Healthcare Policies in the United States

Article 1

            For more than seven years, the democrats have been pushing on the affordable act through the congress. The republicans have been determined to establish an alternative measure but to no avail. The plan is however being faced with technical as well as political complexity as the Obama care is on the verge of being replaced with a new law which is being referred to as better health care for majority at a relatively lesser cost (Pear 2017).

            The impending issue on the health policy is the fact that most of the people heavily relies on this program while most of the insurance companies are expected to make decisions within three months on the type of health plan that they want to which they will sell to the public in the year 2018. The act protects the patients with the preexisting conditions from being overcharged or being denied coverage. However the new act is intended to keep this provision. Once the senate cuts off funds that are allocated for the Planned Parenthood clinics, it will pose great problem to the US citizens. The Planned Parenthood clinics which do receive the Medicaid money for medical services are threatened with a loss of subsided health insurance. A great political mistake will be made once this act is replaced since all these federal funds would not be there to cater for medical coverage. A big number of the poor who are low and moderate income earners in US will not have some support from the act which originally helped them to cover for their bills. The republicans therefore believe that the replacement of this act would be partial as it will provide a limited protection program with limited incentives and coverage hence the victims may not be able to pay these premiums (Pear 2017).

Article 2

            In 2015, Martin Shkreli raised the price of an old drug and as a result, the public got angry with this pricing practice which as implemented by a number of pharmaceutical companies. Since that time there has been an emergence in the number of varying pricing schemes from national subsidies for those that are in need increasing the programs that are offered by these companies to offer discounts or even tying the ending result of the drug to price thus he longer the drug extends life the more expensive it is. The main issue is that the government had to come up with a strategy in 2016 which would ease the burden on patients. There has been post Ebola syndrome that could live for about nine months and this has raised an alarm in the public health sector as more people are becoming affected (Cha 2015). The seriousness to which this epidemic will occur and the capability in which the healthy system would handle the epidemic is an issue that is so concerning and thus the public needs to be made aware of this epidemic. Zika is another global public issue that is under close supervision as it is responsible for the numerous births of brain damaged infants (Cha 2015). The major issue in the health care sector is the role of the government failure to notice the exploding market of the medical devices and tests that would change the entire healthcare system.

Article 3

            The urgency to which the new president of the United States is demanding from the dismantling of the affordable care act has raised grave concerns. This has therefore caused a dilemma as the republicans are not able to find the right for a better policy to replace the Obama health care act. The issue is that the republicans may have a heavier load that may be nearly impossible standard for them to fulfill (Pear & Kaplan 2017). The fact that the act is being replaced, there is a high chance that most of the US citizens could be in the losing side as they will lose cover as the law is unwound. Therefore, these efforts that are put in place to undo the affordable care act could have detrimental consequences such as unconsciously destabilizing insurance markets which is a concern that is shared both by the democrats as well as the insurers (Pear & Kaplan 2017). The health care act thus needs to be defended and especially by the millions of people who receive the Planned Parenthood and Medicaid benefits. Failure to defend this act it will be hard for the victims to be covered as they are supposed to be insured. It will thus be hard to maintain the standards that the health care act insurance program without the penalties and subsidies. However the solution to this standing conflict in the replacement of the Obama health care act can be through the provision of price incentives and tax credits so as to make this program affordable and universal to all. In doing so, millions of citizens will not have the access to heath if the ACA is repealed and this will not help in solving the health policies that are being too costly for the moderate as well as the low income citizens.

References

Case Study

Question 1

The affected person or the individual at risk is Maddy.  This is particularly because her health is at stake as she is suffering from an advanced chronic illness that requires continuous and immediate attention. However, due to her financial condition and that of her family she cannot afford the treatment.  The stakeholders in the situation are the patient, the healthcare providers and the family.  This are the person’s that are directly involved and affected by the scenario.

Question 2

Maddy has a health condition that requires adequate and quality health care.  However, her  health status has be decreasing since  she cannot  afford the required lifestyle that ranges from  proper eating, avoiding stress and making  regular  visits to the doctor. Maddy’s health condition is slowly deteriorating because she does not attend her clinics regularly since the medical bills depend on her while she has no capability to sustain them (Kozas, 2009).  Maddy is highly constrained by both money and time since she works and also has to attend school and watch her health. The family is under no condition to help given that Maddy’s family lost her job months ago and her mother is a part time worker. However, the family is not aware of the recent occurrence to Maddy and her day’s hospitalization (Kozas, 2009). The predicament from the scenario is whether Maddy should undergo the minor surgery despite her financial situation to improve and stabilize her health.

Question 3

The ethical dilemma from Maddy’s case is on whether she should tell her family about the issue despite the fact that stability in the family is a problem.  The family has the right to know as they care for her and she cannot solve all this by herself given her current situation.

Question 4

Maddy’s Family is a major stakeholder in the case since she is directly connected to them and mainly because she cannot afford her health care bills. However, the ability of the family is low financially and what they can do to help her is the ethical concern.

Healthcare providers are a primary stakeholder in the case since they are responsible for the provision of health care services and their duty is to save lives.  However, Maddy has no money to afford the services and therefore the ethical concern towards them is on whether they should still offer the services to her.

Question 6

With the use of the first ethic code 1957 I would make the decision of treating the patient even without the financial provisions.  The code holds that a health practitioner should place health services prior to material gains (AMA, 2016).  Medical professional can best be honored through ensuring that the objective of the organization is achieved without fail.  The welfare of the patient should be first before the consideration of personal gains.

