., 2009).
As a result, Rwanda has realised unprecedented results in terms of caring for HIV patients. Reportedly, it retains over 90 percent of HIV patients in care (Price et al., 2009). This achievement has been made possible by the countrys decision to train about 45,000 community health workers to take primary care to peoples homes. The efforts of this group are supported by a robust network of health care facilities that were built courtesy of health aid and the leaderships commitment to ensuring that every citizen could access health care (Musango et al., 2006). Other examples exist to support the leaderships use of donor aid to support health care, but purposes of this discourse, the cited instances will suffice.
Conclusion
Rwanda is clearly a special case insofar as the use of donor aid is concerned. It has received more aid than the average developing country and has put the funds to good use. Although some concern about aid dependency exists, the fact remains that foreign aid has made a notable impact in Rwanda. Critics may argue in many different ways, but Rwanda shall remain a spectacular example of proper aid utilization as long as the current goodwill persists. The international community and international lending institutions all agree that Rwanda has done a commendable job in all aspects of development, but most notably, in its health care sector.
Dicks-Mireaux, L., Mecagni, M., & Schadler, S. (2000). Evaluating the effect of IMF lending to low-income countries. Journal of Development Economics, 61(2), 495-526.
Musango, L., Butera, J., Inyarubuga, H., & Dujardin, B. (2006). Rwandas Health System and Sickness Insurance Schemes. International Social Security Review, 59(1), 93-103. Web.
Price, J. E., Leslie, J., Welsh, M., & Binagwaho, A. (2009). Integrating HIV clinical services into primary health care in Rwanda: a measure of quantitative effects. AIDS Care, 21(5), 608-614. Web.
A registered dietitian is a professional who offers information about nutrition practices with a view of promoting healthy living. An analysis of various healthcare centers in California led to the establishment of mission statements and their accompanying work settings that were ideal for a registered dietitian. This paper explores the summary of the aims and values of two organizations with respect to food and nutrition practices.
Location of the Mission Statements
The California Dietetic Associations (CDA) mission is to empower members to be the state of Californias food and nutrition leaders. On the other hand, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) medical centers mission is to deliver leading-edge patient care, research, and education. However, the values and aims of the two organizations are different since they only align with their individual settings and goals.
Access of the Mission Statements to Employees and Customers
The public accesses the summary of aims and values of the California Dietetic Association through the organizations publications such as magazines and websites. The Californian-based organization is nonprofit. On the other hand, customers and employees can obtain the mission statement of the UCLA medical center from a variety of sources that include publications and the universitys website.
Comparison between the CDA and UCLA Medical Center
The mission statement of the California Dietetic Association (CDA) focuses on improving the publics health by offering food and nutrition services. Its main purpose is to safeguard regulatory standards. The mission comprises student nutritionists, technical, and registered dietitians.
They work in both private and public institutions to provide food and nutrition services. Its members offer a wide range of services to hospitals, clinics, learning institutions, and research centers, among others. In addition, the organization has competent professionals. This situation ensures the provision of high-end services to the clients.
On the other hand, the mission statement of the UCLA medical center focuses on providing healthcare services to the public. This setting is the best ranked in California. Indeed, it is one of the leading hospitals nationally that offer holistic healthcare services to the public.
Its partnership with UCLAs medicine and nursing schools has enabled the health facility to undertake academic research in line with its mission statement. The facility offers diverse healthcare products and services. It is a good setting for a registered dietitian. Other nutritionists also work in various departments to offer advice on diet.
Preferred Organization
It is better for a registered dietitian to work with the CDA than the UCLA medical center. The association offers free and voluntary membership for technical and registered dietitians. Finally, yet importantly, it provides wide-ranging services to more diverse groups than the UCLA medical center, which offers diversified health products and services only. The CDAs approach to disease prevention through the provision of nutritional services is beneficial to the public because it minimizes the need to visit medical centers for treatment.
Conclusion
From the description and analysis of the above mission statements, it is evident that separate healthcare settings have varying goals and objectives. The target customers and modes of operations bring about such discrepancies.
The UCLA medical center services are meant for promoting the wellbeing of people by treating a wide range of diseases that are established through medical research and education. Contrarily, the California Dietetic Association (CDA) offers nutrition and food services to the public; hence, it focuses on disease prevention rather than treatment.
It is imperative to note that the role of coding in health care has been increasing over the years. It has become a vital part of most processes, and its primary goal is to enhance the level of efficiency of operations and increase the number of positive outcomes. The problem is that many professionals are reluctant to accept this approach because of many factors.
