| Papers [1-16] of 100 :: [Page 1 of 7] | | Go to page : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 —> | Search results on "HEALTHCARE COSTS": |
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Healthcare Costs, 2008.
A discussion on how consumers can get better value and reduced healthcare costs that are now out of control.
762 words (approx. 3.0 pages), 1 source, APA, AU$ 40.95
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Abstract
This paper presents a plan for reducing the high costs of healthcare in the US. The writer makes the argument that we as consumers bear the primary responsibility to control healthcare costs. Specifically, the writer contends that if we pay our own insurance premiums, and a significant part of our healthcare expenses, we will help bring down the costs of healthcare. The writer then expounds on this contention and explains why it would work. The writer concludes that if we were to play a more active role in choosing our insurance provider and our healthcare providers we would help lower costs and improve the quality of our healthcare services.
Outline:
Introduction
The Cost of Healthcare is too High
We as Consumers Bear the Primary Responsibility to Control Costs
If We Pay for More of Our Healthcare, We Can Lower Costs
Conclusion
From the Paper
"I recently accompanied my brother to the emergency room of a local hospital for a broken arm. While I was pleased with the overall care he received, the bill for setting his arm and an overnight stay for observation topped $2,000! Medical professionals may argue that the amount paid reflects their need to cover the costs of overhead and the indigent, but no medical professional can defend $10 for an over-the-counter pain pill or $800 for the use of a room overnight."
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Healthcare Costs, 2008.
This paper examines the increasing costs of healthcare to consumers in the US today.
1,325 words (approx. 5.3 pages), 8 sources, APA, AU$ 65.95
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Abstract
The paper discusses the increasing costs of healthcare and healthcare insurance to the consumer in the current market. The paper looks at the various methods that patients are using to finance medical care. This includes Medicare and Medicaid, self-paying patients, patients relying on philanthropic sources and insurance that is integrated with managed care systems.
Outline:
Abstract
Overview
Medicare/Medicaid
Self-Paying
Philanthropy
Managed Care/Insurance Providers
From the Paper
"Healthcare costs and payment are increasingly problematic across the U.S. market because of increasing costs and increasing rates of uninsured patients. Within the healthcare apparatus there are some aspects which affect the cost of healthcare greatly such as staffing requirements, workload activities, as well as a host of variables, all of which affect affordability which have led to costs increasing as much as 12% by recent estimates (Medical, 2007). These variables consist of shift percentages, skill mix percentages, education and training costs, and a host of other miscellaneous expenses related to healthcare delivery (Geisler, Krabbendam & Schuring, 2003)."
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Healthcare Costs, 2002.
A study into the current state of healthcare insurance in America and suggestions for improving it.
3,422 words (approx. 13.7 pages), 9 sources, MLA, AU$ 140.95
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Abstract
This paper studies the increasing costs of healthcare insurance in the United States. The paper explains how the current systems of Medicare and HMO's work and what proposals are in place to try and improve the lack of good healthcare cover in America. As an example, the essay shows how organ donations are covered by insurers and proves that there is a severe lack of adequate funding available.
From the Paper
"The question of how to balance the real fiscal concerns of organ donation with the responsibilities of managed care (either within the context of a private health maintenance organization or within a managed public program such as Medicaid) requires a well thought-out management philosophy, one that balances the needs of patients, the skills of health-care providers and the economics of health-care; this is all too often not the case. Both public programs such as Medicare and private HMOs are currently not able to handle as gracefully as many might with the complex medical, logistical, legal and financial requirements of a national organ donation program, as we can see in this assessment of the ways in which a new Medicare program has fared."
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Healthcare Costs, 2007.
This paper argues that the U.S. health care system, especially in its life saving allopathic rather than preventative form, creates a cost conflict for consumers.
2,615 words (approx. 10.5 pages), 14 sources, MLA, AU$ 114.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that an extremely aggressive medical care system has created a cost prohibitive demand for heroic measures rather than a system that takes the whole of the community into account and allows the consumer preventative care and reasonable end-of-life care. The author stresses that the middle class is most significantly feeling the strangling effects of this out-of-control medical system and ethic. The paper concludes that the bottom line of this multivariate situation is that there seems to be very little real accountability. The paper includes many quotations.