Question 7

I made the decision because the responsibility of a healthcare provider is to save lives.  However, lives are normally saved after the justification of finances which is not right since Maddy’s health is at stake and she requires immediate health attention. The decision is the most appropriate since it will honor the health profession and achieve its responsibility of offering quality services.

Question 8

An alternative decision would be contacting the parent or the governmental institutions for help.  Through this a decision and a financial source can easily be achieved through a combination of ideas as well as consultation.

            References

AMA. (2016). Code of Medical Ethics. Retrieved from https://www.ama-assn.org/about-us/code-medical-ethics

Kozas, A. (2009).The Case of Madisyn Whitfield: Chronic Illness and the Uninsured. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

Culture and Health Care

            The black/African American population is one of the unique ethnic groups in Unite States. Most of the descendants of the US slaves are mixed up with the European as well as the Native American blood. The Black/African descendants thus came in United States forcibly as they were held captive in US as from 1555 up to 1865.These ethnic communities in the US have been faced with health problems over the years and they have become susceptible to various diseases as well as illnesses. Cultural diversity among the US population has contributed to the ill health condition among the Black Americans. This paper therefore will first have an in depth discussion on the Black/African American culture, their history, religion, social organization, sustenance and population data in connection with the health focus. The paper will also examine and discuss some of these cultural factors that have affected negatively the health, health care service deliveries and viewpoints on treatment, illness and values that are interconnected with these cultural factors.

            According to a census report in 2015 from the census bureau, it was estimated that the Black/African population demography was 46,282,080. These Black Americans were living in the United States and is to show that they to a 14.3% of the total US population. This not only includes the black only but also includes the black in combination with another race. However, the black only contributed to about 42.6 million which is a 13.3% of the total US population. They are thus the second largest minority ethnic group as they follow the Hispanic population. Black/African population mostly lived in the South in 2015 with a smaller percent of the white population living in the south. Most of the Black/African population has at least earned a high school diploma with more women than men attaining a bachelor’s degree (Mandal et al 2013).

            The unemployment rate of the black Americans is twice than that of the whites as most of them work in other services such as the repair and maintenance firms. They also participate mostly in the laundry service which is the largest sector of the businesses for most of the Black/African Americans women. Health care and social assistance is the second largest business sector that the Black/African Americans women and a small population of black men engage in. Another proportion of the Black/African Americans population are involved in the administrative sector, support sector, waste management services , remediation, transportation, professional work technical support sector, warehouse services and the scientific department. There is also a number of the black population that is involved in serving their nation as they are in military in United States.

            The value of religion among the African American society and their religious participation has become part of their structure in the life and cultural ways of the older African Americans. Church based programs are used in ensuring that there is social integration for the older black Americans. These programs also enhance the building of society based infrastructure for helpful as well as health connected services. Through the provision of these services in the black American society, the churches has acted as supplements to the informal family care giving and are thus leveled to refer to other society based agencies. The frequencies at which the churches are attended have contributed in impacting the care received to the black Americans society.

            Black/African Americans are usually found in every level of the American population. However, a vast majority of the black population are mostly found outside of the social culture of the dominant society in the US. The Black/African Americans have been able to advance into the American culture against all odds and they are determined as they have had to go beyond the economic disaster over time. There has been a higher rate of discrimination by the whites on the Black/African Americans but it has reduced overtime but not entirely. Places like the private clubs, social functions, and in some of the organizations, the Black Americans have been discriminated. Nonetheless, the Black Americans have been able to challenges most of the rules and regulations that have been established and implemented to limit their choices as well as freedom. Major players and activists have emerged over time to fight for equal rights among the Black/African Americans (Anderson et al 2004). There is no official social organization of the black Americans population with any mass movement that voices out their interests of the majority of the black population. At national level, the national association for the advancement of colored people is the closest organization that brings sense of right and wrong in response to acts of oppression, discrimination as well as racism for the black Americans. However, at local level, many communities have committees of elders who are responsible for contributing towards humanity. The black Americans political organization is one that allows them to participate freely in the democratic as well, as the republican national parties. Social conflicts among the black Americans are resolved using the Black/African Americans community legal system with a strong advocacy or the use of consensus at first.  

            The Black/African population mostly relies on the Medicaid, public health insurance under the affordable care act as most of them are uninsured. However the whites in the US population mostly have the private heath insurances. The death rate of the Black/African Americans is generally higher than that of the whites as they are mostly diagnosed with heart diseases, stroke, influenza, asthma, diabetics, homicide as well as HIV/AIDS.  These are deadly diseases that strike the Black/African Americans more strongly than they do on the white Americans.

             The cause of these diseases on the Black/African Americans is as a result of genes formation, social economic status and their environment in which they are living. Social economic disparities among the Black/African Americans contribute to their ill health. Social economic status on the other hand plays a major role in the mental health of the black Americans as most of them are homeless, imprisoned and has a high tendency to substance abuse. This therefore puts them to a greater risk of having a poor mental health. However, over the years, progress has been made but racism cases have yet continued to impact negatively on the mental wellbeing of the Black/African Americans.

            Most of the black Americans are faced with psychological distress as compared to the whites. This is because most of the black Americans live in poverty and thus they are likely to have stress that attributes to most of them committing suicide hence an increase in suicidal cases among the black Americans. They are also victims of serious violent crimes across all ages thus they are a higher risk of being diagnose with post traumatic stress disorder.

