Standards of Evaluation

Examine health care delivery in the United States from a personal perspective….

INTRODUCTION

The health care delivery in the United States is the point of discussion in this essay which is being examined from my own personal perspective. I will assess my health plan which is Medicare health plan in terms of quality, cost, access and continuity of health care in the United States. There are some aspects of my health plan which need major or minor adjustments while some aspects are quite efficient. For example my health plan in terms of cost is overwhelming as the monthly deductions that are made from my salary are more than what I can afford given our economy. Health plans are easier ways of paying for one’s own medical care and there are a variety of health plans to choose from provided that one is insured. These health plans may include: Medicare Advantaged plans, Medi-Cal Managed Care plans and among others (California Department of Managed Health Care, 2008).

Without doubt health care plans are of great importance to me and my family since medical care is generally so expensive in most parts of the world and especially in the United States. Without these medical plans some medical services would be impossibility for me and my family to get, the major medical service being surgery. There is no way one can have a surgery in the United States without having a health insurance cover unless one pays for it in terms of cash directly. This has led to many people in the United States dying or being disabled because they could not get surgery at the right time. Had the right health systems been in place, less of these deaths or disabilities would have occurred. In order to examine the health care delivery in The United States, some aspects of health plan are going to be assessed.

Health plan in terms of quality

In terms of quality my health care plan is relatively poor. When I go for a medication attention in any hospital in the United States I find that the nurses who serve me are not efficient in terns of giving care to me as a patient.  Sometimes am given the wrong medication or just given pain killers for the pain. At the reception one has to queue for quite a long time before getting treatment from a doctor. In aIDition the nurses or sometime the doctor are rude to us patients when we ask particular questions. These nurses only give medical attention to other patients while leaving some who do not seem like they need immediate attention.

In other cases race has been a key player in the providence of health care where the minority groups are denied health care although they are insured. This fact is evidenced by a report Davis, et al (2006) where it reported that the United States was ranked the last in other aspect of quality in the health care system. It performed poorly in terms of giving care equitably, safely and efficiently. Compared to other countries, Americans have the highest rate of receiving wrong medications or doses and more likely go receive the wrong results after a lab test (Davis et al, 2006).

The quality of health plans can be improved by the government training the nurses or doctors in patient handling or by hiring qualified medical staff.

Health plan in terms of cost

The cost of having health coverage in the United States is very expensive and especially to low income earners like us. There are monthly deductions that are made on one’s salary in order to pay for the medical care. My health plan is very expensive because after the monthly deductions are made, my salary remains minimal and not enough for me and my family. This has forced me to get two jobs in order to support my family since we cannot do without medical care even if we wanted to. The high costs of insurance can be attributed to the fact that the United States spends so much money on health care systems (Woolhandler, 2003). It devotes a greater percentage of its national income to health than any country but it is not getting the value for its money (Davis et al, 2006).

For every service that one gets from the medical doctors a fee called co-pay (California Department of Managed Health, 2008) is paid which is quite expensive for the ordinary citizens.

The cost of health care in the United State is a major factor that makes many American not to get medical care. The low income people are the most disadvantaged when it come to medical care. These rates that are charged for every health cover have to be reduced for every American to be able to access health care.

Health plan in terms of continuity of care

When a doctor or hospital leaves my health plan, under certain circumstances I may be able to see the doctor or visit the hospital and this is what is called continuity of care. In terms of continuity of care my health plan is equally poor. This is because a doctor or hospital may just decide to leave my health plan due to some reasons and am forced to seek medication attention else where and with another doctor. Changing doctors and hospitals every time my health plan is discontinued is really an inconvenience to me because one can only get continuity of care if one has certain kind of health problem or conditions such as acute conditions, serious chronic condition, pregnancy or terminal illnesses (California Department of Managed Health Care, 2008).

The health plan officials should see to it that a doctor or hospital continue to give health care to its patients even if they discontinue with that particular health plan since they will affect greatly the patient if he/she does not qualify for continuity of care.

Health plan in terms of access

This aspect of my health plan is also ranked fairly as compared to the other three aspects. This position is given by the fact that I and my family do not usually have a regular doctor every time we need medical attention so we have too change doctors all the time. I sometimes cannot access medical attention because that care is very expensive for my health plan to cover it. In aIDition to that doctors may be absent or late in providing for medical care services.

A research conducted by Lasser et al (2006) in her report concluded that United States residents are less able to access care than Canadians. The report states that the US respondents that were interviewed were less likely to have a regular doctor, more likely to have unmet health needs and more likely to forego needed medicines as compared to Canadians. This report shows how the US is dragging in providing the best health care for its citizens.

This inaccessibility to health care can be improved by providing regular doctors and by working out a health plan that will look out for the uninsured since they are more affected by inaccessibility of health care.

Conclusion

The United States need some serious health care reforms in order for it to compete with other countries like Canada and Europe in terms of providing efficient health care to its citizens. Looking at some of the researches that were conducted by various people or organizations, United States did not fare well when ranked with other countries despite it using a lot of resources in health care systems.

Every aspect that I used to rank my health plan either did poorly or fair which shows how bad the situation is with the health care systems in the United States. Urgent changes need to be done in order to avoid so many deaths that occur due to poor providence of health care. This can be achieved by forming an efficient health plan for all Americans.

References

Hoeksema, J. (2011). Taking steps to control costs in the OR. Association of Operating Room

Nurses .AORN Journal, 94(6), S79-84; quiz S85-6. doi:10.1016/j.aorn.2011.09.021

Lasser, K. E., Himmelstein, D. U., & Woolhandler, S. (2006). 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), 1300-7. Retreved April 4^th 2012 from http://search.proquest.com/docview/215083453?accountid=45049

California Department of Managed Care (2008). Continuity of Care. Retrieved April 4^th 2012

from http://www.hmohelp.ca.gov/dmhc_consumer/br/br_continuity.aspx.

Davis, K., et al. (2006). Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: An Update on the Quality of American

Health Care Through the Patient’s Lens. The Commonwealth Fund. Retrieved April 4th, 2012 from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/Fund-Reports/2006/Apr/Mirror–Mirror-on-the-Wall–An-Update-on-the-Quality-of-American-Health-Care-Through-the-Patients-Le.aspx

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