Introduction
Healthcare delivery is a system that includes organized resources, institutions, and people to ensure that healthcare services reach the targeted populations. The notion of introducing concepts that would enrich and ease delivery care for citizens is one that can be embraced by countries across the world. This paper discusses the cultural beliefs and values evident in the class videos, cultural awareness, and position of the insurance companies on the proposed approaches, and their influence on America’s competitive advantage.
Cultural Beliefs and Values Presented in the Video
In the first video, the cultural beliefs and values noticeable are traditional medical approaches, which still have deep roots in a society that has moved to technological reliance. Bertalan Mesko proposes the notion that healthcare can be administered over social networks (TED, 2018). Social media provides resources, which can rarely be found in the traditional health facility; therefore, there is a need for social media to be curated and have digital literacy in the medical curriculum.
In the second video, there is an emphasis on training more country doctors to extend primary care to the rural population, especially to those people who cannot visit a medical facility themselves. For instance, Dr. Hartman, a primary care physician in Amador County, offers healthcare advice anytime and anywhere. In addition, the doctor moves from one house to another to improve healthcare service delivery.
Value to the Patient
Cultural awareness is an especially important aspect in the healthcare profession, as it shapes the behavior and decisions of clinicians, nurses, and physicians. The value to the patient of incorporating diversity in healthcare professionals’ education is that it builds trust between patients and healthcare workers, thereby promoting inclusive health responsibilities (Cai, 2016). In addition, patients are provided with better services by the doctors because when their ethnic background is understood, the communication is effective. This reduces medical errors, enhances data collection, and improves preventive care among patients (Kaihlanen et al., 2019). Besides, it helps the facility to incorporate diverse ideas and perspectives, improve efficiency, and increase a hospital’s market share.
Insurance Companies Position on these Approaches
Insurance companies assess the risk factors involved in a coverage scheme before starting up one. In the case of Bertalan’s idea of care through social media, its risk levels are high and therefore, the business is not viable. For example, a tweet by a doctor in point A prescribing a medication for a patient in point B, which then causes harm to the patient who has a medical cover. At this point, the insurer will have an uphill task to defend themselves against the action of the doctor in point A. This is the reason why healthcare coverage would not be implemented in the idea presented in the first video.
It is even impossible to recover the cost of time and service because it is offered for free on social media. On the other hand, the proposal by Dr. Hartman can receive healthcare coverage. For instance, when there is a home visit, the doctor will charge a fee, which can then be transferred to the insurance companies to settle on behalf of their client.
Care Delivery Approaches and Their Effect Competition
Healthcare provision through social media will cause less competition amongst healthcare organizations and practitioners because there will be no monetary motivation. However, the need to improve rural access to healthcare through home visits by doctors will stir a contest between hospitals and medics on who offers the best services. According to a study conducted by Kaufman et al. (2016), hospitals that have not expanded care provisions would not benefit from the Affordable Care Act and the disproportionate-share hospital (DSH) program. For the hospital to receive more finances from the DSH payments, they need to attend to patients in large numbers, including the uninsured. The DSH demands that for health facilities to request funds, they must treat a large percentage of the population they are serving.
Providing Services with These Two Approaches
The two approaches are both viable for the healthcare sector across the world. In my opinion, I believe that these approaches will, to a larger extent, positively impact healthcare provision. Delivering healthcare services on social media will make access to expert opinion much faster, and the reply on social media is free (Chu et al., 2015). In areas where the Internet is still a challenge, such as the rural areas, home visits by primary care physicians will significantly improve healthcare delivery.
It can be noted that in the past years, patients have opted to have home care as opposed to hospitalization through the use of the wireless-sensor-network (WSN) in collaboration with smart home healthcare systems (Alaiad & Zhou, 2917). Therefore, these two approaches should be incorporated into the healthcare system.
The U.S. Competitive Level through the Approaches
Finally, embracing cultural beliefs and values about social media and home visits approaches within the medical organizations will make the U.S. more competitive than other countries. This is because healthcare access will reach a larger population through regular hospital visits, over the Internet (social media and telemedicine), and home visits by primary care physicians. It would be a positive shift towards care delivery across the country as healthcare access will be reliable and assured.
Conclusion
In conclusion, cultural awareness improves patient safety as the doctors are aware of the patient’s behaviors, values, and background. It improves the ability to educate and engage people on their health needs and options. The use of both social media and home visits will improve healthcare delivery and should be embraced by health doctors, nurses, and physicians. Quality healthcare delivery offered by a hospital creates demand by patients for there is value for money.
References
Alaiad, A., & Zhou, L. (2017). Patients’ adoption of WSN-based smart home healthcare systems: An integrated model of facilitators and barriers. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 60(1), 4-23. Web.
Cai, D. Y. (2016). A concept analysis of cultural competence. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 3(3), 268-273. Web.
Chu, S., Boxer, R., Madison, P., Kleinman, L., Skolarus, T., Altman, L., & Shelton, J. (2015). Veterans Affairs telemedicine: Bringing urologic care to remote clinics. Urology, 86(2), 255-261. Web.
Kaihlanen, A. M., Hietapakka, L., & Heponiemi, T. (2019). Increasing cultural awareness: qualitative study of nurses’ perceptions about cultural competence training.BMC Nursing, 18(38), 1-9. Web.
Kaufman, B. G., Reiter, K. L., Pink, G. H., & Holmes, G. M. (2016). Medicaid expansion affects rural and urban hospitals differently. Health Affairs, 35(9), 1665-1672. Web.
TED. (2018). Bertalan Mesko: IHP 600 What if Dr House used Twitter CC. YouTube. Web.