One of the primary reasons that should not be overlooked is that clinicians already have many tasks and responsibilities that they have to deal with in the workplace. Furthermore, the introduction of coding is not met with approval because such changes are quite significant. Many health professionals are used to standard approaches, and it may not be an easy task to change their opinion. The issue is that they are not provided with additional time for learning most of the time, and it complicates the situation. Another issue that needs to be highlighted is that the level of understanding of coding is not sufficient because health care professionals do not understand that it makes the process of documentation much easier (Jurek, Mosay, and Neris 4).
The problem is that errors are possible, and one may have to lose significant amounts of time when checking if everything is correct (DeVore 170). Also, they may think that it is the responsibility of medical coders, but it is not the case. Numerous issues can be introduced during the process of coding. For instance, it may not be an easy task to identify how procedures should be sequenced on paper (Buck 696). Clinicians may need assistance in such situations because the process is quite complicated and they may be too worried about making mistakes. The fact that it is necessary to remember such enormous amounts of information is quite problematic.
Moreover, it is important to provide clinicians with materials that would make the process much easier and may help to prevent possible mistakes. Also, need to utilize modern technologies should not be overlooked because they have enormous potential that is not yet fully realized in healthcare. Any issues related to coding compliance should be reported because it may lead to severe consequences and can hurt the institution (Becker 102). It may be necessary to conduct pieces of training, and the level of knowledge that has been gained by health care providers needs to be assessed. It is paramount to explain that one should keep track of the latest techniques to stay competent (Johnson and Linker 6). They should be informed that this field is actively developing, and professionals that have an understanding of these approaches are highly valued (Aalseth 215).
In conclusion, it is evident that the situation is quite problematic and necessary measures should be taken to ensure that clinicians are aware of the benefits of coding and understand why it is so important. Overall, most attention should be devoted to education and development of guidelines that would help health care professionals to get used to such processes.
Response 1
It is necessary to mention that I agree with the points raised, and I think that outstanding knowledge has been shown in this case.
Response 2
The information provided is convincing, and I believe that much more attention should be devoted to this subject matter because this is an area that is relatively understudied.
Works Cited
Aalseth, Patricia T. Medical Coding. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2014. Print.
Becker, Joanne M. Guide to Coding Compliance. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
Buck, Carol J. Step-by-Step Medical Coding. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Health Sciences, 2015. Print.
DeVore, Amy. The Electronic Health Record for the Physicians Office for SimChart for the Medical Office. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Health Sciences, 2015. Print.
Johnson, Sandra L., and Robin Linker. Understanding Medical Coding: A Comprehensive Guide. 4th ed. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2015. Print.
Jurek, Jean, Stacey Mosay, and Daphne Neris. Conquer Medical Coding: A Critical Thinking Approach with Coding Simulations. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis, 2016. Print.
The healthcare industry has undergone changes in the last one decade. The changes in healthcare have been more than in any other sector in the country. The changes can be attributed to the change in the publics perception of their health.
The public has taken the issue regarding their health more seriously and thus, it is willing to pay whatever the price to receive good healthcare services. These changes are expected to continue in the next ten coming years with technological changes playing a key role. Therefore, all stakeholders have to keep adapting their skills so that remain relevant in the industry.
Changes in the healthcare industry in the last ten years
In the last one decade, the healthcare industry has undergone tremendous change as it has been pushed by demand to address the vital areas of the industry in the delivery of services. It has looked to address the quality of the healthcare and the cost of the services that are offered by the industry.
The industry has seen the number of people who want better quality services from the health facilities in the country increase. Consequently, the cost of offering the services has escalated to march the change in the quality of the healthcare the country. The change has been witnessed from the administrative to the patient care. This change has been prompted by the changes in the healthcare regulations.
One of the most notable changes in the healthcare industry has been that on the relationship between the physician and the patients. The country has witnessed the number of primary doctors dwindle and thus the time that the physician spends with the customer is less during a hospital visit. This has created the need of alternatives means of delivering the needed healthcare services. The alternative means of delivering the services included the virtual health care services that are available in the internet (Ginter et al, 2002).
Another change that has forced changes in the healthcare industry was the much criticism that the industry was facing from the public pertaining transparency regarding the administrative costs.
The consumers were able to track the healthcare providers through the internet and they were able to compare hospitals, healthcare insurance companies and possible doctors and make their own conclusions. This increase in the public scrutiny through the internet forced the industry to change. The industry is still growing and evolving in order to meet the constantly changing needs of the public (Ginter et al, 2002).
Possible changes in the next ten years
The tremendous changes in the health care industry over the last one decade are expected to continue in the next ten years. The changes basically will include the continuous escalating trend in the cost of providing the healthcare services.