            Therefore it is important to note that racial as well as ethnic health disparities are the core factors undermining our society and the health system. Thus it is essential for all people to work together towards improving our health care system so as to make it a high quality, all-inclusive, accessible and within everyone’s means. Other structural factors such as poor transport facilities for the black Americans, inconvenient in time schedule of appointments with health specialists due to rigid work schedules, excessive time delays whole at the waiting rooms affects an individual negatively. Thus they are unable to and unwilling to get the health care that they ought to have and thus emergency cases have continued to increase day in day out with inadequate care as well as inability to control and prevent the continuity of the health care which is essential for good health.

            Significant health inequalities cause illness such as the sexually transmitted diseases is the most occurring among the black/African Americans and especially the youths. Infant mortality is another health problem that is associated with health disparities in the black Americans population. This is majorly experienced in Michigan where the infant mortality rate averages that of the national mortality in infants. Nevertheless, the life expectancy has continued to improve as time goes by among all the Americans, but it is unfortunate that the low life expectancy among the black/African Americans has remained constant over the years. The death rate among them is thus dependent on the state of their living as the American state is experiencing a crisis in the health care system which is greatly affecting the black/African Americans’ Community (Mandal et al 2013).

            Their unfortunate disparity in health care in terms of in-affordability, inaccessibility, racism and cultural diversity, are not making the black Americans vulnerable to diseases and illness but they are as well highly likely to die from these illness and diseases. The environment to which these black/African Americans are working is also a contributing factor to the ill health situation among the black American community and mostly among the black American men. Most of these men die before their life expectancy age due to higher cases of homicides as well as the recent surge in the HIV/AIDS pandemic (Braveman et al 2009). Lower incomes and poverty link strongly with the increased rate in obesity cases among the black American society is a result of inaccessibility to nutritious and calorie dense free foods since they are quite expensive. Thus they are only able to afford to provide foods that have a less nutritional value which are not healthy. The black students are on the other hand unable to afford breakfast daily as compared to their white colleagues and this factor contributes to the less healthy eating habit and pattern hence causing weight gains and poorer performance even in schools (Mandal et al 2013).

            Most of the black Americans have limited places such as parks and playgrounds where they can be able to physically engage themselves. Following this limited accessibility to safer places that can enhance physical fitness, most of the black Americans suffer overweight problems and mostly black American children (Caprio et al 2008).

            The rich cultural diversity in the US as presented quite a big challenge for the health care professionals. Cultural competency is thus essential in solving of these challenges as it involves the understanding, the appreciation as well as respect for these cultural practices, values and diversity of the black Americans so as to be able to deliver equal and efficient healthcare services. Therefore there must be integral approach utilization amongst the health care professional and the diverse patient backgrounds. Valuable information about the Black/African American culture will be essential in ensuring that quality health care is administered unto these people and that a specific treatment strategy that can address both the specific as well as desired goals are established. The valuable information about their culture, their way of doing things, eating, religion and their cultural aspect is essential to understand as a health provider. It is also important for health practitioners to be able to determine the various differences among the patients through examining their intercultural interactions as well as interventions. Culture education in clinical care is a precious resource for practicing healthcare for the health care professionals and the practitioners. This will enable the mental health care professionals to be able to address the issue of the high rate of mental illness among the black Americans and thus they will be able to offer and deliver adequate services to them. Online databases, handouts and case studies on the culture of the black Americans are quite essential as they will help in informing and educating the health practitioners and professionals on the culture of the black Americans thus allowing them to offer accessible, affordable care and be able to discourage racism as it affects their health. These sources of information will also enable them to identify some of the problems in their culture such as the eating patterns which have contributed to various diseases among them and thus they are able to offer health education on eating patterns and eating healthy among the Black Americans.  Attitude, insight and behavior are among the most essential deliberations that the health care sector, practitioners and professionals should consider wile examining the physical exercise, diet as well as good health among the Black Americans (Geyen 2012). Their change in viewpoints and behavior towards the black American community is a good start for the health providers as it will bring about good outcomes and improved health habits. It is also the role of the African American to ensure that they adjust to changes that can promote healthy results and reduce disparities as they still embrace their culture.

            In conclusion, African Americans should therefore consistently embrace their culture at the same time as they effect behavior changes in diet and exercises that has a positive impact on their health lifestyle. However, medical practitioners should also participate in ensuring the well being of the patients and immigrants who has different cultural diversity. This can be enhanced through identification of exceptional cultural, social as well as religious issues that are connected to the African American culture. In doing this the health professionals and practitioners deliver more culturally sensitive and efficient care to the black American patients. Opportunities are therefore shaping the new concepts and specific understanding about the complexity and influence of culture in Black/African American culture and they help in improving the health interventions for this Black American population. This will reduce the diseases, increase life expectancy and reduce substance abuse among the black American society.

References

Geyen D.J (2012). Behavioral Changes for African Americans To Improve Health, Embrace Culture, and Minimize Disparities. ECI Interdisciplinary Journal for Legal and Social Policy: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, Article 2.

Mandal A, Scott J, Islam N.K & Mandal P.K. (2013). Factors Affecting African-American Health: Empowering the Community with Health Literacy. J Bioprocess Biotech 3

Anderson, N. B., Bulatao, R. A., Cohen, B., on Race, P., & National Research Council. (2004). Race/Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, and Health.

Braveman, P., An, J., Williams, D., & Egerter, S. (2009). Race and socioeconomic factors affect opportunities for better health.

