Overview
Answer the following 2 students in 100 words each. You may use Word to do assignments.
1 – Christine Bruns: This week, I'm exploring three areas of waste in healthcare and how to address that waste.One are of waste that may not be obvious is underutilization of licensed healthcare professionals. For example, if a physician is spending a significant portion of their time providing care that nurses, therapists, or other medical care professionals can provide it has a negative impact on healthcare delivery. Physicians are typically paid more than medical techs, nurses and physician assistants. If a physician is spending 2 hours a day on tasks that could safely and effectively be performed by one of those other disciplines, it unnecessarily drives up the price of healthcare deliver. Additionally, it reduces patient access to see the physician for care that is outside the scope of practice of Nurses, PAs, and medical techs. A solution to this issue is for healthcare organizations to align duties so that clinicians are primarily providing services that are at the top of their license.A second are of waste is lack of coordination of care. This can be exhibited in several ways such as redundant testing or imaging, poor documentation hand off between primary care doctors and specialists, failure to coordinate after care for hospital stays, etc. This failure to coordinate can delay identification and treatment of acute illness (ultimately increasing the cost to treat the issue). This type of waste can be addressed by utilizing electronic health records, ensuring clarity and specificity when making referrals, and by having staff who focus on care coordination for patients. A third area of waste in healthcare is over prescription of medications. For example, if a patient presents with cold symptoms but a clinician prescribes antibiotics "just in case" despite there being no indication that the antibiotics are necessary. Over prescription can happen even when the medication is clinically indicated if the length of the prescription exceeds what is typically needed. The most prevalent example of this is the opioid crisis. By prescribing opioids for a longer period of time than needed, it increases the cost of providing the medication as well as increasing risk of addiction. Opioid addiction then results in the need for additional costly treatment for rehabilitation and can result in increased utilization of emergency care which is extremely costly. This waste can be avoided by clinicians following guidelines related to prescription times unless there is an extenuating circumstance.
2- Paige Oliver: Comparing and contrasting the argument on healthcare being a right or privilege is broken up in a few categories in my eyes. I think first, the moral aspect of healthcare includes simply wanting to care for everyone and save lives when you have the opportunity. Reducing differences in judgement on healthcare can eliminate the issues with access to care and level of care due to wealth and race. If treating every patient as a priority and a right was more common in the United States, maybe we would have higher productivity, stronger communities, and longer life expectancies. If those without healthcare came in for regular appointments with their primary providers, it could help reduce the costs of treatments/emergency surgeries later on. Lastly, Canada treats healthcare as a right for their citizens, so I believe it is possible! On the flip side of things, looking at the healthcare system as a privilege would make United States citizens responsible for themselves. They would have to make healthier choices, as far as life style habits and acquire insurance coverages. It allows people to decide how much they want to spend on their healthcare and how often they want to receive check ups due to paying a copay of some sorts. The privilege argument states that "people who work harder, or make better decisions should have access to better care" (Fuchs, 2011). This view point of "privilege" can leave the poor even poorer and without care promoting health inequalities.In conclusion, I've noticed through research and readings that those who see healthcare as a right prioritize equality and have empathy for those who are less fortunate. Those who see it as a privilege emphasize making their own choices and holding all patients accountable for their own lives and care.
References-
Vogenberg FR. US Healthcare Trends and Contradictions in 2019. Am Health Drug Benefits. 2019 Feb;12(1):40-47. PMID: 30972152; PMCID: PMC6404804.
Beauchamp, D. E. (1976). Public health as social justice. Inquiry, 13(1), 3–14
Goodman, J. C. (2012). Priceless: Curing the healthcare crisis. Independent Institute