This has been caused by the increased pressure on the pharmaceuticals to improve on the value of their products and consequently transferring the burden to the end consumers in the system.
This will cause the federal government to come up with regulatory guidelines to regulate the operations of the key players in the industry (Amara & Johnson, 2003). Other factors that are expected to cause changes in the healthcare industry include: First, is increased need in healthcare services.
The increase in the aging generation in the country is on the rise. An increase in the number of old people in the country means that the probability of diseases like cancer, diabetes, obesity among other diseases will also be on the rise. This means that the need to have healthcare services will be on the rise. This will constrain the present healthcare system to offer more quality services and as a result force it to change (Amara & Johnson. 2003).
Secondly, the healthcare industry in the next ten years it expects to have more technical developments which will be caused by the advances in the biochemistry industry. This will result in better packages that are tailored so suit the individuals. This will offer the healthcare industry the chance to rejuvenate and be more vibrant in the delivery of services through development of more and better services that will require more elaborate strategies to manage (Amara & Johnson, 2003).
Adaptation skills to evolve along the industry needs
The challenges exhibited by the healthcare industry have forced the key players in the industry like us to adapt to the changes so as to be relevant and continue playing key roles as the industry has continued to evolve over the years. The adaptation will be through keeping up with the technological changes that are occurring in the industry.
Another adaptation will be through creating marketing strategies that will ensure that we have the competitive advantage over our competitors. These marketing strategies must be customer oriented and they must create value to the customers in the most effective manner.
We will also have to realign our skills to conform to the changes in the industry by learning to operate in a more customer friendly way. This means that we will understand our customers more and as a result, offer these customers better services (Blancett and Flarey, 2001).
Change in the healthcare industry in my perception
The healthcare industry in my perception has changed immensely. The changes have occurred in the peoples perception of their individual health. People are now more concerned about their health and they are asking for the best healthcare services available in the market for instance, they want the best physician to treat them.
People are, therefore, taking more and more health insurance covers to ensure that their well-being is safeguarded in case they fall sick in the future. This desire by the public to have the best healthcare services has made the industry to be a major business hub that is very profitable. This has attracted a large number of investors rendering the service delivery very expensive.
Role of technology in the healthcare industry
The role of technology in the healthcare industry is crucial. Technology will lead to better clinical information management systems. This means that physicians will be in a position to keep the information of their patients in databases and be able to access it from anywhere. Technology will lead to the development of better software and hardware. This advancement will reciprocate into delivery of better healthcare services (Blancett and Flarey, 2001).
The financial and economic issues that will affect the health care industry in the next 10 years.
The financial status in the country has continue to served and transform the industry in terms of cost and other areas that would make it easier for the Americans to access better healthcare.
The healthcare costs that were registered during 2000 exceeded $2.3 trillion and this signified the escalating rise in the cost of healthcare services in the country is expected to continue in the next ten years (Ginter et al, 2002). This has put some economic constrain on the people as they are now required to use more money for the same healthcare services that they receiving ten years ago.
Conclusion
Therefore, it is evident to conclude that there have been changes in the healthcare industry for the last one decade and these changes are expected to continue taking place in the next ten years. These changes have led to the quality services being offered in the healthcare industry to improve and this has been greatly influenced by the technological advancement in this sector.
References
Amara, R. & Johnson, R., (2003) Health and health care 2010: the forecast, the challenge. New York: Jossey-Bass
Blancett , S., S. & Flarey , D., L. (2001) Health care outcomes: collaborative, path- based approaches. New York: Jones Bartlett Learning
Ginter, M., P., Swayne,. L., E & Duncan., W., J (2002) Strategic management of health care organizations. New York: Wiley-Blackwell
Globally, many industrialized countries have a universal healthcare system, which offers comprehensive healthcare services for all citizens. Japan and Canada are just a few examples of countries that have a universal healthcare system. However, the US is among the most industrialized countries of the world, but unlike its industrialized partners, the country does not have the universal healthcare system.
This comparison has created a lot of debate regarding if America should have the universal healthcare system, or not. The debate regarding the Obama healthcare system in America largely bordered along these argumentative lines.
This paper is an argumentative paper that explores the adoption of the universal healthcare system in America. This paper also makes comparisons of the American healthcare system with the Canadian healthcare system to have a better conceptualization of the ramifications for adopting the universal healthcare system in America.
The Toulmin model structures the argument of this paper by exploring the claim, supporting evidence, and the warrant (the link between the claim and supporting evidence) of the argument.