Caprio, S., Daniels, S. R., Drewnowski, A., Kaufman, F. R., Palinkas, L. A., Rosenbloom, A. L., ... & Kirkman, M. S. (2008). Influence of race, ethnicity, and culture on childhood obesity: implications for prevention and treatment. Obesity, 16(12), 2566-2577.

MDGs vs. Healthy People 2020

Response 1

            Improving the health of the people globally is a goal under each target. The third goal in the UN SDGs is where compassion should start both at individual and at the global level. The core difference between feasibility and appropriateness is the fact that the UN SDGs are interested in solving the health crisis through addressing poverty issue as it is the major cause of theses crisis (United Nations Development Program 2016). Originally, the MDGs also targeted reduction of poverty and it was a success in reducing the health issues. It is thus evident hat poverty is a major concern that is raising an alarm to all and thus efforts should be geared towards its reduction so as to be able to tackle ill health issues.

Response 2

            SDGS as well as the healthy people 2020 are similar in that, they all identify regions that are center of attention and are thus centers of concern as there is need for efforts that would improve their health. These areas according to both of these targets involve issues that are interconnected to access, equality as well as the environment. The difference however is seen in the variation in the populations that is served. SDGs are evolutions from the MDGs while the health 2020 program is a continuation of the previous project. The main interest f these projects are to address the issue of health crisis nationally with an aim of improving the national health through provision of education, research as well as alliance measures. Poverty and hunger eradication are the top priorities for the SDGs initiative as our population’s health depend on the two (United Nations Development Program 2016).

References

United Nations Development Program. (2016). Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Retrieved from:

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sdgoverview/post-2015-development-agenda.html.

Case of Madisyn Whitfield

Question 1

Madyson Whitfield, twenty five years old as well as a graduate from the Westa Coast institution is the victim in this ethical case study. The healthcare as well as the health practitioners is the major stakeholders in this case.

Question 2

            Madyson was suffering from chronic inflammatory illness of the gastro intestinal tract. Even though there is no cure for this kind of disease, with proper treatment and care, she would have been able to control her illness through the control of flare ups which are related to the illness. However, factors such as the fact that she was a student as well as the financial constraints since she was uninsured were the core factors that resulted to the failure of acquiring the care that she needed so as to get better and thus her condition constantly deteriorated day in day out (Kozas 2009).

Question 3

            Ethical decision making in the health care system is required especially when the professionals within the health care must balance between the needs and the interest of the patients, the community as well as the association. Thus the health care should have first considered justice, fairness and the health expert ethical values and codes. The current healthcare system is thus being affected by the moral dilemmas that involve issues to deal with affordability, pressure to minimize n cost, accessibility and most of all he need to offer medical care for those patients who are uninsured.

Question 4

            Medical practitioners have an ethical responsibility to offer care for their patients. Thus in cases when they are faced with situations requiring them to make ethical decision, they should utilize ethical analysis systems so as to be able to decide the moral course of action. According to the codes of ethics as stated by the American college of Emergency physician, physicians are expected to embrace the patients well being as the primary professional accountability.

Question 5

            Madyson was not supposed to be put in the position that she was put when she was expected to choose between payment of her medical bills and medication since it is just but unethical. It was unethical for the hospital professionals to practice inequality to the patients in regards to the insurance issues. The hospital professionals should have treated all patients regardless of the fact that they have an insurance cover or not as equals.

Question 6

According to the AMA principles of medical ethics, all stakeholders in the healthcare system that includes the physicians; health insurers, health facilities as well as the professional medical associations should all work collectively in guarantying adequate access to appropriate health care for the patients (AMA 2016). Thus in my decision would have allowed Madyson to stay in the hospital till the time that the medics saw it safe for her to go home to recover.

Question 7

This is the only right decision to take in this situation as serving of patients which is the moral responsibility of the medical providers should be made accessible to all the patients even those who are insured.

Question 8

Another alternative right thing to do is to ensure that the uninsured patients are given the same level of acre as those who are insures as the financial constraint should not be the hindering factor to decision of the countering professional.

References

AMA (2016). Code of Medical Ethics. Retrieved from: https://www.ama-assn.org/sites/default/files/media-browser/code-of-medical-ethics-chapter-11.pdf

Kozas, A. (2009) Santa Clara University, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, the Case of

Madisyn Whitfield: Chronic Illness and the Uninsured

United Healthcare

United Health readiness to address public health care needs is based on its innovative efforts that are under the guidance of real practical end. The next decade will see the organization turn to empowering its consumers by enabling quality health care access , improving the functioning of the health care system and enhancing health care affordability to both employees and the customers (UnitedHealth Group, 2010). The focus in these issues will help the firm to align itself with the growing national will to tackle the core issues facing the health care systems to make them work effectively for all citizens. By recognizing the need for these fundamental changes, the firm will be able to rise to the challenge of the emerging health care needs and embrace the opportunity for modernizing the healthcare systems. A combination of opening new markets and more opportunities to cater for citizens will help the firm to attain new growths.

