Health Care Essay: Cost, Access, Quality, and the Role Technology Plays Essay

Health Care Essay: Cost, Access, Quality, and the Role Technology Plays Essay

Health Care Essay: Cost, Access, Quality, and the Role Technology Plays

Healthcare is a right for all in America irrespective of one’s background. However, factors such as high costs limit the population’s access to the care that they need. America currently leads in the developed countries with the highest cost of healthcare. The rising healthcare costs make healthcare an access for a few in the country. Strategies that aim at lowering costs of healthcare should be adopted in America. Therefore, this essay examines the contributing factors to the rising cost of healthcare, impact of cost and technology to health care access and discusses the influence of cost on quality of healthcare and its future.

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Factors Contributing to the Rising Cost of Healthcare

Health care costs have been rising significantly in America. Several factors contribute to the phenomena. One of the factors is the aging population in America. A significant proportion of the American population is aged above 65 years. Most of the current workforce are nearing retirement age. The implication of such changes is that the population of the aged in America is high. This population contributes to the increasing healthcare costs through expanded Medicare enrollment and high rate of complex conditions among them (Henderson, 2022). Complex, chronic health problems demand the need for specialized care, driving healthcare costs up.

The other factor contributing to the rising health care costs is the increase in the prevalence of chronic illnesses. The rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and kidney disease have been rising over the past decades. The rise implies that patients incur high costs for the effective management of these conditions. Caring for the affected patients also require intensive resources utilization, leading to the soaring costs in health care. the other factor is the ever-rising drug prices. The drug industry in America remains largely unregulated. The production cost of different drugs has also been rising, creating a direct cost pressure on service providers and consumers (Henderson, 2022; Shi & Singh, 2022). Additional changes such as the increased focus on precision medicine and specialty pharmaceuticals raise healthcare costs and those incurred by the patients.

The rise in health care costs began at around 1960s. The rise was mainly attributed to an increase in the demand for high quality healthcare services, government policies, chronic illnesses, and changes in the population dynamics. Health care costs will continue to rise because of the increasing rates of chronic illnesses, aging population with complex healthcare needs, and transformations in healthcare that increase the need for heavy resource utilization. Several strategies can be explored to address the rising costs in health care (Shi & Singh, 2022). They include healthcare systems redesign, vendor oversight, encouraging good consumer behavior, and developing effective cost sharing levels with employees to reduce cost burden in healthcare.

Impact on Cost and Technology to Health Care Access

Cost and technology have affected access to health care to most of the Americans. The rising costs limit the care that patients can afford. The out-of-pocket payments and cost-sharing costs increase significantly lowering the access to high quality care that patients require. Cost impacts on health care access affect the population disproportionately. For example, individuals from ethnic and racial minority groups suffer the most due to the role of social determinants of health such as income, educational level, and unemployment status. High cost of health care also contribute to delayed or missed care among the population. Accordingly, most patients are lost during the follow-up period because of their inability to afford subsequent care for their chronic and acute conditions. This increases the risk of suboptimal outcomes among them. Health insurances such as the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid were adopted to address challenges to access to healthcare for the population. Despite their presence, most of the Americans do not afford or access the care they need because of the high costs incurred in out-of-pocket spending or cost-sharing in the care process (Henderson, 2022). Cumulatively, cost acts as an hinderance to access to health care.

Technology also has positive and negative effects on health care access. On the positive side, technologies in health have increased access, efficiency, and costs for patients and health organizations. Health technologies such as Telehealth have increased access to healthcare for patients with chronic diseases. They also reduce costs by eliminating unnecessary hospital visits and complications in disease management. Technologies have also increased patient engagement in their care for optimum outcomes. However, the adoption of new technologies daily in healthcare increases healthcare costs. Hospitals have to purchase, maintain, and improve their technologies at high cost to ensure safety, quality, and efficiency. The cost implications of these changes result in rising health care costs for the consumers. Access to healthcare has improved now as compared to ten years ago. Technology advancements have enhanced the availability of health information for the consumers (Bucci et al., 2019; Coustasse et al., 2019). For example, patients can utilize automated systems to track their physiological parameters and make the required changes in chronic disease management.

Discussion

Cost is a crucial determinant of quality of care. Economic factors such as recession, government policies, and inflation increase the cost of healthcare. The impact is that the majority do not access the care that they need, hence, quality of care. Cost also affects access to specialty care for different conditions for the population. Currently, America experiences an acute shortage of physicians to meet the needs of the population. The shortage drives healthcare costs up for the consumers since hospitals have to pay more to retain their staff  (L et al., 2019). As a result, the consumers suffer from suboptimal access to healthcare, which lower quality outcomes.

The future of healthcare in terms of quality largely relies on the reduction in healthcare costs. An effective healthcare system should ensure the delivery of high-quality, safe and efficient care to the population as lowest cost possible. However, the current high costs of services experienced currently have an inverse relationship to the quality should it not be addressed. Access to quality healthcare will be a preserve for the few while the majority struggle to access the care that they need. Technology supports the provision of quality care. Technologies such as mhealth and telehealth support care continuity, patient-centeredness, and cost efficiency in the care process (Bucci et al., 2019). Therefore, continued leveraging on health technologies is likely to transform healthcare in the future.

Conclusion

In summary, factors such as the high cost of drugs and aging population contribute to the rising costs in health care. Strategies to address the rising costs should be adopted. Cost and technology affect access to healthcare. In addition, technology supports the provision of quality care to diverse populations. The future of quality in health care largely relies on the cost containment mechanisms adopted by the governments.

References

Bucci, S., Schwannauer, M., & Berry, N. (2019). The digital revolution and its impact on mental health care. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 92(2), 277–297. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12222

Coustasse, A., Sarkar, R., Abodunde, B., Metzger, B. J., & Slater, C. M. (2019). Use of Teledermatology to Improve Dermatological Access in Rural Areas. Telemedicine and E-Health, 25(11), 1022–1032. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2018.0130

Henderson, J. W. (2022). Health Economics and Policy. Cengage Learning.

L, B. S., Luca, L., & Paul, O. (2019). Price Setting and Price Regulation in Health Care Lessons for Advancing Universal Health Coverage: Lessons for Advancing Universal Health Coverage. OECD Publishing.

Shi, L., & Singh, D. A. (2022). Essentials of the U.S. Health Care System. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

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Assessment Description

An understanding of health care cost, access to care, and quality of care is vital for health care professionals, as is the ability to articulate these issues.  For this assignment, you will examine the effects of cost and the issues associated with accessing quality care, both in a historical context as well as the future impact on health care.

In a 1,000- to 1,200-word paper, address the following:

1. Identify the factors contributing to the rising cost of health care. When did rising health care costs become an issue? Why are health care costs continuing to rise? What can be done to address this issue?
2. Identify the impact that cost and technology are having on access to care. How does access to health care today compare to 10 years ago? What role has technology played in providing access to care?
3. Discuss the issue of providing quality care. How much of a factor is cost in determining quality of care? What does the future of health care look like with regard to quality? What role does technology play in providing quality care?

Do not include the title page or the references page when determining whether you have achieved the required word count for this assignment.

A minimum of two references, in addition to your textbook, are required for this assignment. Textbook link: BibliU – Reader – Essentials of the U.S. Health Care System, Fifth Edition

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.