Adoption of a Universal Healthcare Plan
This paper claims that America should consider healthcare as a human right for not only Americans but the global community as well. Therefore, the government should have state-funded healthcare clinics for treating all conditions and procedures, for all citizens.
The American Healthcare System is a Profit-making Business
There are many concerns regarding the extent that American healthcare institutions have inculcated the culture of profit making in the provision of healthcare services and the admission of patients in healthcare institutions. These practices show the deep-rooted profit-making nature that characterizes the countrys healthcare system.
The widespread and deep business interests in the healthcare systems have also infiltrated the American legislature because many lawmakers are beneficiaries of these insurance firms (Moore 1). Indeed, most insurance companies fund political campaigns and personal political activities, thereby influencing the objectivity of politicians when they explore the problems facing the healthcare system.
In other words, some politicians try to protect insurance companies whenever they debate issues of healthcare reforms. For example, Moore (1) says Hillary Clinton was among the greatest beneficiary of healthcare contributions while working as a senator in the government. Moore (1) also says that about 16 congressional aides work for insurance companies.
Some of them left public service to work in high-paying insurance companies. Billy Tauzin, for example, left public service to work for a healthcare insurance firm for about $2 million in monthly salaries (Moore 1). The influence of insurance companies in the American government also arose in the passage of the Medicaid Plan D (for prescription drugs) (Moore 1).
In this plan, the government directed about $800 billion of its expenditure in the Medicaid program to insurance companies (Moore 1). Through this understanding, the insurance companies run a very lucrative business by controlling the countrys healthcare system. Therefore, it is unsurprising that some of these companies and their proponents may be an impediment to the adoption of the universal healthcare system.
High Prices of Pharmaceutical Drugs
Another problem that plagues the American healthcare sector is the high prices of pharmaceutical drugs. The high prices of prescription drugs make it extremely difficult for ordinary Americans to sustain the treatment of high-cost medications (especially for terminal illnesses). This issue explains the reason some Americans (even with insurance coverage) experience many financial difficulties in meeting their medical costs.
While insurance companies have penetrated Americas government, pharmaceutical companies also hold an equally high advantage on politicians, thereby making it easy for them to advance their agendas through the government. Indeed, similar to the healthcare companies, these pharmaceutical companies also fund some politicians and their activities (Moore 1). They are therefore able to compromise some politicians to protect their interests in the market.
Healthcare as a Basic Human Right
The adoption of the universal healthcare system should be a basic human right. I make this claim because there is a direct relationship between universal healthcare and life expectancy rates. Moore (1) says that UK citizens who enjoy the universal healthcare system are likely to live longer than Americans do.
In fact, Moore (1) goes ahead to say that even a baby born in El Salvador may live longer than a child born in America does. The same situation manifests in Cuba and Canada because Canadians live three years more than Americans do (Moore 1). From this understanding, it would be correct to say that denying Americans the right to the universal healthcare plan would be equal to denying them a basic human right long life.
Discrimination
The traditional model of the American healthcare system has been reliant on insurance companies for the payment of healthcare services. However, not all Americans may afford a health insurance plan. Consequently, the system excludes millions of Americans from the healthcare system. Armentano (2) claims that about 48 million Americans do not have access to health insurance.
The American healthcare system has therefore ignored this group of people in favor of those who have enough money to pay for health insurance. The discriminatory nature of the American healthcare system is arguable, the most persuasive argument for the adoption of the universal healthcare system. Americas discriminatory system does not only discriminate on people because of their financial background but also on their immigrant status and race.
Indeed, compared to the Canadian healthcare system, Lasser and Steffie (6) say, Health disparities based on race, income, and immigrant status are present in both countries, but appear to be more pronounced in the United States (Lasser and Steffie 6). However, some people question the discriminatory nature of the American healthcare system, especially based on the premise that it excludes about 47 million Americans from health insurance (Armentano 1).
To support the dissenting opinion, Armentano (1) says the government categorizes about 20% of the 47 million people in America who do not have healthcare insurance as aliens because they do not hold the necessary documents for categorizing them as American citizens. From this understanding, only about 37 million American citizens do not have a health insurance plan.
Furthermore, the former secretary of state, Hilary Clinton, recently admitted that about 25% of the 37 million Americans who do not have a health insurance plan choose not to have the coverage, even though they can afford it (Armentano 2). Therefore, about 17 million people choose not to have a health insurance plan (for whatever reason). From this understanding, the number of Americans who do not have a health insurance plan further reduces from about 47 million people to only about 20 million people.