The organization’s readiness has been wrought in the integration of innovation with discipline in capital management, modernization efforts, the targeted growth and very mature programs for market engagement. The growing role of the firm in aligning the health care system with the need for more involvement in public health care and health has created a relationship that involve the personal and social part of citizens life (Baskin, 2015). This shows a deep commitment to put the organization’s management in the shoes of the public it serves so that they deliver high performance while deliberately offering dependability and compassion which is matched properly to the enabling tasks the firm will play in the country’s health care in the coming decade. Within all the organization’s businesses, the management is increasing the efforts aimed at developing and promoting innovative thinking while focusing on processes that can translate efficiently new innovations into achievable reality.  This has led to new network and designs for products and payment approaches (Ho, 2015). The organization has also adopted new ways of engaging the public in their health or health care so as to promote better choices on health products. This process also involves implementation of new technology to make simple the public health care experience for all the care providers and consumers. New relationships are built to enable the organization reach and offer services to the public from various perspectives (Baskin, 2015). These relationships are seen in the various collaborations with various organizations such as YMCA, Sesame Street, National Restaurant Association, Cisco and Walgreens.  This is an important step forward since the firm understands that next wave of opportunities for growth will benefit those who essentially assist in making the health care systems improvements in a sustainable manner (Neuman, 2015).

 The introduction of new technology by the organization has also prepared the firm in catering for the health care needs in over the next 10 years. In collaboration of various tech firms such as Cisco, the organization has been able to introduce the telemedicine through teleconferencing technology of high resolution and the diagnostic equipments digitization.  This has assisted the organization to establish a National Tele-health Network which enables physicians in checking and diagnosing patients one-on-one when it is not possible to have an in-person visit (UnitedHealth Group, 2010). A major challenge addressed by this innovation is scarcity of physicians who provides primary health care. Over the recent years, many parts of the nation and various medical specialties have been reporting cases of physician scarcity as reported by the American Association of Medical Colleges.  These effects are mostly felt in the rural areas, which will be a great health care challenge given that about 20 % of the population in United States resides in the rural areas and only about 9 % of all physicians serve these communities. For instance, the organization has collaborated with the Centura Health and Colorado State to facilitate doctors reach into the communities in the states that have long been underserved (UnitedHealth Group, 2010).  Majority of these patients involves those facing the challenge of poverty which acts as a barrier in health care accessibility.

Another important aspect is the goal the organization has that involves connecting health communities, making them more accountable, transparent and efficient.  A major challenge that will be addressed is the use of systems that are paper-based, reducing the amount of time that physicians spend with patients. The organization’s project for Physician Model Office will help in making easier for physicians to adopt health IT which will improve on time spent with patients (Ho, 2015). In future, many physicians who currently use manual, paper based systems for records and administration are expected to shift to electronic processes and systems. Such IT innovations connect many labs, pharmacies and hospitals with government and commercial benefits sponsors (Ho, 2015). Through such linkages, the organization will assist the government to lower health care costs while improving the medical outcomes.  In addition, United Healthcare provides a complete range of health benefits services and products for all stages of life across the various health care systems such as Medicaid and Medicare that are employer-sponsored and individual benefits (UnitedHealth Group, 2010). A combination of these aspects prepares the organization to provide health care services to citizens over the next decade.

Strategic plan

1. Network growth and future health services

The various challenges experienced in the health care sector have led to fast technological development in service delivery. For better service delivery, United Health has to focus on service delivery improvement while taking care of customers’ needs. This plan should involve focusing on society needs through the development of a healthier environment. The firm will engage more with public health facilities and authorities in introducing new technology in terms equipments and programs which will contribute greatly towards healthcare provision.

1. Nursing staffing

Due to nursing staff challenges related to shortages, training and development, many healthcare facilities to meet the health care needs in the society. A health care systems will be implemented which will ensure that practicing nurses are evenly distributes across all regions in the country. The plan involves motivation for students to follow the nursing careers so that to have a large pull of trained nurses to provide health care services.

• Resources management

For proper management of resources, health care systems are to be digitalized in the whole organization and other healthcare facilities while advocating for the same across the healthcare industry. A reform on health care policies will ensure that escalation of healthcare costs are tackled so as insurance coverage can be universal.

1. Patients’ satisfaction

To achieve effectiveness in service delivery will be the major basis of meeting the health care needs for patients. Use of improved technology in record keeping diagnostic procedures and payment methods will ensure that little time is spent in offering services. The new technology will be adopted by all health care givers after training so as to enhance service delivery.

References

Kiwi medical case

According to a market study, it was evident that Kiwi Company was facing some hostile as well as volatile competition from its competitors. Thus in considering this study, the company management decided that the only way that they were to compete with this kind of competition was to reduce their operating payments with at least 3 % per annum in the five years to come. In doing so, they would be able to provide fast and consistent delivery of products which are far much better than those of their competitors hence having a competitive edge. They therefore aimed at reversing their market share through the raising of a profit margin by 8% per annum. This was accomplished through off-shoring mechanism where they would operate oversees and get an outsourcing into their business. China was the best place where they would set up their business and be able to achieve their profit margin. This is because the Chinese market is an already established market and thus this market will be definitely be of value to their developing business. The technological nature of the china nation makes it more suitable for the off-shoring opportunity with Kiwi Company as the company’s strength is that it has a leading innovation edge. Manufacturing in China would be of great importance to the company as it would enjoy a 10 about 15% price benefit since China has a lower cost site. This therefore reduces the operating expenditure of the company as the cost expenses are greatly reduced by the location of the company. Though china is a low cost site, it is however technologically sophisticated thus off-shoring the company to china will result to technological improvement and innovation hence maturing of the kiwi product line. This therefore will increase the value of Kiwi products.

References

Fawcett S. (2012). Kiwi medical devices ltd: is “Right shoring” the right response? Weber state university.

