The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the principal government agency in the United States working to improve the health of all Americans despite their economic, social and educational status. HHS has identified three national goals of global health, including strengthen health care, advance scientific knowledge and innovation, and advance the health, safety and well-being of Americans (Secretary, 2014). The first goal to strengthen healthcare refers to HHS's push in making health insurance affordable for all Americans. This will increase access to preventative care as well as ensuring assess to high quality, culturally competent care. This goal focuses on improving transitions in care across the continuum, which in …show more content…
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2015), "care coordination involves deliberately organizing patient care activities and sharing information among all of the participants concerned with a patient's care to achieve safer and more effective care". This multidisciplinary team usually includes nurses, patients, physicians, social workers, physical therapists, pharmacists, etc. Care coordination across the continuum improves communication, quality of care, patient safety and patient satisfaction while reducing admissions and readmissions and medical costs. Another activity, public health nursing involves collaboration and partnerships with communities and special population, with a focus on health promotion and preventative care (Kulbok, Thatcher & Meszaros, 2012). Public health nursing includes home care, clinics, case management, and local and state health departments, etc. Finally, nurses joining committees is another way to strengthen healthcare. For example, a readmission review committee involves nurses from the hospital, case managers, social workers, hospital physicians, skilled nursing facility physicians, etc. who come together to review patient cases and identify why patients were readmitted, what fell through the cracks and then develop workflow/protocols to minimize the chance for future readmissions. Committees like these improve patient care and
The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care (2009) by T.R. Reid describes four different
Since 1980, the United States has taken on 10-year plans that outline certain key national health objectives set to be accomplished during a 10-year timeframe (Shi & Singh, 2015). These initiatives are founded on medical care with prevention services, health promotion, education, community health care, and increased access to integrated services. The initiative, Healthy People 2010: Healthy People in Healthy Communities, launched in 2000. The initiative emphasizes the role of community partners such as
The health care system must change to improve our nation’s health and takes strong steps to address the unsustainable growth of health care costs in America. We still have a long way to go before our health system become effective. We still have population that do not have insurance, have difficulties accessing their health care, or their needs are not met within the healthcare system. It is an investment in prevention and wellness and increasing access to primary care physician.
“Without a lifespan view of women’s health… we are unlikely to be successful in advancing women’s health” (Woods 2009, pg. 400). A Global Health Imperative (2009) by author Nancy Fugate Woods explains the issues about health status and opportunities for the health of girl-children world-wide, which includes sex and gender disparities. Girl and women’s health is important, but just not as important as men’s health. Woods gives example of women’s health issues that are extremely serious. “Health issues or problems that occur predominantly in women are breast cancer and menopause” (Woods 2009, pg. 400). Women all over the world have the risk of getting breast cancer, HIV and Aids. Women that are affected by these diseases in some countries may
With this increased research and effort, Americans would be able to intervene and make positive impacts with the state, tribal, and local levels to best address health disparities and inequalities. In efforts to thwart ethnic and minority disparities, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) passed the HHS Disparities Action Plan in order to establish “a nation free of disparities in health and health care, (Cooper 97)” and to implement a series of priorities, strategies, actions, and goals to achieve this vision. States, local communities, private organizations, and providers have additionally engaged in efforts to reduce health disparities. With the HHS Disparities Action Plan, the Department continuously assess policies and programs on racial and ethnic health disparities, watching to see which policies make an impact on the level of health care received by minorities. Similarly, The Affordable Care Act (ACA) health coverage expansions significantly increase coverage options for low and moderate income populations and particularly benefit the “vulnerable populations.” The ACA also includes provisions to strengthen the safety-net delivery system, improve
Although the United States is a leader in healthcare innovation and spends more money on health care than any other industrialized nation, not all people in the United State benefit equally from this progress as a health care disparity exists between racial and ethnic minorities and white Americans. Health care disparity is defined as “a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social or economic disadvantage…adversely affecting groups of people who have systematically experienced greater social and/or economic obstacles to health and/or clean environment based on their racial or ethnic group; religion; socioeconomic status; gender; age; mental health; cognitive, sensory or physical disability; sexual orientation or gender identity; geographic location; or other characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion” (National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities [NPAEHD], 2011, p. 3). Overwhelming evidence shows that racial and ethnic minorities receive inferior quality health care compared to white Americans, and multiple factors contribute to these disparities, including geography, lack of access to adequate health coverage, communication difficulties between patients and providers, cultural barriers, and lack of access to providers (American College of Physicians,
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the U.S. government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. HHS is responsible for almost a quarter of all federal outlays and administers more grant dollars than all other federal agencies combined. The mission of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is to enhance the health and well-being of Americans by providing for effective health and human services and by fostering sound, sustained advances in the sciences underlying medicine, public health, and social services. In addition, HHS is also responsible to provide better services to people by adapting to new technologies to keep pace with the advancement in technology. As we compare the health and human services from last ten years to present, it is very clear to analyze how health and human systems have improved over the years. The Department manages programs that cover a vast spectrum of activities that impact health, public health, and human services outcomes throughout the life span.
