The paradigm of the US health care system, while having no centralized organization pattern, varies greatly in terms of approaches to financing, management, and delivery of health care across the state. Thus, when talking of the delivery system, it is vital to define that there are two major system participants: governmental and private sectors. The former dwells on the federal and social laws and regulations that control the generally accepted principles of health care access and organization.
The private sector, in its turn, places major emphasis on the notions of financing and delivery of health care. If previously, the very aspect of delivery has been previously specified by the high inpatient to outpatient treatment ratio, the modern technology-based delivery approach outlines outpatient treatment as a system’s priority. This shift was predetermined by the introduction of hospitalists or physicians who specifically treat patients when they are hospitalized.
When speaking of the financing aspect of US health care, it should be outlined that there is no unified system of providing financial aid to the national health care. According to the most relevant indicators, the financing may be divided into three major types: individuals who pay for their health expenses, governmental grants and insurance systems for elderly people or military, and private insurance programs (National Health Institute [HIN], 2017). Such a system is not effective due to a lack of centralized financial apparatus and the creation of a severe gap in terms of various social layers’ access to health care. Another important aspect of US health care is the notion of management, as it presents one of the major threats to the system’s integrity. The overall management is performed through governmental interventions and directions from department-specific entities such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the American Public Health Association.
A similar disruption may be identified in the paradigm of health care sustainability, as the lack of centralized governance makes it challenging to create an agile framework that would secure sustainable development in the context of such major social changes as aging demographics and the outbreak of a global pandemic. According to the researchers, the major barrier in the way of creating a sustainable system is the lack of staff resourcing (Cowie et al., 2020). Thus, the establishment of a unified governmental resourcing channel would minimize the gap between the professionals’ professional abilities and the overall social background.
References
Cowie, J., Nicoll, A., Dimova, E. D., Campbell, P., & Duncan, E. A. (2020). The barriers and facilitators influencing the sustainability of hospital-based interventions: a systematic review. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 588. Web.
National Institute of Health. (2017). National information center on health services research and health care technology (NICHSR). Web.