Integrating Health Care Systems Essay

Integrated health systems deem to be component of the resolution to the general glitch of sustaining global healthcare structure. Various methodical literature reviews have been developed to funnel decision-makers and other stakeholders to strategize and execute integrated health schemes. The inefficiencies and inequality in health systems have persisted for long due to economic breakdown. The rationale of advancement of health systems is to improve efficiency and equity in health care provision (Boslaugh, 2013). The rationale of this paper is to compare, contrast and describe two articles related to integration of healthcare systems. Integrating Health Care Systems Essay

“Integrated health care networks in Latin America: toward a conceptual a framework for analysis” is an article by ML Vázquez, and “Ten key principles for successful health systems integration” by E Suter (Retrived from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3004930/).

Integrated health systems are considered as right step towards the challenge of sustainability (Lorenzi, 2005). The efforts to ensure that the state of health care system across countries include introduction of health care networks. This system is also known as integrated health care delivery system. Other efforts include guiding health professionals and other related stakeholders to strategize and execute integrated health care configuration (Kronenfeld, 2004). Integrated health care systems are generally believed to offer greater performance in terms of safety, quality as a result of standardized protocols and effective communication. However, these results have not been fully realized (Joumard , 2010). Integrating Health Care Systems Essay

These two articles were published in 2009. There is need to integrate health care systems since they are characterized by overrated expenses, sluggish public disbursement on health as part of gross domestic product, as well as gross inequalities (Mesa-Lago, 2007). In both articles the health care systems are integrated to meet patient needs, to ensure comprehensive services across the health care scheme, consistent care delivery between professional groups, information coordination, performance management, physician integration, organization leadership and culture, financial management, and governance construction (Retrieved from http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?pid=S1020-49892009001000012&script=sci_arttext). Integrating Health Care Systems Essay

Suter descried the condition of health systems in Canada while Vázquez elaborate about the state of health care condition in Latin America (Geyndt, 2001). Health care system in Latin America has been jeopardized by economic breakdown, gross inequalities, and overrated expenditure. On contrary, health care is greatly affected by service demand, gradual cost inflation, as well as staff shortages. In both articles endeavors to integrate health care structure face hindrances. In Canada, efforts for integration are affected by inadequate information related to executing and integration-linked initiatives (Rathwell, 1994). That is the information is isolated and not easily accessed. On the other hand, despite integration in health structure in health systems, the issues of inequalities still prevail in health services. Recent study reveals that health care integration in Canada is not sustainable in the modern form (Morrison, 2013). Integrating Health Care Systems Essay

In conclusion, calls for superior integration of health care service delivery, as an approach to attend to equity of efficiency and access, have been demonstrated in health reforms by multilateral institutions and national governments across the world. These efforts include proper planning to help the health care professionals to make superior decisions as well as the introduction of integrated health care networks. These efforts will strengthen the capacity of health care systems. The objective of these reforms is to improve overcoming inequalities as well as improving efficiency. The only remaining part is to ensure there are appropriate strategies to analyze the capability of the alterations being put into place to deliver integration plans. Integrating Health Care Systems Essay

References

Boslaugh, S. (2013). Health care systems around the world: a comparative guide. New York, NY: SAGE publishers.

Geyndt, W. D. (2001). Improving the quality of health care in Latin America. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 13(2), 85-87.

Health care comes home the human factors. (2011). Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.

Integrating mental health into primary care: a global perspective.. (2008). Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization ;.

Joumard, I., André, C., & Nicq, C. (2010). Health Care Systems. Paris: OECD.

Kronenfeld, J. J. (2004). Chronic care, health care systems, and services integration. Amsterdam: Elsevier JAI.

Lorenzi, N. M. (2005). Transforming health care through information (2nd ed.). New York: Springer.

Mesa-Lago, C. (2007). Social Security In Latin America: Pension And Health Care Reforms In The Last Quarter Century. Latin American Research Review, 42(2), 181-201.

Morrison, J. (2013). CPhA and other health care professions: Working for a better health care system. Canadian Pharmacists Journal / Revue des Pharmaciens du Canada, 146(3), 171-172.

Rathwell, T. (1994). Health Care In Canada: A System In Turmoil. Health Policy, 27(1), 5-17.

