Healthcare systems in the US bear the obligation to achieve a triad objective of improving the patient experience of care, including quality and satisfaction, improving public health services, and reducing the cost of care. Despite these considerations, Americans do not receive quality, timely, and affordable care due to the prevailing healthcare disparities.
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (2021), a healthcare disparity is a “difference between population groups in the way they access, experience, and receive healthcare” (p. 193). In this sense, the synergies between ethnic, social, economic, environmental, and geographical factors contribute to inequalities regarding access to care, experiences, and quality of life.
Although the country enacts policies that ensure affordability, accessibility, and equality, eliminating ethnic and socio-economic disparities poses a public health challenge. Therefore, this proposal elaborates on strategies for measuring and assessing healthcare disparities, quality benchmarks, and evidence-based strategies for addressing the problem.
It is possible to measure and assess the problem of healthcare disparities by evaluating interactions between health and social determinants of health (SDOH), including age, education, neighborhood, employment, and population’s income levels. Also, it is essential to incorporate ethnic aspects because they influence access to quality care, experiences, and quality of life. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (2021) presents six profound domains for assessing disparities. These considerations are:
Often, it is possible to determine the prevailing health disparities by comparing the community’s performance against top-performing communities and state or national benchmarks. As noted earlier, it is vital to assess and measure health disparities by evaluating inequalities within the six domains, including access to patient-centered care, the level of care coordination, care affordability, the availability of effective treatment, and healthy living.
Gomez et al. (2021) argue that conditions in which people live, learn, work, and worship, alongside their age and growth patterns, influence well-being outcomes, quality of life, and access to timely, affordability, and quality care. Therefore, the social determinants of health (SDOH) are the causative and contributing factors for health disparities.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) collaborates with other agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to document national and state benchmarks for the six domains. In this sense, it is possible to gauge communities’ performance regarding eliminating healthcare disparities by comparing their prevalence with states’ and national benchmarks.
One of the most profound benchmarks for healthcare disparities is the number of uninsured people of ethnic diversities. Carratala & Maxwell (2020) argue that about 10.6% of African Americans were uninsured compared with 5.9% of non-Hispanic Whites in 2017. Such statistics indicate ethnicity is a profound cause of disparities in care affordability and accessibility.
The stand unit for measuring health disparities entails often computing the total number of individuals with distinct characteristics against a predetermined population (1000, 100000, and so on). For example, healthcare professionals can calculate the total number of Black Americans with new cases of HIV by identifying the numbers of new cases per 100,000 people. Consequently, it is possible to compare the prevalence of disparities with achievable benchmarks.
Action Plan
Many scholarly and authoritative sources proposed evidence-based interventions for analyzing and addressing health disparities in patient safety, access to quality care, care affordability, quality of life, and care coordination. These interventions include:
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2021). National healthcare quality and disparities report (pp. 1-316). AHRQ. https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/research/findings/nhqrdr/2021qdr.pdf
American College of Healthcare Executives. (2020). ACHE healthcare executive: 2020 competencies assessment tool. https://www.ache.org/-/media/ache/career-resource-center/competencies_booklet.pdf.
Carratala, S., & Maxwell, C. (2020). Health disparities by race and ethnicity. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/health-disparities-race-ethnicity/
Garzón-Orjuela, N., Samacá-Samacá, D., Luque Angulo, S., Mendes Abdala, C., Reveiz, L., & Eslava-Schmalbach, J. (2020). An overview of reviews on strategies to reduce health inequalities. International Journal for Equity in Health, 19(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-020-01299-w
Gollust, S., Cunningham, B., Bokhour, B., Gordon, H., Pope, C., & Saha, S. et al. (2018). What causes racial health care disparities? A mixed-methods study reveals variability in how health care providers perceive causal attributions. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 55, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/0046958018762840
Gómez, C., Kleinman, D., Pronk, N., Wrenn Gordon, G., Ochiai, E., & Blakey, C. et al. (2021). Addressing health equity and social determinants of health through healthy people 2030. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, s249-s257. https://doi.org/10.1097/phh.0000000000001297
Lavizzo-Mourey, R., Besser, R., & Williams, D. (2021). Understanding and mitigating health inequities — past, current, and future directions. New England Journal of Medicine, 384(18), 1681-1684. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp2008628
Suarez-Balcazar, Y., Mirza, M., & Garcia-Ramirez, M. (2017). Health disparities: Understanding and promoting healthy communities. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in The Community, 46(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1080/10852352.2018.1386761
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BHA FPX 4020 Assessment 3 Data Collection and Analysis
FPX BHA 4020 Assessment 4 Paper
BHA FPX 4020 Assessment 5 Health Care Leadership
Prepare a health care problem analysis proposal in outline format (3-10 pages) on a current, relevant health care problem. Include the rationale for selecting the problem, a description of the how the problem is assessed and measured for quality improvement purposes, a proposed industry measure of performance, action steps for completing the project, and a description of the applicable leadership competencies.
