A healthcare delivery system focuses on a wide array of health-related issues, yet its primary area of concern revolves around two objectives. These are the increase in the accessibility of healthcare services to all citizens and the creation of cost-effective, high-quality services (Sidney et al., 2018). The described objectives are defined by the lack of access to basic healthcare services for a vast range of American citizens due to factors such as poverty, low health literacy, and poor nurse-patient communication.
The existing system of healthcare established in the U.S. cannot be considered flawless due to obvious problems in accessibility, communication, and service quality. Therefore, analyzing its properties and characteristics will help to improve it substantially. At present, the U.S. healthcare system is characterized by ten main traits. Among them, there are the absence of central governing, a technology-based system of care delivery, high costs combined with frequently low quality, an imperfect market setting, and the government being subsidiary to the private sector (Delate & Wang, 2017). The provided definition of the current U.S. healthcare delivery system implies that it needs additional investments for quality improvement and extra options for increased access.
In addition, the present U.S. healthcare delivery system is characterized by the fusion between market justice, namely, economic relationships and the focus on benefits, and social justice, primarily, social and ethnic equality. The specified issue is complicated by the presence of multiple players and the disrupted balance of power in the healthcare delivery setting. Nonetheless, the search for integration and accountability also constitutes a crucial trait of the contemporary U.S. healthcare delivery system. In addition, the target setting implies selective access to specific services based on the type of insurance, as well as the presence of it, in general. The tenth and the final trait of the modern healthcare delivery system is the persistence of legal risks as the main factors guiding healthcare practice behaviors (Rondinelli et al., 2018). Thus, the contemporary healthcare delivery system has to function under multiple constraints.
Addressing the vital concern faced by the modern healthcare delivery system, namely, the improvement in access to vital services, one should mention the concept of the accountable care organization (ACO). The specified type of healthcare organizations provides an opportunity for patients to receive the services of better quality by introducing reimbursements in quality and lower fees for patients from underserviced backgrounds (Lustbader et al., 2017). An ACO can be seen as a compromise between restructuring the current healthcare system and the present framework with its inability to deliver the proper quality of care.
Despite the improvements that ACOs have introduced into the context of the U.S. healthcare delivery system, other changes will also be necessary since ACOs alone will be unable to cover every instance of injustice in healthcare service provision. Specifically, enhanced communication between a nurse and a patient, as well as improved communication channels and opportunities for patient health education, should be considered essential steps. Addressing health needs of those living in underserviced areas, as well as people from poverty-stricken areas, is a vital part of healthcare and Christian ethics. Indeed, according to the Bible, “Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all” (Proverbs 22:3, New International Version). The specified sentiment indicates that everyone deserves an equal amount of care and support, as well as a chance to support themselves in the future. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the members of the current healthcare delivery system to introduce options for people with low access to healthcare services.
References
Delate, T., & Wang, S. (2017). Assessment of the rates and characteristics of the short-term supply of medication (Tider) from an integrated healthcare delivery system in the United States.Pharmacy Practice (Granada), 15(2), 1-10. Web.
Lustbader, D., Mudra, M., Romano, C., Lukoski, E., Chang, A., Mittelberger, J.,… Cooper, D. (2017). The impact of a home-based palliative care program in an accountable care organization.Journal of Palliative Medicine, 20(1), 23-28. Web.
Rondinelli, J., Zuniga, S., Kipnis, P., Kawar, L. N., Liu, V., & Escobar, G. J. (2018). Hospital-acquired pressure injury: Risk-adjusted comparisons in an integrated healthcare delivery system.Nursing Research, 67(1), 16-25. Web.
Sidney, S., Sorel, M. E., Quesenberry, C. P., Jaffe, M. G., Solomon, M. D., Nguyen-Huynh, M. N.,… Rana, J. S. (2018). Comparative trends in heart disease, stroke, and all-cause mortality in the United States and a large integrated healthcare delivery system.The American Journal of Medicine, 131(7), 829-836. Web.