SciELO Salud Publica. (n.d.). SciELO Salud Publica. Retrieved August 25, 2014, from http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?pid=S1020-49892009001000012&script=sci_arttext

Suter, E., Oelke, N., Adair, C., & Armitage, G. (1930, March 6). Abstract. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Integrating Health Care Systems Essay

Spirituality has clearly been defined in the following many ways: a sense of being interconnected with actually all living creatures, the belief in a supernatural power that operates within the universe and is greater than actually oneself, and an awareness of the meaning and purpose of life as well as the development of personal absolute values. It can also be defined as the way one can find hope, comfort, inner peace and meaning in his or her life.Integrating Health Care Systems Essay

Even though spirituality is often associated with religious life, many believe that the personal spirituality can be developed or extended beyond religion. Acts of compassion; as well as selflessness, altruism, and the experience of inner peace are all characteristics of spirituality. Many Americans are becoming interested in the defined role of spirituality specifically in their health and health care. The main cause could be dissatisfaction with the impersonal nature of its medical system and the realization that medical science does not have answers to questions that pertain to health and wellness (Christina, 2001, p.5).

On the other hand, health care can be defined as the prevention, treatment, and diagnosis of disease, injury, illness, and other mental and physical impairments in individuals. It majorly refers to the work that is done in providing tertiary care, primary care, as well as secondary care in the so called public health. Access to health care is not a universal aspect; that is it varies across individuals, groups as well as countries, and is mostly influenced by economic and social conditions as well as the health policies in place. Health care systems are simply organizations that are established to meet the health needs of target populations. Integrating Health Care Systems Essay

The history of spirituality and health care

In most of the healing traditions and also via generations of healers in the ancient beginning of western medicine, relative concerns of the spirit as well as the body were intertwined. However, with the invasion of the scientific revolution and the enlightenment, these considerations were cleared off the medical system. Nevertheless, today, a growing number of studies clearly reveal that spirituality may play a bigger role especially in the healing process than the medical community previously thought (Thomas-Maclean, 2011, p.45).The influence of spirituality in health

There are some spiritual practices that tend to improve the coping skills as well as social support that foster feelings of hope and optimism, promote healthy behavior, reduce feelings of anxiety and depression, and finally encourage a sense of relaxation.By alleviating stressful feelings and promoting healing feelings, spirituality can have a positive impact or influence on cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels), immune, nervous as well as hormonal systems. An example of a religion that promotes a healthy lifestyle is the seventh Day Adventists. Those who follow this religion (a health population) are given instructions by their church not to eat pork, consume alcohol or smoke tobacco.Integrating Health Care Systems Essay

In ten year study of the seventh day Adventists in Netherlands, researchers conclusively found that the Adventist men lived 8.9 years longer relative to the normal average. On the other hand, the Adventist women lived 3.6 years longer. For both women and men, the chance of dying from cancer was 60-66% less as compared to the normal average in the country. In addition to that, the health benefits of spirituality as well as religion do not solely stem from healthy lifestyles.

Several researchers have the belief that certain attitudes, beliefs, and practices that are linked with being a spiritual individual have an effect on health.

In a study of people with AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), those who actually had faith in God, a sense of inner peace, compassion towards others, and were religious proved to have a better chance of surviving for a longer time than those who lacked strong belief systems. The following are some of the religious qualities that seem to possess a noticeable effect on healing and health.

Faith: The most deeply held beliefs of a person have a strong influence on his or her health. Some researchers have the belief that faith raises the ability of the body to resist stress.Hope: This refers to a positive attitude assumed by a person in the situation of difficulty. Lack of hope leads to the possibility of many people being depressed as well as being prone to illness.

Forgiveness: This refers to a release of resentment and hostility from past hurts. In 1997, a Stanford University study inferred that college students that are trained to forgive those who had hurt them were actually more hopeful, less angry, and better able to cope up with emotions rather than students who are not trained to forgive (Simmons, 2009, p.34).Integrating Health Care Systems Essay

Love and social support: By the act of friends and family network being close, which in turn lends help as well as emotional support, protection against many diseases has been facilitated. Researchers have believed that people who experience support and love tend to offer resistance to unhealthy behaviors and also feel less stressed. Some of the researchers offer the suggestion that a strong social network improves the protection of people against heart disease.Prayer: This refers to the act of a person putting him or herself in the defined presence of or having a conversation with a higher power. It has widely been used as a mode of healing in several cultures over the ages. Intercessory prayer is the act of asking a higher power to intervene on behalf of another either known or unknown to the person praying; can also be called distance healing or distance prayer. Current research in the coronary care units (intensive care units in hospitals devoted to individuals with severe heart disease) proposes that there is a benefit. The patients who were prayed for portrayed general improvements in their illness course, fewer deaths, as well as fewer complications rather than those who were not prayed for (Carl and Alex,2002, p.4).