Effective health care leaders simultaneously maintain internal organizational and external industry environmental awareness. Leaders are challenged to focus on vision, mission, strategic direction, goals, and objectives while remaining mindful of emerging trends that may affect an organization’s viability.
Monitoring the external environment for issues that may represent major challenges to an organization requires ongoing diligence. Health care administrators must identify and prioritize issues affecting their organizations. Furthermore, leaders must select methods and tools with which to analyze data for identification of potential solutions.
In this first assessment in your capstone course, you will have an opportunity to select a health care problem that is relevant to your career interests and one that adds value to a current or future health care organization. By the end of the course, you will be drawing from current scholarly and/or authoritative sources to provide evidence-based recommendations to solve the problem.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Evaluate problems in health care organizations, and apply tools to improve quality and outcomes.
Describe, using an authoritative source, how the selected health care problem is assessed and measured for quality improvement purposes. Describe how five American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) leadership competencies apply to the selected capstone project topic.
Competency 2: Analyze foundational elements of the U.S. health care system.
Identify a relevant problem along with the rationale for selecting the problem.
Competency 4: Analyze records and reports based on established benchmarks and organizational goals and performance.
Propose an industry measure of performance, such as a benchmark, which pertains to the type of organization selected for problem analysis.
Competency 5: Create comprehensive and useable data-driven actions plans, based on industry benchmarks. Provide a bulleted list of the preliminary action plan steps to review the problem and propose solutions.
Competency 6: Communicate effectively with diverse audiences, in an appropriate form and style, consistent with applicable organizational, professional, and scholarly standards.
Create a clear, well organized, professional, and generally error-free outline that describes a relevant health care problem.
To successfully complete this first assessment in your capstone course, you will need to conduct independent research on current, relevant problems facing the U.S. health care system. The problem you select needs to meet all of the following criteria:
You may begin your research on current, relevant problems facing the health care industry by studying your suggested resources for this assessment. In addition, you may want to consult the Health Care Administration Undergraduate Library Research Guide to help you begin your search for scholarly and authoritative sources on significant, contemporary problems in the health care industry.
Please ensure that the problem is relevant and of sufficient interest to your career goals since all future course work is built upon the stated problem.
For this assessment, you will construct a capstone health care problem analysis proposal on your selected topic. You may wish to envision your current or future workplace as the potential site for presentation of the proposal. After your proposal is constructed, you will receive feedback from your faculty member. Later in the course, in a separate assessment, you will receive feedback from a practicing professional about the proposed approach to analyze data relating to the problem.
The requirement for this assessment is to produce a proposal that has clear section headings and contains a flow of logic. You may opt to use an outline format. Please avoid lengthy narrative paragraphs, as the proposal is intended to be presented in an imaginary workplace. Busy executives will not have time to read paragraphs word for word. Instead, expect that your audience will read the document by scanning.
Your goal is to provide succinct yet substantive information with sufficient depth to cover your selected problem. Remember to include a cover page, table of contents, section headings, and reference list. The length of the proposal is based upon the breadth and depth of your selected topic.
The following general steps in construction of your proposal contain additional specific information requirements.
Step 1: Identify a relevant problem along with the associated rationale for the selection of the problem. Be sure to substantiate content with and authoritative source.
State the problem in a single sentence, tell why it is a problem, and add a citation from a current, authoritative source. For example: Condition X if not addressed may result in Consequence Y (source, year).
Step 2: Describe, using an authoritative source, how the selected health care problem is assessed and measured for quality improvement purposes. Include relevant factors and associated units of measurement.
Select six current authoritative sources that apply to your selected problem. You may consider your problem from an industry, organization, or specific professional level. Be sure to include any industry standards, legal, and ethical considerations that relate to your problem. Summarize each of the six sources in a succinct sentence or two. Explain how each source directly relates to the problem. Be sure to add an APA formatted citation for each.