Position description

The position for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologist involves an individual possessing the knowledge of performing MRI studies and radiologic procedures to help in diagnostic and therapeutic services to a certain population of patients. Such an individual must an expert in carrying out scans by the help of radiofrequencies to produce body organs’ images.  This position description has its own strengths which are indicated by the inclusion of various statements that show the responsibilities and duties of the position holder. The document offers an analysis of various work-related activities about the job duties which include those activities that are performed in a whole cycle of duties. The position description highlights the duties of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologist that can be carried out over the long-run. The job is broken down into different functions so as to describe the position.

In each function, the individual statements are definite and direct to the point apart from various sentences which appear complicated but which are established to improve on the understanding of involved details. In addition, the education requirements for this description are supported by analyzing the actual reference to the duties to be performed.  The minimum basic levels of education are also used in this description, while avoiding artificially higher requirements for education are also avoided hence increasing the strength of this position description. Such kind of higher requirement can be considered discriminating, illegal and unethical. However, this position description leaves out such details which makes it defensible to an extent. The position descriptions present the various expectations that are required from me as an employee including the various skills and knowledge that I should have. There is also a description of the expected improvement or development in the training of the person holding the position and an emphasis on the requirement for one to have the certification from American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT). Such a thorough description offers psychological preparation for a person willing to apply for the position. This quick and effective communication of such amount of information about this position is useful to a reader who is not familiar with the job position (Fallon, McConnell &McConnell, 2013). Words selection in the position description must be done carefully in order convey the maximum possible meaning to the relevant individuals. This description for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologist Position utilizes words which are carefully selected to resonate with the activities that need to be carried out and the level of knowledge required for one to occupy this position.

The position description has various weak-points that needs improvements so as the relevant individuals can relate with its requirements. The breaking of the position into various functions should include a listing of the task in the order of reducing occurrence or frequency. Hence, those tasks needing the most time for completion due to their critical nature should be first in such a list. In addition, the position description should clearly include how a task in the listed duties should be accomplished and why such activities are necessary. Such a method provides convenience in organization of the position description.  Lack of this critical information presents various loopholes which could be challenged legally or may be used by the employees to argue out their case of non-productivity. This description correlates with chapter 6 since it offers the responsibilities, duties and minimum education level needed. This correlates with chapter 6 because the description provides the level of responsibility, the experience, and the minimum level of education needed to successfully fulfill the job duties.  This job description could be improved by fully describing the number of persons supervised and the resources controlled. The elements of the description are strong in the position description above.

Reference

Fallon, F., McConnell, R.C., McConnell,C.R,(2013). Human Resource Management in Health Care. 117-121

Supplemental Health Care .Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technologist Job Description. Retrieved from: https://myshc.supplementalhealthcare.com/pdf/job_descriptions/MRI.pdf

Infection control program

The overarching purpose of this Infection Control Program is to minimize the acquisition risk for healthcare-related infections among the patients and the infections acquired by healthcare workers in their occupation. These goals are established after considering the various views from health care workers and aspects related to this field.  These include a risk assessment done in conjunction with physicians, nurses and other healthcare workers; establishing and prioritizing goals on the basis of risk assessment; collaboration with clinical services and other safety and quality enhancement programs in a clinical systems; development and implementation of policies for infection control; biological emergencies planning; integration of the infections control efforts in the community and hospital environment. A major aspect considered in the process is risk assessment which is based on aspects relating to geographic location, the services to be offered and the characteristics of the target population.  The evaluation of every potential risk is performed on the basis of occurrence probability, severity and the preparedness of organizations to risk control and the various regulatory requirements (Huber, 2014).  An assessment of the risks is done in order to prioritize them on the basis of findings from activities such as surveillance which help in identifying the emergence of infectious diseases or other health emergencies.  The assessment of the risks assists in the prioritization of goals which in turn help in resource allocation for this infection control program. The prioritized goals comprise of the metrics, surveillance methods, set targets and activities aimed at achieving these targets.

The target, population as aforementioned, includes the healthcare workers and the patients in the healthcare facilities’ environment. The program will involve the inputs from the healthcare workers in developing protocols for developing for preventing occupationally acquired infections which will include vaccination and screening. Patients in healthcare facilities are exposed to any kind of infection outbreak especially in those facilities that are crowded or that have limited spaces that can allow effective control of infections. As such the program will involve a thorough investigation of risk factors that can lead to an outbreak of such infections. Hence, the target population needs to be involved in the investigation and implementation of control measures. The health care staff will be approached to help in sensitizing the patients and even patient’s families on how to ensure that the risks of infections are minimized. The education of healthcare workers on how to infections in hospitals will be provided on a continuous basis so that they can pass on the knowledge to patients and their families (UNC Health Care, 2016). The concepts for infection control will be communicated to the public through sign for patients’ isolation, placing fliers in patients admission pack with a reminder that it is alright for them to remind healthcare employees to disinfect their hands.  The program will, hence, endeavor to ensure that the target population is informed properly on how to prevent infections, detect the emergence of infections and how to control them from spreading.

There are substantial benefits of having an infection control program as an essential component in the delivery of healthcare. The program is clinically effective and also cost-effective since it offers vital cost savings in regard to fewer infections associated in healthcare. It also guarantees reduced length of time that patients have to stay at a healthcare facility and reduced cases of antimicrobial resistance.  Another benefit is the reduced cost in the treatment of various infections that that may arise in the healthcare delivery environment. Through this program, the healthcare workers will manage to prevent the cases of occupational infections and hence reduce the amount of time working time wasted by nurses who get infected. The results are improved service delivery to the patients and the improvement of the working environment of these healthcare workers (UNC Health Care, 2016). Reduced time of stay by the patients at the hospital means that the cost of treatment will be minimized and the can spend time with their families. Of more importance is the overall cost that healthcare facilities will be able to save by reducing the risk of infection in their set up The cost of this program will be about $ 263,000 for a typical 320- Bed Hospital taking into account the cost of epidemiologist at $ 60,000, administration at $33,000, supplies and other fringe benefits at $ 60,000 and the implementation of the program at $ 110,000.  This would save the hospital about $ 900,000 in cost that would be needed in the treatment of infections if such a program is not in place.