Models of health care

Of all the 200 countries on the planet Earth, each country comes up with its own strategy for meeting the defined essential goals of an effective health care system: treating the sick people, maintaining individuals’ health, as well as protecting families against financial ruin from medical bills. There are four basic health care models:

The Beveridge Model: It was named after William Beveridge, a brave social reformer (who designed Britain’s National Health Service). In this model, health care is financed and provided by the government via tax payments (like the public library or the police force). This model tends to result in low per capita costs simply because the government (as the sole player) controls what doctors can charge as well as what they can do.Integrating Health Care Systems Essay

The Bismarck Model

This model uses an insurance system (sickness funds refer to the insurers); usually financed jointly by employees and employers via payroll deduction. This model is majorly found in France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Japan, and to an extent in Latin America.

The National Health Insurance Model

This model has combined elements of both Bismarck and Beveridge. It mainly uses providers from the private sectors but payment is from a government-run insurance program into which every citizen pays. This model is cheaper and simpler administratively than the American-style of profit insurance since there is no need for marketing, no profit, and no financial motive to deny claims. The single payer deems to have significant market power for lower price negotiations.

The Out-Of-Pocket Model

The basic rule of this model is that the rich people will get access to good medical care; while the poor will stay sick or even die.

Health care modeling (computational approach) the characteristics that are analyzed of the systems are; whether they supply energy, health delivery or a wide range of other complex systems.

First, computational models must be linked, for instance, microeconomic for payers and providers. Second, statistical estimation; gleaning of component models’ parameters from large data sets (e.g., clinical data, claims data and financial data). Third, interactive visualizations; enable decision makers to familiarize with the computational approaches. For the three competencies, multiple disciplines are required, working collectively to tackle problems (Johns, 2011, p.25).Integrating Health Care Systems Essay

References

Thomas-Maclean R et al. (2011).No Cookie-cutter Response: Conceptualizing Primary Health Care. New York: City press.

Simmons J. (2009).Primary Care Needs New Innovations to Meet Growing Demands: Health Leaders Media. U.K: Longhorn Printer.

Johns Hopkins Medicine (2011).Patient Care: Tertiary Care Definition: United States: Education Press.

Christina M. Puchallki (2001). The role of spirituality in Health care. Vol. 3 pp. 2-6 Washington. Retrieved from; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1305900/Carl E. Thoresen and Alex H.S Harris (2002). Spirituality and Health. What’s the Evidence and what’s needed: vol. 4, pp. 2-8New York. Retrieved from: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1207/S15324796ABM2401_02#page-1

In such a short period of time we have seen the healthcare industry go from paper tracking to technological tracking. We continue to see healthcare care drastically each year. The article I am reviewing is an article put out by Forbes in the beginning of 2013. Even though we have seen the many transformations when it comes to technology and healthcare, this article touches on five, which I will talk about more here shortly. It is an amazing idea that potentially five years from now that we could be totally paperless in the healthcare world.Integrating Health Care Systems Essay

Four years ago the IT departments of healthcare had a mere $343 million invested considering the potential of what was to come (Forbes, Lee 2013). Since then venture capitalists have tripled their investments into the health care IT and sunk $955 million (Forbes, Lee 2013). The article expresses that the federal government is even going to be sinking some major money into hospitals and medical offices to digitize health care. It all comes to a very good point mentioned in the article. “All of these VCs are now starting to put money into the space. And as we start getting some big wins, we’re going to see this accelerate,” said Aza Raskin, cofounder of Massive Health — a startup developing a mobile app to encourage healthier eating and other health-related tools — in an interview with Fast Company. “The smartest minds of our generation shouldn’t be working on getting us more addicted to Facebook or Twitter; they should be working on helping us get — and stay — healthy” (Forbes, Lee 2013).

What would people think when they are told that a machine helped their doctor figure out their diagnosis and the best possible treatment for them? Most will think it is absolute craziness, right? Funny that is brought up because researchers with the IBM corporation are currently developing a state of the art computer system that will take a doctors data and come up with the best possible outcome of a diagnosis would be for the patient. They are calling this major technological advancement Watson, and known to the medical field as Dr. Watson (Forbes, Lee 2013). This machine will be able to not only help assess the projected diagnosis of a patient, but also to keep tabs on a patients history, and allow the doctors to keep up with the latest and greatest abilities to treat patients. How often have we all been at work and have had to deal with someone that spoke a language we were unable to understand or speak for that matter? In the medical field it is hard to track down one person in a hospital that can speak Cantonese, Russian, German, Japanese, or many other languages that are less frequented in our day to day lives. Well, welcome Omnifluent Health! This product was developed by the Science Applications International Corporation, or the SAIC, to help with translation process in the healthcare field (Forbes, Lee 2013). This is a huge step considering doctors could just whip out there cell phones and ask a question into the microphone and get a quick translation. We would be able to break the language barrier between patients and healthcare workers. We have so many social media sites on the web now a days. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, G Plus, and many others. That is how we stay connected to friends and family.