Running head: Outpatient Services
Overview of the oncology outpatient setting
United States has one of the best healthcare services worldwide. The previously preferred inpatient settings are losing ground to the emerging outpatient settings. This is outpatient settings are relatively cheap and due to the introduction of non-invasive procedures that do not require patients to be admitted at the hospital (Rebholz, 2007). In this study, the researcher will focus on the oncology setting in a hospital. The researcher will spend a considerable amount of time interacting with patients and some of the employees in the setting.
To understand the setting fully, it is necessary to analyze all the activities that take place in the setting. When new patients arrive at the facility they register at the health records department and are given their card numbers to be used in the future. When they visit the facility at subsequent times, their files are retrieved from the records department. From the registry, patients are seen by the nurses who take their body temperature, weight, pulse rate, and blood sugar. There are 15 nurses in the setting, headed by a senior nurse. The patient proceeds to the physician’s room where he or she explains her medical condition, and the physician conducts a physical examination on him or her. If blood tests are to be performed, then a phlebotomist draws blood from the patient which is sent to the laboratory department for testing. The physician advises on medication based on the sample results from the laboratory. The physician prescribes drugs that are dispensed at the pharmacy department in the facility. Patients are given future appointments for reviews and follow-ups. If nursing procedures are needed, for example, insertions of urethral catheters or injections, nurses perform the procedures. The patient pays for the healthcare cost at the billing department from out-of-pocket or using healthcare insurance.
The interview with the senior oncology physician
Interviewer
Good afternoon Doctor. I am a university student from.
Physician
Good morning sir. How may I help you, sir?
Interviewer
I realize that you have a very tight schedule today considering the number of patients queuing up to be attended. However, I would be pleased to have a short interview with you. Kindly let me know your position here, your academic and professional background.
Physician
I am the senior physician in charge of this oncology setting. I supervise all the employees in this setting. I specialized in oncology in my postgraduate degree, in medicine. I also have a postgraduate diploma in management. I joined this health facility in mid-2011, but I was promoted last year to my current position. Before I joined this hospital, I had worked in 5 other health facilities.
Interviewer
You are quite an experienced doctor. Kindly tell me something about the demand and supply of healthcare in this setting.
Physician
We have been experiencing an increase in the number of patients visiting this outpatient setting partly because patients are shifting from inpatient settings. However, you may have witnessed that we have a big number of workers to cope with the patient numbers. We have 15 nurses, 5 physicians, 2 radio-oncologists, 5 medical doctors and 4 medical assistants.
Interviewer
Thank you for the detailed response. Now, has this oncology setting been impacted by the political climate, demography and regulatory trends?
Physician
The political climate and regulatory trends have had impacts on the setting. The government has reduced healthcare costs, and this has enabled many patients to afford oncology services. The government regulation on funding has also enabled us to have a good number of personnel who are well remunerated. The steady growth of the middle class in the U.S has also implied that most citizens can pay their medical bills, a fact that has improved service delivery in the setting. The current regime has done so much to improve healthcare facilities and enable patients to access healthcare services.
Interviewer
It is quite interesting that the above trends have positive impacts on the setting. What role are you playing to ensure oncology services are offered to many citizens?
Physician
We encourage many healthy citizens to come for continuous screening services. We do this using various forms of advertisement both in print and electronic media. We also encourage our cancer patients through continuous counseling support services. We organize home visits for patients with terminal cancer cases.
Interviewer
Are there some challenges you experience as a leader at the macro and micro levels, and how do you handle them?
Physician
I am faced with the challenge of motivating my multidisciplinary team members. I have always understood that a well-motivated team is committed to work. We also face cancer patients who beg us to cure them. Some of their relatives promise us great things on the condition that we heal their loved ones. However, we endeavor to make them appreciate that our multidisciplinary team is dedicated to offering the best healthcare.
Interviewer
Thank you very much for the interview. I am so happy with you for offering me the opportunity.
Physician
Welcome sir.
Similarities and differences in trends between the researches conducted for the case assignment, and feedback on the interview
It is apparent from the table above that the political climate is essential for the running of healthcare facilities. The findings are consistent with the findings from a study on transforming healthcare systems in Spain (Borkan, Eaton, Novillo-Ortiz, Corte & Jadad, 2010). The funding and improvement in healthcare services has led to a 40% reduction in fatalities and morbidity attributed to chronic diseases such as measles and kidney diseases (Shortell & Kaluzny, 2006). It is also apparent that there has been a rise in the number of citizens in the middle class. This means that many citizens can afford healthcare insurance policies through which they pay for their healthcare services. Prudent healthcare leadership has been cited as the key to improving healthcare access (Borkan et al., 2010).
Trends impacting outpatient settings
Trend A
Political climate and regulations impacting outpatient settings.
Impact
Political climate is a salient trend which impacts the outpatient settings in the healthcare industry, in the United States of America. Healthcare enactments and bills have significant impacts on the provision of healthcare services to the citizens. Political players influence the adoption of these essential laws touching on healthcare. When the government supports the provision of essential healthcare services it means that the citizens will be able to access the services. The physician in the oncology setting confirmed that the current regime has reduced healthcare costs; thus, many people access the services. He also confirmed that government regulations have had positive impacts on the facility by increasing the number of healthcare personnel. With the government regulation, it implies that there is adequate equipment in the health facilities for laboratory diagnosis and other applications.
Trend B
Economic empowerment of citizens.
Impact
Health economics positively correlates with a better economy with better and affordable healthcare services (Ferrante, Balasubramanian, Hudson & Crabtree, 2010). Some treatment like cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy is too expensive to be afforded by the general citizen. Furthermore, some medical procedures are becoming more expensive with the advancement in medical technology. However, there has been a rise in the number of citizens in the middle class. Middle-class citizens afford basic needs like education, clothing, and healthcare. More citizens can pay for healthcare insurance policies than when there was little economic empowerment (Ferrante et al., 2010). Middle-class citizens are willing to pay any amount of money to receive the best healthcare services. Healthy citizens form the backbone of a growing and stable economy.
References
Borkan, J., Eaton, C. B., Novillo-Ortiz, D., Corte, P. R., & Jadad, A. R. (2010). Renewing primary care: lessons learned from the Spanish health care system. Health Affairs, 29(8), 1432-1441.
Ferrante, J. M., Balasubramanian, B. A., Hudson, S. V., & Crabtree, B. F. (2010). Principles of the patient-centered medical home and preventive services delivery. The Annals of Family Medicine, 8(2), 108-116.
Rebholz, J. S. (2007). Outpatient odyssey. Ambulatory facilities mirror hospital interior trends. Health facilities management, 20(11), 27-31.
Shortell, S. M. & Kaluzny, A. D. (2006). Health Care Management: Organizational Design and Behavior (5th ed.). Clifton, NY: Delmar.