The implementation of the Affordable Care Act has enabled the significant improvement of the healthcare system since its implementation. However, the American healthcare system is still not meeting the demands of the citizens (Clarke, Bourn, Skoufalos, Beck, & Castillo, 2016). The insurance companies and hospitals have turned Medicare into a profit-oriented business in order to make more money. The quality of healthcare services in the United States has not yet hit the bar. Additionally, the complexity of the large, fragmented and uncoordinated United States healthcare system is still a challenge despite the efforts put forward to improve quality outcomes. This paper provides five elements of the healthcare system that need reform and how they impact the current system.
Access to healthcare is still a major challenge in some parts of the United States of America. The cause of this problem ranges from insurance and high prices to lack of adequate medical services. Clarke et al. (2016) report that in the four largest states of the US, about 12 percent to 30 percent of residents lacked experienced problems accessing care and most of them were not medically covered in 2014. The problem exists even today, whereby, many rural areas suffer from an inadequate supply of healthcare professionals which compromises access to healthcare. In some parts of rural America, hospital facilities lack primary care physicians, emergency physicians, and paramedics.
According to Putera (2017), about 57 million Americans living in the rural parts of the country have problems accessing their clinicians. When patients cannot access clinicians, it becomes impossible for them to receive sufficient health care services and achieve their overall patient wellness. Therefore, the American healthcare system still needs reform to improve access to medical services, especially for the 57 Million and above residents in the rural parts of the country.
The rising cost of healthcare in the United States is an issue of concern among many residents. Despite the diminishing rate of escalation, the health care cost remains high which is an impediment to care delivery. Clarke et al. (2016) assert that about 42 percent of Americans in a recent survey suggested that either the cost of, or access to, healthcare is the major problem facing care delivery in the United States of America. An eleven country survey suggested that adults in the United States are more likely than those in the other 10 countries to go without needed care due to high costs. This survey was conducted among 11 countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, New Zealand, France, Canada, and Australia (Osborn, Squires, Doty, Sarnak, & Schneider, 2016). About 33% of adults went without recommended care or failed to fill a prescription due to cost. The U.Ss overall healthcare cost, private and public spending inclusive, is expected to grow by an average of 5.5 annually. The amount is expected to rise from $3.5 trillion in 2017 to $6 trillion by 2027. Therefore, this element of the healthcare system needs to be reformed to provide the American people with affordable care services.
Even though the United States of America is often perceived as having some of the best healthcare systems in the world, the reliability and validity of this claim are still questionable. According to Putera (2017), the quality of healthcare in America is a bit of a mixed bag, doing relatively well in areas such as cancer treatment and care while facing increased mortality rates from preventable and treatable diseases. Despite the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the United States was still ranked last among the 11 industrialized countries (Osborn et al., 2016). Researchers identified that the US has the highest cost while also displaying the lowest performance.
Low-quality healthcare is associated with a lack of patient satisfaction, bad patient outcomes, and increased mortality rates. Serious gaps in care guidelines may cause adverse influence on care, especially in outpatient settings (Clarke et al., 2016). Additionally, ineffective patient communication and patient education along with poor coordination processes may lead to low-quality care. Keeping this knowledge in mind, every reader can see sense for the need to reform the quality of care delivered in the United States of America.
Although the health care communities across the country are making steps in the adoption and implementation of health information systems, there is still a lack of widespread
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