From the Paper
"For example, in a logical capitalistic situation, the price to utilize a particular piece of equipment should go down as demand goes up to offset the initial cost of producing and or acquiring the product. Yet, the costs seem to continue to rise regardless of how many other people have been charged $2,000 to use the equipment costing about 50 cents per minute to run the equipment for a test period of no longer than 30 minutes in most cases, or how long the equipment has been used. Though this is a far simplified analogy, sustainability should still be at the forefront of thought on the issue of equipment and supplies."
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Increasing Cost of Healthcare, 2007.
This paper discusses the increasing costs of healthcare and looks at the reasons for this increase.
1,790 words (approx. 7.2 pages), 7 sources, MLA, AU$ 84.95
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Abstract
In this article, the writer notes that the topic of healthcare has become increasingly more popular as the world moves into the information age. The writer points out that there have been major technological advances and changes in marketing regulations for healthcare that have helped to fuel the upsurge of new decisions in the industry. The writer discusses that the cost of healthcare has risen so much that more and more people are unable to afford health insurance or to visit doctors when necessary. In this paper, the policies that surround the issue are discussed. The writer also examines what the best choices would be in order to determine whether there is a way to lower healthcare costs without compromising patient privacy and safety.
Outline:
Introduction - Definition of the Problem and Policy Background
Goals
Policy Proposals
Conclusion
From the Paper
"One of the goals of HIPAA, other than the privacy and access issue, is to simplify the procedures used by healthcare organizations and reduce the paperwork that they are often required to fill out on each patient. If the paperwork and exchange of data between various healthcare organizations were simplified, the federal government believes that healthcare costs might be lowered significantly."
"This is obviously a very important concern for many patients who already feel that they pay way too much for the small amount of health care that they receive. Some who need a doctor do not always go and see one, simply because they cannot afford the cost of an office visit and any medications or tests that the doctor may feel are necessary. People can die needlessly because of the cost of healthcare, and that is one of the things that the new HIPAA legislation is working to stop. However, HIPAA has been in existence for several years now, and the costs have still not come down to where they should be - which is where most people can afford to deal with them."
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Article Review: Cost Allocations in Georgia Healthcare, 2005.
A review of Timothy Cairney and Kevin Bennett's article "Support Department Cost Allocations in the Georgia Healthcare Industry".
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 1 source, AU$ 51.95
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Abstract
This paper is an article review on the topic of cost accounting in the healthcare industry. The article chosen discusses cost accounting practices within 19 hospital centers in Georgia, looked at various parameters such as number of revenue centers compared to service centers, types of accounting methods used, frequency of using a cost accounting methodology, software, etc.
From the Paper
"This paper will review the study performed in the fall of 2004 and published earlier this year by Timothy Cairney and Kevin Bennett (2005) titled: Support Department Cost Allocations in The Georgia Healthcare Industry. Tim Cairney is an assistant professor of accountancy with specialized interests in cost and management accounting. His partner, Kevin Bennett, is an assistant professor of health services administration in the Georgia Southern University system. Both are well published. While interest in cost accounting methodologies for the healthcare industry are growing based on the number of recent non-fiction books (including text books) on the subject as well as the dramatic increase in colleges offering specific courses on the topic, Cairney and Bennett report that: "sophisticated support cost centers are used less than may be expected given the complexity of the healthcare firms' operation" (p.90)."
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Improving Healthcare in a Healthcare Facility, 2006.
Describes a system for improving the patient incident reporting system in a typical tertiary healthcare facility.
2,249 words (approx. 9.0 pages), 16 sources, APA, AU$ 101.95
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Abstract
This paper examines the patient incident reporting system at a hospital and explains that the present system, which is designed to track patient incidents such as falls, patient abuse and medication errors, as well as provide a means of implementing corrective action, is highly labor-intensive and cumbersome. The paper then proceeds to identify and describe six different initiatives that would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the current patient incident reporting system.