The evaluation of the program for effectiveness will be conducted on annual basis for the annual plan implementation and goals that have been prioritized. The evaluation will also be done on whether the desired goals have been achieved in terms of compliance with relevant policies and reduction of infection. The evaluation will also be done to check out any improvement that can be done to enhance prevention after determining and analyzing failures in meeting the target goals.

References

Huber, D. (2014).Leadership and Nursing Care Management. Maryland Heights, MO: Saunders Elsevier.5 E.d.

UNC Health Care,(2016). Infection Control Manual. Retrieved from: https://spice.unc.edu/files/2012/06/Infection-Control-Plan-FY2016.pdf

Response

    Food interest has increased over the years and the discipline seems to be an emergent field. However, the field of food has been there for ages but people were not as interested as they are currently. Most people nowadays are too much determined by studying individual ingredients while others have engaged in the publishing of cookery books that are currently in high demand. Thus with this increment in food interest, food studies cannot be avoided and food history is essential in understanding food development over the years. This paper, therefore, will present and discuss some of the ideas that clearly show the relationship between the two articles.

    According to the two articles, it is quite evident that food history has been there for ages and people used to engage in talks about food. However, these talks were not written down during those eras since the cooks and bakers were illiterate and this made not to realize their unique interest in food. With the current globalization and modernization, the idea of cookbooks and recipes were introduced with an aim of airing the voice of these cooks and bakers so as to help the caregivers and all the other groups of people so as to be able to survive and be healthy. This has greatly contributed to the increasing interest in food.

    The two authors argue out that electronic media has played an important role in the development of food history. Some of these recipes and cookbooks are found online and digitized texts that enable accessibility by the majority of the people. This has helped in sensitization on the essence of food topic in academics. This digitized media has allowed for the presentation of food through the use of images as well as pictures that people can relate to (Albala 7).

A good example is the use of images for some of these ingredients so that readers can familiarize with the ingredients.

    The emergence and acceptance of the food history and the increasing interest in food have resulted in the creation of many job opportunities to food-related fields. An example is a high number of publishers for these cookbooks, the food historians, the cooks as well as the academic teachers who offer education on food unit. Food has, therefore, become a profitable genre, especially in the press and publishing industry as the old cookbooks have been reprinted over and over again in various forms (Freedman et al 278).

    The study of food history is incorporated with that of the feeding or eating habits by the human beings. Thus most of the writers for these cookbooks have shifted their core focus onto the study of recent food eating habits and especially that of their origin tradition (Freedman et al 276). Thus the two articles have greatly focused on the social, cultural, economic as well as the intellectual measures of consumption. Thus the authors are more interested in explaining the ingredients, the cooking methods, and recipes. They also explain the life of the cooks as well as their societies, expertise, aspiration and pride. The cookbooks, therefore, have enhanced the people to be able to follow the advice of these cooks and thus making them have more interest in food.

    Illiteracy, as portrayed by the two authors, is the major cause of disinterest amongst the people of that society. Thus the societies that are still not up to date with the current trend in food discipline are unfortunate as they have not been able to have a proper documentation and thus the low interest on food topic.

Thus they fail to get guidelines on the food recipes of their own society but rather they follow other cooks guidelines from other societies since the cookbooks are written by outsiders. Thus it is quite clear that in nations where illiteracy rate for women and poverty rate is high, cookbooks are quite rare as compared to other nations that have high literacy rates and are wealthy.

Conclusion

    It is thus evident that food history has improved over the past decades and it is expected to continue improving with time. Different groups of people such as the culinary historians as well as food historian and cooks have been able to voice out their ideas on food and it is this enlightenment that has yielded the increase in food interest. Various elements of food such as nutrition, eating habits, recipes, ingredients, culinary foods and the kitchen are widely discussed in the various cookbooks. However, the development of food has not been evenly distributed across the world as it is only limited to the rich and literate nations. The state of food currently is not the same as that of the past and neither will it be the same with that of the time to come. Electronic media through printing, publishing and the internet has widely enhanced a wider coverage of the targeted groups of people such as the women, the youth and some proportion of men.

References

    Albala, Ken. "History on the Plate: The Current State of Food History." Historically Speaking 10.5 (2009): 6-8.

    Freedman, Paul, Joyce E. Chaplin, and Ken Albala, eds. Food in time and place: the American Historical Association companion to food history. Univ of California Press, 2014.

Personal Assessment and Stress Management

The result from my assessment reveals many details of who I am. It is interesting to find out some of the characters I have that I did not realize that have an impact in my life. The measurement of my personal characteristics outlines my probability of making a decision. The assessment shows the observable variability in my behavior which is different from other people. However, the assessment is based on assumptions that create some variance affecting the overall objective of the assessment. The results may have some variance which can be explained through a scientific approach. Despite that personality, measurement can be achieved with a minimal error making the assessment effective.