However, even with such a reduction, some analysts still believe this figure is still exaggerated (Armentano 4). They say this figure still includes a huge population of Americans who switch jobs and lose their employment insurance (Armentano 4). Immediately, the census bureau captures these people as uninsured, thereby adding to the number of uninsured people in America. However, the same people secure a new job within a few months and later get new health insurance.
Armentano (5) says some Americans also do not subscribe to insurance companies because they enjoy almost free access to healthcare services through Medicaid and Medicare programs. Gallup and Newport (13) further say, roughly six in ten Americans (61%) have private health insurance and 28% of adults nationwide are covered by Medicare or Medicaid (Gallup and Newport 13).
From the above understanding, the number of uninsured people may fall to about 10,000,000. The Kaiser Foundation projects lower estimates of only about 8,000,000 people who do not have a health insurance plan in America (Armentano 8). Therefore, in a country that has slightly more than 300,000,000 people, some people would say it is unfair to criticize the entire healthcare model when only about 8,000,000 people do not have health insurance.
Armentano (9) says this group of people suggests that the government should introduce only minimal policy interventions to ensure the 8,000,000 people have some form of insurance. In their opinion, it is wrong to overhaul the entire healthcare system, while most Americans have an insurance cover (Armentano 9).
Nonetheless, since many employers offer health insurance plans in America, the economic uncertainty in the country may expose even employed American citizens that have healthcare insurance to the risk of having no insurance at all. Indeed, for many people who have a health insurance policy from their employers, the loss of their jobs may also mean the loss of health insurance.
In my view, there should be a more stable healthcare plan that is immune to economic and financial uncertainties.
Heavy Financial Burden
Albeit some politicians perceive the provision of private health insurance as Americas solution to healthcare problems, the financial burden of private health insurance has proved to be untenable in the end. The high cost of private health has created many financial problems for many American families. For example, Rayski (1) narrates the story of Donna Smith who hails from a Middle-class family with health insurance.
She never thought that her familys healthcare bills would force them to sell their house and live in a cluttered room, away from the city (despite having health insurance) (Rayski 1). Smith and her husband both suffered from long-term health complications that raised their healthcare bills to unsustainable levels, thereby forcing them to sell their house (Rayski 1).
Their story mirrors the experiences of millions of other Americans who have experienced bankruptcy from high medical costs (despite having health insurance). Moore (1) has captured such stories in his latest documentary SICKO.
The above story highlights the flaws of the American healthcare system by providing a very interesting dynamic of the healthcare system. Indeed, instead of focusing on the 47 million Americans who do not have a health insurance plan, it highlights the plight of millions of Americans who have a health insurance plan.
The film, as explained by Moore (1) highlights many issues of the American healthcare system, which show that the countrys healthcare system may not be the best in the world as claimed by some politicians.
A Comparison with Canada
As mentioned in previous sections of this paper, Canada has a universal healthcare system. This healthcare plan provides a large scope of healthcare benefits that include affordable healthcare services, unlimited access to healthcare services, increased efficiency of healthcare services, and reduced medical errors.
The Canadian federal government allows its ten provinces and three territories to manage their healthcare systems. Consequently, different Canadian provinces and jurisdictions have a special healthcare system that suits their local needs.
Since the wealthy and the poor can access healthcare services in Canada, the Canadian healthcare model is non-discriminatory. Certainly, while the American healthcare program favors those people that may afford insurance, the Canadian healthcare plan covers even those people who cannot afford insurance (universality of healthcare).
Furthermore, unlike the American healthcare system, which is a profit-making system, the Canadian healthcare plan is not profit oriented because the government is the main healthcare provider (the government has less motivation to make a profit). From this model, the government is the main player in Canadas healthcare funding plan.
Some people have however expressed their reservations regarding the Canadian healthcare system. For example, Palmisano (1467) says, Inherent problems include detrimentally long waits for care, rationing, a slowness to adopt new technology and maintain facilities, and a gigantic bureaucracy that interferes with clinical decision-making Palmisano (1467).
Despite these reservations, I believe that through the governmentally funded healthcare model, there is minimal room by private healthcare partners to interfere with the countrys healthcare system (which is possibly Americas healthcare problem).
Indeed, unlike the American healthcare plan, there is little room for interested private companies to compromise the healthcare system the way politicians and insurance companies do in America. Through the above misgivings of the American healthcare system, I believe that the Canadian healthcare model is better than the American model. Therefore, the American model may require comprehensive reforms.
Solutions
The main solution for correcting the weaknesses of the American healthcare system rests in solving the politicization of the countrys healthcare plan. This paper shows that there are high stakes in the countrys healthcare systems, which act as a hindrance to the adoption of comprehensive healthcare reforms.