Step 3: Propose an industry measure of performance, such as a benchmark, which pertains to the type of organization selected for problem analysis.
State the major factors or performance indicators that directly relate to your problem. Assign a unit of measurement to each factor (days, dollars, percentage, et cetera.)
Identify the authoritative source(s) used to determine the major factors you selected that relate to the problem. Identify which industry assessment tool or framework you will use to analyze the problem.
Step 4: Provide a bulleted list of the preliminary action plan steps to complete the capstone health care problem analysis project. Examples include:
conduct library search, formulate problem statement, identify factors and units of measure, and so on.
Step 5: Describe one competency from each of the five American College of Healthcare Executives’ (ACHE) domains that relate to your capstone health care problem analysis proposal.
Review the ACHE competency model:
Healthcare Leadership Alliance and the American College of Healthcare Executives. (2018). ACHE healthcare executive competencies assessment tool. Retrieved from https://www.ache.org/pdf/nonsecure/careers/competencies_booklet.pdf
Provide a short statement about how you practice one competency within each of the five ACHE domains. Consider including a table such as the following within your outline. Note: You have been provided with one example of how you might complete this for one competency within one domain. You will need to complete the entire table—one competency within each of the five domains.
ACHE Domain ACHE Competency Selected How This Competency Relates to the Capstone Health Care Problem Analysis Proposal Communication and Relationship Management Leadership Professionalism Knowledge of the Healthcare EnvironmentHealthcare Systems and OrganizationsI chose health care systems and organizations because the capstone project will require me to develop skills in identifying substantive problems that the health care industry needs to address. It will also require me to develop skills in working to resolve a substantive problem within a health care organization. Business Skills and KnowledgeReminder: You will condense and use the material from your outline in your final PowerPoint presentation in the fourth course assessment.
Length: 3 to 10 double-spaced pages. Outline length will vary based on your selected topic.
Font: Use Times New Roman, 12 point font.
APA: Provide a minimum of six APA-formatted citations and references to current, scholarly and/or authoritative sources.
Problem selection criteria: Be sure your selected problem meets all four criteria listed under Preparation.
Writing: Create a clear, well-organized, professional, and generally error-free outline that describes a relevant health care problem
Health disparities in the US pose a challenge by compromising the ability to provide timely, affordable, and quality care. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (2021), healthcare disparities entail differences between population groups that determine how they access, experience, and receive healthcare services.
When elaborating on the problem of widening health inequalities, it is essential to incorporate the role of social determinants of health (SDOH) into the discussion. In this sense, synergies between ethnic, socioeconomic, environmental, and locational factors contribute to inequalities regarding access to care, care coordination, perceptions of patient safety, and care affordability.
As a country of demographic and socioeconomic diversities, the US needs to understand the interactions between health disparities. Therefore, data collection and analysis emerge as a profound strategy for enhancing knowledge and inspiring evidence-based practice for addressing health inequalities. As a result, this assessment presents data regarding various health inequalities while proposing evidence-based strategies for addressing health disparities.
Data Presentation
Figure 1: People under age 65 with any period of uninsurance during the year, by race, 2017
Figure 2: New HIV cases per 100,000 population aged 13 and over, 2008-2016
Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Figure 3: People unable to get or delayed in accessing medical care due to financial or insurance reasons, 2002-2017
Figure 4: Effects of Medicaid Expansion on States’ Healthcare Expenditures
Source: The Commonwealth Fund
As noted earlier, health disparities influence how people access, experience, and receive healthcare services. In the United States, health inequalities manifest via various domains, including access to person-centered care, patient safety, healthy living, effective treatment, care coordination, and care affordability (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2021).
In this sense, national and state health organizations set achievable benchmarks based on concepts from each domain. For example, organizations emphasize adverse drug events in patients with anticoagulants, urinary tract infections, and medication safety when establishing patient safety benchmarks. These sub-themes enable healthcare institutions to compare their performance with top-performing institutions.
Since health inequalities are diverse and beyond one measure of quality, it is essential to focus on areas that demonstrate widening gaps within the social determinants of health (SDOH). In this sense, analyzing quantitative and qualitative data from national healthcare organizations such as the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is essential to identify priority areas that demonstrate significant inequalities.
The first graph represents quantitative data regarding the problem of uninsured people under the age of 65 years. The graph makes it possible to identify disparities in access to insurance coverage among people of different ethnic backgrounds, including White, Black Americans, Asian Americans, American Indians or Alaska Natives (AI/AN), and people of more than one race.