Table of Contents
Initiative No. 1. Use Existing Hospital Information
System for Patient Incident Reporting for JCAHO
Quality Assurance Tracking Purposes
Initiative No. 2. Installation of Hospital-Wide Patient
Records Database
Initiative No. 3. Use Existing IT Systems to Trend
Adverse Patient Incidents for Inclusion in Hospital-Wide
Quality Assurance Reports
Initiative No. 4. Applying Existing Information Systems
for Improved Inventory Control
Initiative No. 5. Implement Interactive Menu-Processing
System for Inpatients
Initiative No. 6. Improve Hospital and Grounds Security
by Using IT-Based Web Camera Applications
From the Paper
"The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has already mandated that all accredited healthcare facilities have in place a means of tracking patient incidents such as falls, patient abuse, and medication errors and to provide a means of implementing corrective action when deficiencies are identified (Bryan & O'Connell 23). Although our hospital does in fact have such a patient incident reporting system in place, it is a highly labor-intensive paper form-based approach that requires copying and hand-delivery to the Office of Quality Assurance; furthermore, this paper-based system is easily transferable to the existing hospital-wide information system intranet. In this regard, the proposed online replacement should replicate the existing patient incident reporting system as closely as possible to ensure staff acceptance of this alternative (Auerbach, Beckerman, Cohen, Goldstein, Quitkin & Rock 134)."
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Healthcare, 2005.
An in-depth discussion on healthcare costs.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 0 sources, AU$ 51.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the rising healthcare costs in the United States and its long-term effects. Several of the primary drivers of increasing healthcare costs are examined with their short-term solutions introduced thereafter. The research concludes with the examination of the primary modes of healthcare deliver, Medicare and managed/employment based healthcare programs and the overall solution to the long-term healthcare system problems. The result is the recommendation that the healthcare system be nationalized and several cost control measures mandated by Congress.
From the Paper
"The United States is courting disaster with its current trend in rising healthcare costs coupled with its aging population. In the United States healthcare is fully privatized with employees being offered healthcare insurance through the employer which is usually subsidized by the employer or healthcare insurance is available privately but is expensive. Additionally, there are several federally mandated programs such as Medicare and Medicaid that provide some degree of medical coverage to the elderly and the underserved. Clearly, the United States' medical healthcare system is in dire need of an overhaul; otherwise, the ramifications of having a very large percentage of its population become essentially uninsured, which is to say uncared for, are dire. Below are the primary drivers of this increasingly unaffordable system followed by a recommended solution. The Prescription Drug Industry The federal government must contain the spiraling prescription drug costs."
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Healthcare, 2005.
A discussion on the type of prepayment system for healthcare and its effect on the costs and quality of healthcare.
1,600 words (approx. 6.4 pages), 2 sources, MLA, AU$ 76.95
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Abstract
This paper expands on the relationship that exists inextricably between the length of the patient stay in hospital or other medical institution and the type of insurance held by the individual patient. It discusses an idea for an effective prepayment system for healthcare. It also reviews literature about the conflict of the interaction between the business, management and financial realm within the institution affected by the diagnostic-related groups and the professional medical staff. The author offers a personal opinion on the importance of the balance of the interrelation of the financial paradigm and healthcare giver in order to create a successful result for the patient.
Abstract
Objective
Introduction
Length of Inpatient Stays Found Influenced by Insurance Type
Business Management versus Medical Profession
Clustering of Patients in Industrialized Healthcare
Financial Schemes and Endeavors
From Medical Economics to Health Economics
Discussion
Summarization
Importance of this Study
References
From the Paper
"The DRGs were an attempt by the medical professionals in an effort of standardization of medical practice. DRGs would allow the hospital to operate on a productive basis and yet the DRGs were not a commodity that could be traded and was not a product that could be stickered with a price tag. The result was the clustering of patients into groupings in order to utilize the hospital's resources more effectively and efficiently. The presumption of industrial engineers did not take into consideration that patients were consumers and had choices they could make between and among the products, services, and healthcare. The intention of the DRGs was not for a market that was administered in healthcare or for the purpose of price competition buildup between different providers of healthcare. However the understanding is that DRGs are a mechanism for fostering competitive forces in a quasi-market for healthcare."
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Healthcare and the Middle Class, 2004.
Examines the rising costs of healthcare for the American middle class.
1,605 words (approx. 6.4 pages), 9 sources, APA, AU$ 76.95
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Abstract
This paper defines the income and social levels of the middle class in the United States and examines the effects that the rising costs of healthcare have had on the middle class. The paper examines the growing trend which seems to lessen the availability of the individual in attaining care while at the same time increasing the costs and access to healthcare -effectively barring many in the United States middle class from receiving proper care for their health.