According to Boolean search, stress is felt when one has more to handle than usual. The body responds as though in danger releasing certain hormones that increase the heart beat rate, makes one breath faster and there is a burst of energy. Stress is arguably known for the negative effects that it has on individuals but there is a positive side to it. This makes one work faster which can make one complete a job on time (Smith, 2002).

Everything you need to know about stress management by Aaron Barbee is an article that explains what stress management entails. Barbee outlines that it is important to first identify the stress and what is causing it (Barbee, 2012). It is important to rate the kind of stress by answering some questions such as who is in control. Barbee further says that they are two type of stress where positive stress is considered to be healthy such as competition, butterflies, financial bonus among others while negative stress unhealthy which include anxiety, and worries (Barbee, 2012).

According to Barbee views stress reactions includes physical, emotional, psychological and behavioral. Physical reactions include headaches, fatigue, and hypertension among others. Emotional reactions include restlessness, anxiety and crying while behavioral includes withdrawal from family, increase in drug, tobacco and alcohol use among others. Psychological reactions include sulking, depression and being reclusive (Barbee, 2012). Barbee also says to manage stress various things should be done. This includes planning and organizing, consideration of prime time, use a to-do list, out do procrastination, focus on individual goals, be active, avoid surprises and interruptions and always reward yourself. According to this article stress management can be achieved by any individual so long as they are willing (Barbee, 2012).

Vulnerability to stress refers to the receptiveness of mental health disorder. It is determined by the genetic makeup as well as early life experiences. With this study of vulnerability to stress I have been able to learn important details about stress management (Hankin & Abela, 2005). As stress is a normal part of life it is important to note that coping efforts enables an individual to adjust and get involved in meaningful activities. Coping skills play an integral part in handling stress and reducing vulnerability such as relaxation skills and social skills that involve staying connected to the people, getting support and dealing with conflicts. Social support is significant in reducing the vulnerability of stress as misunderstandings; disagreements are resolved as people are willing to have a mutual ground. It also creates an image that one is cared for as there are love and support as well as support in pursuing meaningful goals (Hankin & Abela, 2005). A biological vulnerability can be reduced by two primary ways which are taking medication and reduction in drug and alcohol usage. The lessons learned are important for stress management.

Reference

Barbee, A. (2012). Everything You Need to Know About Stress Management. [Newmarket, Ont.]: BrainMass Inc.

Hankin, B. L., & Abela, J. R. Z. (2005). Development of psychopathology: A vulnerability-stress perspective. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.

Smith, J. C. (2002). Stress management: A comprehensive handbook of techniques and strategies. New York: Springer Pub.

Clinical Psychology

Q1

Clinical psychology involves a number of legal issues to which they must be adhered to and followed. Doctor-patient confidentiality is one major legal issue. This prohibits the doctor from discussing patient's matter with any other party unless there is an order to do so by the courts (Plante, 2011). There is also the consent to treatment which is written and the withdrawal of the consent means that treatment must cease. An unethical breach could arise when the doctor does not adhere to the confidentiality consent without the patient approval. However, it could be legal when it is required by law despite the fact that the patient could be against it. Moreover, clinical psychology ethics code prohibits any clinical psychologist from releasing any medical information pertaining to a patient.

Q2

Clinical psychology may include ethical issues such as competence and constitutional rights and respect. However they could be ethical but illegal is when a patient may need marijuana for medical purposes and yet it is prohibited in the country (James, 2012). It can be supported by the fact that marijuana is an authentic item in the medical arena but the federal laws are against its use. However some states have legalized the use of marijuana but only to the extent of medical use only. Therefore it is true to say that marijuana has great medical use with makes it ethically right to use to a patient but it is illegal according to the state laws to use it for any other purpose (Plante, 2011).

Q3

Professional boundaries can be said to be limits on the client and the psychologist relationship in order to achieve a safe and an innocent environment for the two. The said boundaries assists the psychologist to built a strong professional relationship as well as creating and enhancing the safe boundaries in order to allow the client to speak freely without fear or intimidation in order to aid the treatment process. Boundary crossings can be referred to a deviation which is harmless, supportive and non-exploitive of therapy from therapeutic activity (Plante, 2011). However the patient’s choices and goals must be respected so that no violation will be seen. The boundary crossings enable the doctor and the patient to have trust and good faith between them. This creates a better ground for them in the therapy activity. Boundary violation is a deviation from the classical therapeutic activity which is harmful to the patient and the whole therapy activity. This means that there is exploitation and emotional violence is experienced and one party takes advantage of the other (Plante, 2011). The boundaries create a line for appropriate and inappropriate behavior. It is important as they create space for each part and the limit is observed solely for the purpose of treatment. The boundaries also enhance treatment as there is concentration between the therapist and the patient.

Q4

Culture plays an important part in any individual. This goes up to treatment as it should respect the patient’s culture. This means that any form of treatment to a patient should be in line and acceptable by the patient as it should not be against their belief or values (James, 2012). Due to the importance that people have placed on culture it is therefore important for the psychologist to consider culture in the administration of treatment (Plante, 2011). Treatment can be appropriate to one culture and be unacceptable to another. Behavior is another cultural limitation that may affect treatment. A medical professional should be able to adapt to the patient behavior in order to make the treatment effective. A research by a medical professional is appropriate as it will try to eliminate or minimize cultural differences throughout the treatment so as to minimize the misuse of assessment instruments.

Reference

James, W. (2012). The Principles of Psychology, Vol. 2. Newburyport: Dover Publications.

Plante, T. G. (2011). Contemporary Clinical Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.