The graph indicates that in 2017, (AI/ANs) under age 65 were twice as likely to lack insurance as whites (38.8% compared with 18.3%). Also, Black Americans were more likely than Whites to have a period of uninsurance in 2017 (21.7% compared with 18.3%). While health disparities hamper access to insurance coverage for ethnic groups, this data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) can inform recommendations for addressing health inequalities within the national insurance models.
Another ideal measure of health disparities is the prevalence of new HIV cases among people aged 13 and above. In Figure 2, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (2021) indicates the inequalities regarding new HIV cases in 2016. The graph indicates that non-Hispanic Blacks reported 52.0 new HIV cases per 100000 population for people aged 13 and above compared with 5.9 per 100000 cases for non-Hispanic Whites.
Although these numbers did not match the 2015 national achievable benchmark of 4.2 cases per 100000 population, they signify underlying conditions that create imbalances in the quality of life across the two groups. Therefore, the data shed light on areas where the federal and state governments should improve to reduce health inequalities.
Apart from the prevalence of new HIV cases and the number of uninsured people across populations, income issues are essential determinants of health disparities. In Figure 3, it is evident that poor and low-income people grapple with the problem of delayed care compared to middle-and-high-income people.
The graph indicates that 51.5% of the poor faced the challenge of delayed care in 2017 due to financial or insurance reasons. Although the income disparities narrowed from 2002 to 2017, poor and low-income people endure delayed care due to financial or insurance reasons. Therefore, national and state governments can use such data to initiate programs to reduce income inequality.
Healthcare organizations in the US operate to promote care quality, timeliness, equality, and affordability. However, the prevailing health disparities affect how people access, experience, and receive healthcare services. In the current healthcare systems, external evidence significantly influences organizations’ practices and informs clinical decisions. While health inequalities rely massively on discrepancies within the social determinants of health (SDOH), it is vital to implement recommendations from reputable sources to address these disparities. These recommendations include:
The United States lacks a universal insurance model for providing health coverage to vulnerable groups. The absence of universal public insurance coverage exacerbates the problem of uninsured people, leading to expensive insurance premiums and complex health reimbursement models.
According to Radley et al. (2021), nearly 30 million Americans are still uninsured and are disproportionately people of color. Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) 2010 required states to expand Medicaid, the revised eligibility criteria exclude poor and low-income people. As a result, they are ineligible for Medicaid coverage, leading to multiple ramifications, including limited access to quality care, the problem of delayed care due to financial or insurance issues, and compromised quality of life.
Although Medicaid expansion is an ideal strategy for addressing income-related health disparities, it is essential to establish its cost-benefit analysis to ensure its economic plausibility. Since Medicaid is a federal insurance policy, its expansion can alter national healthcare expenditures. However, states are more likely to save the cost of healthcare outside Medicaid services.
Ward (2020) argues that Medicaid expansion reduces states’ spending in various areas, including mental health and substance abuse treatment, corrections, and uncompensated care. The qualitative data in Figure 4 present savings estimates from traditional Medicaid and Medicaid expansion for selected states in different fiscal years. It is vivid that expanding Medicaid addresses disparities in access to quality care, care affordability, coordination, and patient safety.
Medicaid expansion cannot singlehandedly address the prevailing health inequalities. Instead, health organizations and governmental agencies should embrace interdisciplinary collaboration to support community-based initiatives tackling health inequalities. According to Gomez et al. (2020), these localized programs should focus on various social determinants of health, including education, housing, healthcare justice, and literacy.
Also, they should compromise sub-themes such as attending to root causes of health inequalities and disparities, addressing issues that affect susceptible groups, promoting equal opportunities for all people to guarantee improved quality of life, and fair distribution of socioeconomic resources to promote healthy living.
Organizational cultures are consistent with patient safety, coordination, and patient-centered care. According to Lavizzo-Mourey et al. (2021), racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare organizations exist and are disproportionate to minority groups such as Black Americans and Asian Americans.
Such inequalities result in adverse health effects by compromising the tenets of patient-centered care, patient safety, and positive medical outcomes. As a result, addressing the underlying organizational barriers to equal healthcare service delivery is a profound strategy for tackling health discrepancies at the organizational level.