From the Paper
"The healthcare crisis as well as the unbelievable costs associated maintaining a health insurance policy has resulted in 43.6 million individuals that were covered by insurance in 2001 losing or forfeiting their coverage due to the inability of either the individual or the individual's employer to pay for the healthcare insurance. The national middle class household income is stated to be $42,049 while the average family healthcare insurance premium is the approximate amount of $9,066 a year. Households with incomes between $25,000 to $50,000 a year are among the 43 million individuals who are presently without insurance."
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Public vs. Private Healthcare, 2005.
An evaluation of public versus private healthcare in the United States and Canada.
2,241 words (approx. 9.0 pages), 10 sources, MLA, AU$ 101.95
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Abstract
This paper looks at the current situation of healthcare in the United States and compares it to the situation in Canada. It begins by providing statistics and data about the uninsured in America. The writer then discusses reasons for rising healthcare costs, followed by an analysis of the advantages of universal healthcare. The disadvantages are then listed, followed by the writer's conclusion about the current healthcare situation.
Outline
Introduction
Reasons for Rising Healthcare Costs
Advantages of Universal Healthcare
Disadvantages of Universal Healthcare
Final Thought
Works Cited
From the Paper
"The healthcare system in the U.S. is one of the most technologically advanced and expensive in the world. Despite these high honors, we are facing a severe healthcare crisis if current public policy does not change. The current system is haunted by lack of health insurance, lack of affordability of prescription medication, drug re-importation, and lack of trained caregivers for the growing population. On top of all this, the price of healthcare and medicine are skyrocketing. A possible solution that has picked up some steam is changing the current healthcare system into a free system. One very important question that needs an answer is if we switch to a free healthcare system, then who would pay for it since "free" healthcare is not really free at all?"
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Healthcare Among the Poor, 2008.
This paper explores healthcare delivery for the poor population in the US.
1,655 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 9 sources, APA, AU$ 78.95
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Abstract
The paper looks at the obstacles poor people in the US face in receiving healthcare. The paper offers a definition of "poor" and discusses urban inequality and the lack of healthcare for many people. The paper also explains why the government and individuals cannot pay all healthcare costs. The paper then discusses the solution of reducing healthcare costs by focusing on the prevention of serious diseases.
Outline:
The Socio-economic Inequality and Healthcare
Finding Solutions to Helping the Poor with Healthcare
From the Paper
"The first step in looking at healthcare for the poor is to define what it means to be considered poor. The Meriam-Webster.com (2007) has 15 entries for poor, but two primary definitions for this paper are lacking in material possessions or characterized by poverty. The poor in the United States would be those who do not work or work at minimum wage jobs and they make less than the poverty index. Studying the United States and other countries will show how socio-economic inequality affects healthcare."
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Controlling Health Costs, 2008.
This paper explores how the U.S. government has attempted to control rising health care costs.
926 words (approx. 3.7 pages), 4 sources, APA, AU$ 47.95
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Abstract
The paper looks at the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid, managed care and cost controls that have been utilized to lower healthcare costs. The paper argues that in order to achieve improved performance, the US needs to implement more effective strategies to measure health outcomes, ensure a higher degree of price sensitivity among purchasers and correct its administrative efficiencies. The paper maintains that the focus of legislators needs to be upon health as a value and on health priorities rather than on fragmented strategies for controlling healthcare costs. The paper includes graphs of Medicare and Medicaid statistics.
From the Paper
"The central problem with the US healthcare system appears to be related to perspective. Efforts to control costs have predominated over the delivery of quality health care. The goal of limiting government and private expenditures for health care while improving health outcomes results in health care productivity being a significant policy issue not only in the United States but across the globe. Although productivity is only one aspect of the performance of any health care system, improvements in productivity can make it easier to achieve other health system goals, such as greater access to care and protection from the financial losses resulting from ill health. Ever since the mid-1970s, the US healthcare system has been troubled with three major concerns: quality, costs and access (Odom & Garcia, 2005)."
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Healthcare: USA, 2002.
A brief look at how finance and payment mechanisms affect the way healthcare in the U.S. is delivered.
