Relationship between Quality and Cost of Healthcare Services

 

Abstract

            There are few facts about the relationship between quality and cost of healthcare services. Most theories suggest that quality care is achievable only where there is high cost during care delivery. The results of the research have shown that through collaboration of the health care stakeholders and participating in contribution of funds improves the quality of care. The conclusion is that is not a must to have money in order to get quality care in the health sectors but through efforts of working as a team will enable the achievement of quality care.           

Introduction

            Health care system involves meeting the health needs of a particular target population are an organization of people, given institutions and resources through activities and efforts to improve quality of the health and health determinants. In most cases, quality care is seen where the patient is paying much as compared to cases where the costs are low or free. The quality of care delivery is related to cost depending on the present incidences of occurrence. Quality care is achieved through different significant activities and not necessarily the high costs.

Activities and the Roles Done By Public Agencies in Addressing Cost and Quality Healthcare

            Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality is one of the public agencies that play an important role in addressing the issue of cost and quality health care (National Research Council, 2005). It contributes to the federal funds through multiple agencies in order to solve the issue of cost and quality care faced by the entire health care system of America. This ensures that there is enough funds to enhance quality care delivery under low cost

 Activities and Roles Performed by private Agencies in Addressing Cost and Quality Healthcare

.           The National coalition on health care, a private agency, aims at addressing the challenges of cost reduction and quality improvement in both private and public sectors. Its main role is ensuring effective collaborations and sharing the responsibilities between all the important members of health system (Page, 2015).This will ensure that there are valuable and affordable health care services for the patients, employers, other payers and the tax payers

The Current and Projected Initiatives towards Improvement of Quality Care as Cost Is Being Controlled                

             Participation of federal funds contribution to support overcoming the challenge of cost control and quality healthcare is one of the current steps that have been taken by the agencies (National Research Council, 2005).  The main aim is to ensure availability of sufficient funds to cater for the needs of the patients with the goal of providing quality care. Sharing of responsibilities and active participation by the stakeholders of the health systems is another projected initiative (Page, 2015). It is aimed at achieving valuable and affordable health systems for the sick clients, employers and tax payers.

The Unintended Consequences during Quality Care and Cost Control

            The reimbursement of the policies led to unintentional disadvantages towards safety-net hospitals. They imposed financial burden by threatening the thriving ability of the hospitals and exposing the low-income patients to risk of care (Mattie, 2008). The hospitals have been having decrease access to health care, reduction of per capita income, increased rate of unemployment and increased time wastage while travelling to care facilities to access health care.

Implications of Staff Nurses, Advanced Practice Nurses and Evidence-Based Practice Relative to Cost and Quality

            Measures to elevate the patient’s outcome and quality of care are important in improvement of health care. The agenda of evidence-based practice is the first in the health care system.  It aims at evidence-based practice of care to improve the outcome of the patient and the overall health of the population (LoBiondo-Wood et al, 2018). There is the need for the intra-professional and inter-professional team members to cultivate the evidence-based practice and to be committed towards searching for the literature of the evidence available, developing clinical questions and evaluating tests of change. Meeting this challenge ill help in improving the health of the population, enhance quality care and minimize the health per capita cost. The administrative, education and clinical leaders are therefore urged to lead the organizational and system level change by use of evidence-based practice to improve the quality of cost and improve the health care level

Conclusion

             Quality health care relates to cost which is determined by the present circumstances. There are activities carried out by healthcare agencies with an aim of addressing the cost and quality healthcare. First, there is taking part in contributing in federal funds to ensure that there sufficient funds to cater for the patients and secondly is the engagement of all the healthcare stakeholders to improve quality of care and cost management. Several initiatives to improve cost and quality care have been put in place. However, during the process of quality care and cost control, there has been reduction of per capita income, increased unemployment rates and decreased access to health care. The evidence based practice strategy aims at improving the patient’s outcome and the health of the general population. The educational, clinical and administrative leaders are urged to use the evidenced based practice to the organizational and system levels in order to improve the quality of cost and health care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference

National Research Council (U.S.). (2005). Advancing the nation's health needs. Washington,       D.C: National          Academies Press.

 Page, C. G. (2015). Management in physical therapy practices. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company.

Mattie, A. S., & Webster, B. L. (2008). Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services'" Never        Events": An             Analysis and Recommendations to Hospitals. The health care manager,     27(4), 338-349.

LoBiondo-Wood, G., Haber, J., & Titler, M. G. (2018). Evidence-Based Practice for Nursing      and Healthcare Quality Improvement - E-Book.