Undoubtedly, health inequalities and disparities cut across various domains, including access to person-centered care, patient safety, coordination, affordability, and effective treatment. Since the US grapples with social determinants of health discrepancies, it is essential to incorporate evidence-based strategies from quantitative and qualitative data regarding measures of health inequalities.
Figures 1, 2, and 3 present insights on various health discrepancies prevailing among ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Therefore, national and state governments should use such data to formulate policies and programs addressing health disparities. Evidence-based recommendations are Medicaid expansion, implementing community-based interventions to ensure equality, and eliminating structural racism in healthcare settings.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2021). National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (pp. 1-316). AHRQ. https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/research/findings/nhqrdr/2021qdr.pdf
Gómez, C., Kleinman, D., Pronk, N., Wrenn Gordon, G., Ochiai, E., & Blakey, C. et al. (2021). Addressing health equity and social determinants of health through Healthy People 2030. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, s249-s257. https://doi.org/10.1097/phh.0000000000001297
Lavizzo-Mourey, R., Besser, R., & Williams, D. (2021). Understanding and mitigating health inequities — past, current, and future directions. New England Journal of Medicine, 384(18), 1681-1684. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp2008628
Radley, D., Baumgartner, J., Collins, S., Zephyrin, L., & Schneider, E. (2021). Achieving racial and ethnic equity in US health care: A scorecard of state performance. Accessed 5th February 2022 from https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/scorecard/2021/nov/achieving-racial-ethnic-equity-us-health-care-state-performance.
Ward, B. (2020). The impact of Medicaid expansion on states’ budgets. Accessed 5th February 2022 from https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/may/impact-medicaid-expansion-states-budgets.
Apply a selected tool to an identified health care problem, analyze the qualitative and quantitative results, and provide evidence-based recommendations to address the problem based on analyses performed. Include a minimum of two visual data displays (charts, graphs, et cetera).
Health care has become a data-driven industry that practices evidence-based decision making. Whether the issue is clinical or financial, health care leaders are expected to analyze problems using logic, established tools, and data. Effective leaders engage team members in the problem resolution process, encouraging a wide variety of perspectives. Once the problem is clearly defined, the health care leader is responsible for selecting an appropriate, established framework or tool with which to analyze the problem. Research, critical thinking, and team collaboration are important facets of problem solving.
Health care organizations have finite resources, so the solving of problems must take place within the confines of the organization’s available resources. In this assessment you will practice estimating the cost of one recommendation and determining whether implementing the recommendation is realistic for a specific health care organization. You will apply a simple cost benefit analysis and make a recommendation. Cost benefit analysis is another important skill for health care leaders, and this assessment provides an opportunity for you to demonstrate critical thinking skills.
This assessment also provides the opportunity to reflect upon the industry and organizational contexts before engaging in application of a tool for problem analysis. You will consider the organization’s setting with respect to level of care, mission, strategy, operations, and culture. Moreover, you will think critically about legal, regulatory, ethical, and risk management operational issues that relate to the selected problem. Let’s get started.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Evaluate problems in health care organizations, and apply tools to improve quality and outcomes.
Provide rationale for the selected problem analysis model or tool.
Competency 3: Construct evidence-based health care management recommendations in compliance with personal and professional values and legal, regulatory, and ethical considerations.
Construct evidence based recommendations which may include ethical, legal, regulatory, and organizational standards.
Competency 4: Analyze records and reports based on established benchmarks and organizational goals and performance.
Analyze date relative to internal and external benchmarks.
As you prepare to complete this third course assessment, consider the organizational context. How does analysis of the problem align with the organization’s vision, mission, strategy and financial viability? Using numbers and organizational considerations, you will explain why the organization should or should not proceed with the recommendation.
This assessment consists of three parts.
Data Presentation
In this part of the assessment, you will apply the selected tool to the problem and produce a minimum of two visual data displays (charts, graphs, et cetera). Examples of tools you might include are:
Cost Benefit Analysis: Excel spreadsheet, converted into 2–3 worksheet tabs, graphs, or other visual display format. Compliance Assessment: 3 major criteria converted into 3 separate pie charts or other graphic display format.
Lean Analysis: The percent of variance by major factor converted into 2–3 trend lines.
Note: At a minimum, provide a cost benefit analysis of the recommendation.
Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Data
In this part of the assessment you will analyze the collected data relative to benchmarks. Provide discussion as to whether the selected benchmarks are internal to the organization, external industry benchmarks, or a combination. Be sure to include a short summary of observations. Note: If the problem requires an additional tool, such as a compliance audit tool, you may include more than one discussion of the results.