This hindrance denies Americans the opportunity to make the countrys healthcare plan more affordable and accessible to all citizens. In my view, the government should take control of the entire healthcare plan (by substituting the role of insurance firms) and pay for healthcare services for its citizens, instead of leaving its people at the mercy of insurance companies.
The personal insurance covers should be an alternative healthcare plan for those people who wish to have them. Another alternative rests in improving the efficiency of the existing healthcare system. Improving coordination between healthcare systems is one such way of doing so. So far, the government is already investing in such a solution. Indeed, Dickersin (517) says,
In addition to investments federal funding agencies are already making in their own programs, they can and ought to invest in a coordinated way in infrastructure for Cochrane systematic reviews and to encourage cooperative work between knowledge producers to increase efficiencies (Dickerson 517).
Combing through the records of hospitals and insurance companies will also help in improving the efficiency of health departments (Anderson 1080). Comprehensively, all citizens should find refuge in the universal healthcare scheme that does not discriminate, based on the ability to pay premiums. Lastly, there should be a careful balance between providing quality care and affordable care to all citizens.
Conclusion
After weighing the findings of this paper, it is correct to say that the American healthcare system has many flaws that create the perception of inferiority when compared to other health systems in some developed countries. Therefore, the US may learn valuable lessons that other healthcare systems (like the Canadian healthcare system) provide.
Certainly, the Canadian healthcare system provides valuable lessons for the adoption of an efficient and practical solution for solving Americas discriminatory healthcare system. The main lesson that arises from this system is the availability of quality healthcare services, even for low-income citizens. Therefore, unlike America, it is difficult for healthcare costs to cause bankruptcy among Canadians.
Albeit the American healthcare system is not entirely dysfunctional, its greatest weakness is the failure of the government to pay for the medical costs. Instead, people pay for the medical costs from their pockets and private health insurance companies make huge profits from this system. The citizens, therefore, suffer from high medical costs.
Consequently, while the American healthcare plan may be flexible to include personal preferences (private healthcare schemes), it is still expensive for most citizens. Lastly, even as the above dynamics paint a bleak picture of the American healthcare system, there is hope in the fact that the American government intends to make comprehensive reforms to its healthcare plan.
Works Cited
Anderson, Christopher. Measuring What Works in Healthcare. Science 263.25 (1994): 1080- 1082. Print.
Dickersin, Kay. To Reform U.S. Health Care, Start with Systematic Reviews. Science 329.5991 (2010): 516-517. Print.
Gallup, Alec, and F. Newport. The Gallup Poll, London: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. Print.
Lasser, Karen and Woolhandler Steffie. Access to Care, Health Status, and Health Disparities in the United States and Canada: Results of a Cross-National Population-Based Survey. American Journal of Public Health, 96.7 (2006): 1-7. Print.
Moore, Michael 2012, SICKO. Web.
Palmisano,Donald. Debating how to fix health insurance. Science 303.5663 (2004): 1467-1469. Print.
Rayski, Adrienne 2012, The Healthcare Nightmare. Web.
It is important to realize that environment of health care organizations is a highly demanding and stressful one due to the constant contact with patients requiring urgent medical treatment. Therefore, many clinical settings are closely associated with the emergence of conflicts among physicians, nurses, technologists, and other health care employees (Patton, 2014).
Leaders of HCOs have to carefully listen to involved parties in order to successfully resolve a conflict (Patton, 2014). The disputes between non-physicians and physicians could be prevented by enacting policies prohibiting verbal abuse. Moreover, all health care professionals have to be encouraged to immediately report cases of inappropriate use of language (Patton, 2014).
Sometimes, appeals to mutual religious values, as well as the desire for reconciliation based on shared tenets of religion, could bring peace to conflicting parties (Marsden, 2012). Successful managers of the HCO should be able to guide their employees with strong ethical norms that stem from the inherent sense of higher calling in order to reduce incidence rates of disputes (Marsden, 2012).
The implications of conflict between surgery and cardiology units might be extremely significant; therefore, it is important to establish proper communication guidelines between them in order to reduce the risk of communication failure (Cinar & Kaban, 2012). The scope of their functions and responsibilities has to be clearly drawn so that every person with a stake in the patients health outcomes would know their limits of responsibility. The commitment to measured performance can also help to address this issue.
It is recommendable to take enterprise conflict management (ECM) approach not only to the disputes between orthopedics and imaging but also to apply it to relationships between all units of the HCO (Cinar & Kaban, 2012). The managers of hospitals have to create a team-oriented culture with an emphasis on various conflict resolution techniques and methods (Cinar & Kaban, 2012). This will make any HCO an attractive worksite with low incidence rates of disputes between employees. Sometimes mandatory counseling might be needed for those members of staff who are extremely prone to conflict (Cinar & Kaban, 2012).