Every individual in the world deserves to enjoy health and wellness. Maintaining or achieving proper health needs enables individuals to be productive at work and leisure. Traditionally, many people have had barriers obtaining adequate healthcare due to economic constraints or personal inconveniences. Despite impressive technological advances in medicine, the challenge of delivering quality healthcare to the Americans continues to be debated amongst the nation’s political and healthcare leaders. The aging baby-boomers and the increased number of uninsured people add to the equation of population growth which results in limited access to primary healthcare for the entire public. On the
This year being an election year means that the American people are confronted with many issues and disparities that plague our nation. One of these hot button topics is that of healthcare. The United States is the only developed nation without a universal healthcare system, but spends the most for health services. With so many Americans lacking the adequate care needed or facing bankruptcy due to piling medical bills, one must look at the health disparities that are causing this super power nation to inadequately serve its citizens.
Care coordination within health care systems ensures the client of an effective and short stay. Care coordination refers to the coordination between and among professional teams that serve valuable roles involved in providing care to clients. Different disciplines of health care professionals include nursing, medicine, case management, pharmacy, nutrition, social work, and allied health professionals, such as speech therapists and physical therapists. They are found in all health care delivery systems and are extremely effective when the focus is strictly on the needs of the client. Interprofessional teams are valuable because each health care professional has specialized knowledge and skills so that health care plans are determined with
In the article “Perspectives on Global Healthcare” written by Marlena Seibert Primeau was published in April 2016. The biggest question of this article concerned about is perspectives on global healthcare. First of all, the author mentioned the historical perspective of healthcare. There are two different points of view on the historical perspective of healthcare: nation’s view of individual health and the development of its healthcare system as a whole. Lead into that the professional nursing has been modeled by historical events. For example, “Florence Nightingale’s response to the needs of the Crimean war soldiers to the experiences of the nurses in Louisiana and Mississippi who worked in nursing homes during Hurricane Katrina”, the author
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated that "The health of the individual is almost inseparable from the health of the larger community and that the health of every community in every state and territory determines the overall health status of the nation." It has now become clear that our economy in terms of healthcare insurance is not healthy; the healthcare system in the United States spends 1 cent of every healthcare dollar in the prevention of diseases and 99 cents on the cure. Our healthcare system is the most expensive and yet arguably among the least cost effective in the developed world. Despite the highest per person health care spending among the Organization for Economic Cooperation
Healthcare ( (or human services) is the finding, treatment, and avoidance of malady, disease, harm, and other physical and mental weaknesses in individuals. Access to health awareness shifts crosswise over nations, gatherings, and people impacted by social and monetary conditions and, in addition, the wellbeing strategies set up. Nations and wards have distinctive policies and plans in connection with the individual and populace based social insurance objectives inside their social orders. Medicinal services frameworks are associations made to meet the wellbeing needs of target masses. Their definite setup fluctuates in the middle of national and subnational elements. In a few nations
As globalization increases the flow of food, people and goods between areas, there are inevitable impacts on public health; many of these are negative. As noted in the reading, these include the promulgation of diseases, such as tuberculosis, mad cow disease, AID, cholera, malaria, and more (University of New York, 2016). Due to movement of humans, animals, and products, the average distance and speed of disease travel has increased over a thousand fold in the past two centuries, while incubation periods are not changed (Buss, 2002). This supports the contention that it is this movement that is driver for disease and, since billions die each year due to disease, it is critical that we reduce these flows (Tatem, Rogers, and Hay 2006). Although
Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations (Globalization 101, 2015). Globalization has greatly affected my life; I would not be able to communicate with clients as efficiently as I currently do if it were not for email. Email allows me to send a client a document and immediately get on the phone with them to discuss, instead of waiting three days for it to be mailed. Having access to my email at anytime and anywhere is convenient, but this has resulted in a culture where people expect to receive answers instantly.