Evidence-Based Recommendations
In this final part of the assessment, provide evidence-based recommendations that will help to address the identified problem. Be sure to support your recommendations with references to current, scholarly, and/or authoritative sources. Also include an explanation as to why the recommendations are feasible for this particular organization. For example, one recommendation might be to offer a new service line. Even though the new service may not generate an immediate profit, it might serve to draw additional patients into the network.
Length: The nature, breadth, and depth of the problem will drive the length of the recommendation and cost benefit analysis.
Font: Use Times New Roman, 12-point font.
APA: Follow APA formatting and style guidelines for citations and references
Related Assignments:
BHA-FPX 4020 Assessment 5 Instructions: Health Care Leadership Self-Assessment
Complete a self-assessment of 25 ACHE leadership competencies. Prepare a personal development plan that identifies specific action steps and due dates for improvement of five selected leadership competencies.
Throughout their careers, health care leaders must regularly assess their individual competencies and how those competencies align with organizational needs and priorities. Changing laws, regulations, technology, consumer preferences, medical treatment advances, and external environmental shifts can affect the skill sets needed for effective leadership. Accurate self-assessment is an important first step in identification of areas for future leadership development.
In this assessment, you will reflect upon your performance with respect to the industry-validated ACHE leadership competency model. After identifying areas of strength and areas for development, you can craft specific action steps to address any leadership development gaps.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
Competency 4: Analyze records and reports based on established benchmarks and organizational goals and performance.
Identify five individual competencies within each of the five ACHE model domains practiced during the capstone project.
Estimate baseline competency performance ratings at the beginning of the BHA program on the 25 identified individual competencies. Assess current competency performance ratings for the capstone project on the 25 identified individual competencies.
Competency 5: Create comprehensive and useable data-driven action plans, based on industry benchmarks.
Identify one competency within each of the five ACHE domains for further development.
Create one specific action step with a due date to strengthen competency performance for each of the five development areas identified.
To successfully prepare to complete this final course assessment, you will need to review the ACHE competency model:
Healthcare Leadership Alliance and the American College of Healthcare Executives. (2018). ACHE healthcare executive competencies assessment tool. Retrieved from https://www.ache.org/pdf/nonsecure/careers/competencies_booklet.pdf
Remember that you already examined this tool in Assessment 1 and identified one competency from each domain that you would be practicing while completing the capstone project.
This assessment is in two parts:
Part 1: Leadership Self-Assessment.
You will assess the development of your leadership skills over the course of your BHA program.
Part 2: Personal Development Plan.
You will identify measurable action steps for future career development based on the results of your leadership skills assessment.
Part 1: Leadership Self-Assessment
To complete your leadership self-assessment:
Download the Leadership Self-Assessment Template [DOCX].
Select five competencies from each of the five ACHE leadership domains (25 total competencies) that you practiced during your capstone project and enter them into the appropriate space on the template (Column 2).
Estimate your performance at the beginning of your BHA program on each of the 25 competencies you selected. The rating scale is from 1 (novice) to 5 (expert).
Enter this information on Column 3 of the template.
Early careerists typically score in the novice to competent performance levels. Occasionally they may rate in the expert category. The faculty member will be emphasizing rating accuracy rather than how high the ratings are.
Assess your performance after completing your capstone project on each of the selected 25 competencies.
Enter this information in Column 4 on the template.
Summarize your insights about strengths and improvement areas in the space provided.
Part 2: Personal Development Plan
To complete the personal development plan part of this assessment:
Download the Personal Development Plan Template [DOCX].
Select from your leadership self-assessment five competencies (one from each of the five domains) for further development and cultivation of your health care leadership skills. Enter these competencies into Column 2 of the template.
Determine one specific, measurable action step for each of the five selected competencies that will promote skill development. Enter the actions steps in Column 3 of the template.
People learn the most from having the opportunity to practice and demonstrate their skills. Although courses and readings certainly have value for personal development, consider other ways to cultivate the selected competencies. For example, obtain a mentor, solicit feedback from a more experienced colleague, join a professional organization, or volunteer your services.
Assign due dates for completing each action step. Enter the due dates in Column 4 of the template.
Templates: Use the templates provided to complete your leadership self-assessment and your personal development plan.
Portfolio Prompt: You may choose to save this learning activity to your ePortfolio. Consult this resource for additional information about adding artifacts to your ePortfolio.