Emergency Referrals
Well-managed HCOs should have effective approaches for dealing with emergency referrals. There are several ways to assess different referral systems in terms of various outcome measures. The most common approach to understanding interdependencies between those views is the logic model for the representation of the pathway between stated health outcomes and interventions (Reilly & Markenson, 2010). The system-level approach can be taken to assess such measures as waiting times and access to specialists.
According to numerous studies, the combination of interventions in the process of emergency referrals at the systemic level is considerably more effective at increasing the quality of care than a one-pronged approach (Reilly & Markenson, 2010). Leaders of excellent HCOs have to ensure that patients receive the necessary information. Moreover, they should establish a network of communication between all units that will help to manage referrals.
The care services that those kinds of patients usually receive are time-sensitive and therefore have to be provided in the most efficient manner (Shaw et al., 2013). It is a duty of HCOs managers to device a system of accountability that would help to keep track of staff performance (Reilly & Markenson, 2010). There is also a need for effective coordination between different departments to provide the best service for underserved health care receivers. All budget concerns related to the creation of such systems should also be properly addressed by the managers (White, & Griffith, 2016).
It is important to remember that approximately 80 percent of uninsured patients are from employed blue-collar families (Shaw et al., 2013). Many of them are worried about substantial medical bills and afraid to lose their income. Therefore, it is important to take a collaborative and coordinated approach to the treatment of those patients in order to provide them with sufficient care services (Shaw et al., 2013).
Impaired Staff Members
An impaired staff member is an individual who is not able to adequately perform their professional duties due to physical, emotional, mental, and personality disorders or other factors such as age, substance use or abuse (Craig Hospital, 2012). The leaders of HCOs have to devise and implement a set of policies that would address all concerns related to the management of impaired or obstructive staff members.
The investigations of practitioners exhibiting behavior that could be tied to either some health conditions or excessive use of substances have to be conducted in accordance with the state or federal law (Craig Hospital, 2012). They are also regulated under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (Craig Hospital, 2012).
It is important to keep in mind, that every member of the clinical staff is responsible for the provision of the information related to their ability to perform medical duties. Therefore, all personnel has to inform the management of the HCO about any changes in their health impairing professional performance (Craig Hospital, 2012). The leadership of well-coordinated health care clinics often relies on third party reports that provide accounts of reasonable suspicion claims about the staffs health. To this end, all medical personnel has to be trained in the methods of impairment recognition (Craig Hospital, 2012).
References
Cinar, F., & Kaban, A. (2012). Conflict management and visionary leadership: an application in hospital organizations. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 58(4), 197-206.
Marsden, L. (2012). The Ashgate research companion to religion and conflict resolution. Farnham, England: Ashgate.
Patton, C., M. (2014). Conflict in Health Care: A Literature Review. The Internet Journal of Healthcare Administration, 9(1).
Reilly, M., & Markenson, D. (2010). Hospital Referral Patterns: How Emergency Medical Care Is Accessed in a Disaster. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 4(3), 226-231.
Shaw, E., Howard, J., Clark, E., Etz, R., Arya, R.,&Tallia, A. (2013). Decision-Making Processes of Patients Who Use the Emergency Department for Primary Care Needs. Journal of Health Care for The Poor and Underserved, 24(3), 1288-1305.
White, K., & Griffith, J. R. (2016). The well-managed healthcare organization. Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.
Ethiopia is a country of over 90 million citizens. It has various technical problems when dealing with its policy and strategy formulation. One of the principal concerns is about the health care system. The government has had various shortcomings in the health ministry due to the shortage of funds. But various international organs have helped to bridge the gap by providing funds towards the development of health. The paper would discuss the challenges, opportunities and funding of the health care section.
Lending Institutions
The funds from World Bank, International Monetary Funds, and other agencies of financing have been very helpful to Ethiopia. The civil war of the early 1990s caused a lot of corruption. But after the government took charge of the affairs of the health in the late 1990s, it made several commitment goals (Milkias, 2011). It has streamlined the healthcare sector and brought order in the way the health institutions administer health. The elderly and disadvantaged can visit public hospitals like the Addis Zemen Health Center and get free healthcare. The towns and cities have full-time physicians and medical supplies. But over two-thirds of Ethiopians live in the rural areas. They are the ones who need these services more.