745 words (approx. 3.0 pages), 12 sources, MLA, AU$ 38.95
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Abstract
For the majority of Americans healthcare delivery in the United States has been via a market driven system, usually through purchase of health insurance, participation in HMOs or other types of collective agencies. This paper briefly discusses how those who qualify enrollment in Medicare and Medicaid programs cover or defray costs of healthcare, but how for a growing number of people in the U.S. medical care costs are not covered by insurance or government programs, for them out of pocket and indigent services are their only options. This paper looks at the how financing healthcare affects both costs and use of healthcare services.
From the Paper
"Private health insurance in the United States developed around the 1930?s during the Depression4 and grew during the economic expansion of the post-WW II years. ?Under most private insurance and Blue Cross--Blue Shield plans, fee-for-service, with physicians determining the economic value of their own services, became the established method of reimbursement for physician services covered under the benefit structure of most insurance policies.?5 Payment for healthcare services through private insurance arrangements removes the cost knowledge for the consumer of what the physician / hospital is actually charging of delivery of the services. In economic terms this indifference by the consumer to the costs of service removed the ?market discipline.?6 Healthcare providers have little reason to contain costs. To offset the removal of market discipline insurance companies initially developed two approaches, either insurance companies will pay up to a predetermined specified amount on or will pay based on a predetermined schedule of allowances, regardless of the charges."
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Quality And Costs In Health Care Services, 2007.
An analysis of the relationship between cost and quality in health care services in the United States.
1,640 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 5 sources, MLA, AU$ 78.95
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Abstract
This paper researches the quality of health care services in the United States and analyzes the relationship between cost and quality in health care services. The paper examines the role of four agencies in addressing quality in healthcare - the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Finally, it addresses the implications to the profession of nursing relating to cost and quality in health care and particularly relating to advanced practice nurses.
Table of Contents:
Objective
Introduction
Review of Institute of Medicine Report
Role of Four Identified Agencies and Quality in Healthcare
Healthcare Cost and Quality and the Implications for Advanced Practice Nurses
From the Paper
"It is extremely important in view of the limited supply of workers in today's health care workforce that the APN be highly educated, highly trained, and experienced to a great degree in health care service delivery. The APN must know the policies and regulations of agencies that regulate and monitor the health care organization. The APN must be well versed in indicators, procedure and protocol in order to avoid medical errors either in failing to test, monitor, or instruct the patient. The scope of the APN's duties require that the APN be technologically savvy, detail oriented, and conscious of all procedures and checks that will avoid useless and avoidable medical errors in the health care organization which has employed them. The APN must play an active role in development of education for nursing future APN's. The APN must furthermore, actively document the effectiveness of the APN role for the purpose of gaining the trust of the public in the quality of care received which has been provided by the Advanced Practice Nurse and in a cost-effective manner while showing that APN provided care is highly successful in avoidance of useless and avoidable errors in the health care organization."
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Healthcare Communication, 2008.
This paper focuses on healthcare communication between the providers of healthcare and their patients.
1,454 words (approx. 5.8 pages), 8 sources, MLA, AU$ 70.95
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Abstract
In this article, the writer notes that the term healthcare communication can refer to all types of communications used in the healthcare industry, be it communication between and among healthcare agencies, healthcare providers, and healthcare clients. In this paper, however, the writer concentrates on the topic of healthcare communication between healthcare providers and their patients-clients. The paper emphasizes the importance of this communication and looks at the current movement in healthcare education to bring back the human touch into healthcare practice in order for medicine to regain its soul.
Outline:
What is Healthcare Communication?
Relevance of Healthcare Communication
Emergency Room Situations
Confidentiality
Dealing with Family Issues
Dealing with Sociocultural Issues
Communication in the Process of Healing
Principles of Therapeutic Communication in Healthcare Settings
Verbal communications
Verbal communications
Nonverbal communications
From the Paper
"Communication is an exchange, a two-way process. But sometimes this is forgotten in the healthcare setting when the patient-client becomes the passive, receiving end while the healthcare provider does all the talking and fails to listen. However, for healthcare delivery to be effective, there should be an exchange of information between the two parties.
"Healthcare providers have a 2-fold responsibility towards their patients who are basically their clients. First, they must have the technical skills, and second, they much have the ability to communicate and empathize. In other words, a healthcare professional does not only need the brain and skill to perform his/her work. He/she must also have his/her heart into it."
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