July 12, 2020

How does one draw the line at what is “basic health services” and what is extra? Who gets to decide?

Nursing 510 /Week 1

Prompt 1

1-Kristopher Top of Form

Access to healthcare implies that people can use health services in time to realize the best health results. Health coverage involves various processes that ensure the citizens have access to health services. The health services required by citizens include the promotion, prevention, treatment, palliation, and rehabilitation care. These services should be of standard quality and effective in ensuring that the users do not suffer financial hardships. All Americans should have healthcare coverage and access, as is the case with the country’s public-school system.

The lack of healthcare services adversely affects a person’s overall social, mental, and physical health status. A country that enables access to healthcare eliminates issues such as unmet healthcare needs, lack of preventative services, financial problems, delays in accessing necessary treatment, and preventable health complications (Frueh, 2015). Access to healthcare also improves the quality of life of the citizens. Therefore, the government should improve healthcare access by reducing the cost of healthcare, providing care services, encouraging culturally competent healthcare, and ensuring that insurance cover is adequate and affordable.

Healthcare coverage ensures that Americans can enter the healthcare system. The lack of coverage prevents people from seeking or getting medical attention. People should gain entry into health care systems without accumulating huge medical bills, which pose the threat of bankruptcy (Alshreef, 2019). Uninsured people are at risk of poor health, delayed diagnoses, and premature death. Therefore, healthcare coverage is an absolute necessity for Americans.

Coverage and access to healthcare help reduce disparities in the healthcare sector caused by ethnicity, race, age, status, disability status, gender identity, area of residence, and sexual orientation. The quest for health access and coverage will push for innovation in the healthcare system and in collaboration with telehealth and other innovative technologies that will improve healthcare outcomes. Therefore, ensuring access and coverage in healthcare is beneficial for the healthcare system, the citizens, and the economy of the United States.

2- Danica

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Health insurance is a significant determinant of access to health care. In 2018, statistics showed that 30.4 million or 9.4% of the United States population was uninsured (Cohen et al., 2020). Proper access and coverage of health care for all Americans is a right. Although a commitment to universal health care can be costly and hard, it is a significant obligation to increasing the quality of life of vulnerable populations and decreasing health disparities. The implication of Universal health care decreases health inequality for the poor members of society that have little to no access to adequate health care. Thus, the decrease in health disparities also reduces income and education disparities within this population (Bloom et al., 2018). Aside from improving an individual’s overall health, coverage for health care theoretically promotes economic wellbeing and reduces economic health inequalities as improving the health of a population accelerates economic growth through improving labor productivity, educational attainment, and cognitive function (Bloom et al., 2018).

One of the most significant barriers to the approval of Universal health care in the US is the financial burden. However, creating an environment where health care is easily accessible to individuals will be a return investment as early preventative care from childhood prevents future financial costs. It has been shown that regular checkups from childhood reduce future hospitalizations, decrease emergency department use, and improve a child’s overall wellbeing (King, 2016). In contrast, an uninsured child with no access to preventative care leads to poor health outcomes and an increase in health complications in the future (King, 2016). Access to health care as a right not only improves health outcomes but also creates a healthier health care as providers can provide the same standard of service despite the financial status of a person.

The lack of access to proper health care negatively impacts a person’s quality of life and wellbeing. Therefore, access to health care is vital in health promotion, maintaining health, decreasing preventable disease, and reducing health disparities and inequalities. Therefore, the need for universal health care in the US is necessary.

Prompt 2

1-Amrit Kang

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Nurses are at the front line of the healthcare industry, and the patient’s advocate. We are their voice, we speak for them at such vulnerable times, when they cannot. Therefore, they must be involved in the development of the health care policy at any level from the specific organization to national but it is easier said than done.

There are a few barriers that prevent nurses to be involved in such committees to develop policies. These are lack of involvement, lack of knowledge and skills, lack of enabling structure, and negative image of nursing (Shariff, 2014).

From personal experience, I can vouch for the lack of involvement. We do not see any senior executives, the policymakers asking the nurses on the floor about certain situations before making the policy. We usually get to know at the very end when the policy is already made and we are obligated to implement it now whether it makes sense to our particular unit or kind of patients we have in the unit. It ends up taking our time away from patient bedside care.

Instead of a negative image, it is more like an insignificant image that involves a lack of opportunity to be part of the policymaking process.

Another major barrier is lack of enabling structure, it confines nurses to be at junior positions and the majority of the bigger positions are occupied by doctors and other health professionals besides nurses. (Shariff, 2014).

2-Lawrence Morelli

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Living in central Florida, in the heart of tourist country. There are many barriers, language, cultures, religious preferences, the list goes on a on. Not every consent form can be in English, not everyone wants a blood transfusion. On some occasions this will hinder or alter the care given. There cannot be a blanket statement for patient care.

Just yesterday, I overheard a fellow nurse go over a consent with a patient for a procedure. The patient edited the paper and self-redacted the consent form. He did not want his tissues tested; he did not want his case to be used for education purposes. He read every word and crossed out and edited the consent form like an online school professor grading a discussion post. Can’t even get mad at the guy, as annoying as he sounded, that was his choice. He made it very clear what he did and did not want to happen during this procedure. I wish I knew the outcome to this case, it sounded like a pain in the neck to be a part of, but I would very much like to know how it concluded.

I was taught to roll with the punches and to adapt and overcome, and boy, there was some adapting to be done with this individual. Which got me thinking, is there a way to tweak a consent? Is it simply “Yes I want blood products?” Or No, no blood products at all?” Should there even be an option for that? Give people that power and I can certainly see people going to town saying they want name brand opioids with Anglo Saxon Plasma only during their heart catheterization procedure. Never underestimate how far a person’s pettiness can go.

Total: 5 replies, APA and References.

Professor question:

Week 1 Discussion Prompt 1

COLLAPSE

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Discuss your position regarding access to and coverage for health care. Are we obligated to provide access to and coverage for health care for all Americans as an entitlement (a right), or should health care be considered a commodity that is subject to the influences of economic, social, and market demand (supply and demand)? Be sure to include the rationale for your position in your discussion.

My answer:

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RE: Week 1 Discussion Prompt 1

COLLAPSE

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Healthcare should be considered as a right to every American, and not a commodity since it is not a luxury but part of a basic need. This means that all people should be able to access healthcare whether they have money or not. All basic health services should be availed whenever they are needed and wherever they are needed without one having to suffer financially. WHO (Wealth Health Organization) states that the enjoyment to health and health standards can only be attained when health care is made a right to each and every human regardless of their race, economic and social condition (Meiyer, 2017). It is only by free exercise, that most things like freedom of movement and expression have had their roots and success.

Health care has become so commercialized that it has become impossible for hospitals to offer services to people who don’t match up to the price of every service. At this rate, it means that if a patient is unable to pay for various services, they would rather die. This beats the essence of having access to free education, food, and transport as no one can enjoy education while they are still sick. Civaner (2016) states that if healthcare is provided as a right, it will attract donors form the public and private sector who will be able to finance the needs and demands of the health systems. This is similar to the Non-profit organizations which have in most cases attracted donors and aids all over the world to run their operations (Rumbold, 2017). This right should however be exempted to only allow for basic needs and basic health care. Like all other systems, exemptions are necessary so as to not only protect the health facilities and health providers but to also eliminate people who may seek to exploit the systems.