Foreign aid has been conditional. The funding agencies had to agree with the government about the usage of the money so that it does not go into other projects. It has been the reason many health institutions have gotten a facelift (Mooney, 2012). The rural citizens are yet to see the change. Most of them have had to rely on the traditional herbalists for their medication.
The health sector came up with the Health Sector Development Plan (Taylor, 2012). The HSDP has led to improvements in the governments effort to provide better health care. The government, through funding agencies, has made HSDP to constitute the health chapter of the national poverty reduction strategy. One of the main aims is to increase immunization coverage and decrease under-five mortality rate. Due to these efforts, the health service can boast of being able to serve more than two-thirds of the people of Ethiopia. The Federal Ministry of Health aim has been able to achieve a minimum of its target through Health Extension Program.
Human Capital
Funding helps to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich (Berhanu, 2012). The government uses the funds to implement the new waiver scheme. The project targets the unprivileged population, protects the poor and promotes equity within the health sector. The elderly can now access free medical care through the waiver system. Government hospitals can offer medical services to the less fortunate of the society like the orphan, the poor, and others (Milkias, 2011).
Since the government has the elaborate year 2020 plan, the funds would directly get into the health projects of health immediately. The funds help to buy more health facilities like the cancer machines, build and equip new facilities with the hospitals, and promote sanity (Taylor, 2012). They have also helped to provide specialized medication to lifestyle diseases like diabetes, cancer, and many other sicknesses. Due to the major expansions in healthcare, the funds have contributed to the hire of more doctors, nurses and staffs to provide human capital to the healthcare industry.
The limited number of health institutions is still a major problem in the country. The few available health centers have the inefficient distribution of medical supplies. The rural people are the most affected. Severe under-funding of the health sector had decreased access to health-care services (Organization, 2011). The communist regime had caused many doctors and nurses to seek job opportunities outside the country. Over the last decade, there have been some changes. The current leadership has tried to emphasize the need for better health care and better pay for the health workers.
Healthy and Economy
A healthy population strengthens the economy of a country. Ethiopia, like other countries, ha to charge tax on the populations expenditure. A healthy nation would work hard to produce for the country and the family (Johnson & Musch, 2013). It could be food production, manufacturing, processing, and service. When people work, they increase the chances for a nation to become self-reliant. Healthy people would invest in education. By so doing they expand knowledge and at the same time contribute to the growth of the education sector. Healthy people would also save and invest in their country. For instance, Ethiopia would grow from local investments by the citizens. The financial institutions would expand when people have money and or borrow money to invest in them. Healthy people would cause the government to concentrate its budget on the developmental projects (Milkias, 2011). It would allow the government to deal primarily with the new diseases and preventive measures. The health department may start investing in more scientific and research methods and could become the referral center for the region.
Foreign Aid
Ethiopia has a large land mass. Its health centers are spread all over the country but are not close to millions of citizens (Berhanu, 2012). Ethiopia has used its foreign aid to provide mobile clinics to the rural populations. The medical department organizes for such visits on the monthly basis. The country is one of the poorest in Africa. The primary health concerns include maternal mortality, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Access to clean water, malnutrition and sanitation are also major concerns. The government has used donor funds to dig up boreholes and provide citizens with clean water (Organization, 2011). It has also embarked on the distribution of free mosquito nets to pregnant mothers who visit the health centers. But the funds are not enough to cater for the vast nation with the kind of population it has.
The government has a new program that empowers women. The majority of the women would live in the rural areas close to their families. The government now gets some of these women and trains them for health jobs (Johnson & Musch, 2013). The female health extension workers go through a years medical training. They concentrate their work on the prevention of diseases. They also test the HIV/AIDS and treat common diseases like malaria. The Health Extension Program also delivers cost efficient services. It provides care for children, women and even men. A free telephone advice service is also available for the caregivers (Mooney, 2012).
Conclusion
Ethiopias work on the health matters has shown that the third world countries can manage the health condition of their people. What Ethiopia needs is to establish better mechanisms on how to develop healthy facilities in the rural areas. The government needs to engage with the people and ensure that there is proper utilization of funds.
References
Berhanu Feysia, (2012). The health workforce in Ethiopia. Washington, D.C: World Bank.
Johnson, J., & Musch, S. (2013). Multisector casebook in health administration, leadership, and management. Clifton Park, New York: Delmar, Cengage Learning.
Milkias, P. (2011). Ethiopia. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO.
Mooney, G. (2012). The Health of Nations. London, UK: Zed Books.
Organization, W. (2011). Health in the Green Economy. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
Taylor, N. (2012). Health education in context. Rotterdam, Netherlands: SensePublishers.