Refer to the ACHE Healthcare Executive Competencies Assessment Tool to select the applicable competencies.
ACHE DomainIdentified Competency (Choose 5 for each domain that you practiced during your capstone project)Rating at the beginning of BHA Program1 (novice) to 5 (expert)Rating during Capstone Project1 (novice) to 5 (expert)Communication and Relationship ManagementPrinciples of communication and their specific applications25 Communicating organizational mission, vision, objectives, and priorities14 Preparing and delivering business/organizational communication, including meeting agendas, presentations, reports, and project communication plans14 Providing and receiving constructive feedback25 Using factual data to produce and deliver credible and understandable reports13LeadershipChange Management and promotion14 Explore opportunities for growth and organizational development continuously14 Promote continuous organizational learning/improvement25 Anticipate and plan strategies for overcoming obstacles13 Develop effective medical staff relationships in support of the organization’s mission, vision, and strategic plan25ProfessionalismProfessional roles, responsibility, and accountability24 Understanding organizational business and personal ethics25 Balancing professional and personal pursuits13 Understanding cultural and spiritual diversity for patients and staff as they relate to healthcare needs24 Uphold and act upon ethical and professional standards25Knowledge of the Healthcare EnvironmentKnowledge of healthcare systems and organizations24 Healthcare and medical terminology15 Managed care models, structures, and environment14 Evidence-based management practice24 Healthcare economics13Business Skills and KnowledgeQuality Improvement25 Benchmarking techniques24 Quality improvement theories and frameworks24 National quality initiatives, including patient safety25 Data collection, measurement, and analysis13Summarize insights regarding strengths and areas for improvement as you continue your health care administration career:
Based on the leadership self-assessment template, it is valid to argue that the capstone project has bolstered various competencies across the five American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) domains. Under the communication and relationship management domain, the capstone project developed my communication skills by enhancing my understanding of communication principles and their specific applications, the ability to communicate institutional/team mission, vision, and objectives, and the ability to present agendas and reports, and project plans.
Also, it bolstered my capacity to provide and receive constructive feedback from colleagues regarding organizational objectives and priorities. However, I must improve on using factual data to produce and deliver credible and understandable reports.
Secondly, the capstone project has enhanced my competencies for promoting and managing change. In this sense, I am now aware of strategies for exploring organizational growth and development opportunities, anticipating and planning strategies for overcoming obstacles, and promoting continuous organizational learning or improvement.
Also, the project has transformed my ability to develop effective medical staff relationships in support of the organizational mission, vision, and strategic plans. However, it is essential to embrace strategies for personal development regarding the ability to anticipate and plan strategies for overcoming barriers to effective change implementation. In this sense, I need the implement action step for further development in areas such as change advocacy, analysis of the underlying impediments to quality improvement, and effective ways for championing change.
Thirdly, the capstone project bolstered various competencies under the professionalism domain. For instance, I have developed awareness of patient rights and responsibilities, corporate business and personal ethics, patients’ and staff’s cultural and spiritual diversity, and strategies for upholding and acting upon ethical and professional standards.
It is valid to argue that the capstone project has enabled me to understand thresholds for ethical and professional standards that guide nursing practices. However, I still face challenges when establishing approaches for balancing professional and personal pursuits. Often, I emphasize personal aspirations at the expense of professional roles. Therefore, I need to develop competencies to balance professional issues and personal aspirations and pursuits.
Fourthly, the capstone project has positively impacted my knowledge of healthcare systems and organizations. At the beginning of the Bachelor’s of Health Administration (BHA) program, I was a novice in various aspects, including healthcare and medical terminologies, managed care models, structures, and environment, evidence-based management practice, and healthcare economics. However, the program enhanced my competencies regarding these topics. Although knowledge of healthcare systems and organizations is one of my strengths, I need to embrace strategies for personal development regarding healthcare economics.
Finally, the BHA program has improved my business skills and knowledge. For instance, I am now aware of benchmarking techniques, national quality initiatives, clinical methodologies, quality improvement theories and frameworks, and data collection, measurement, and analysis tools/techniques. At the beginning of this program, I was a novice in various quality improvement techniques in different healthcare settings.
However, I had become competent by the time of completing my capstone project. Although I am competent in quality improvement, I should emphasize interventions for developing my data collection, measurement, and analysis competencies. In this sense, I am yet to become an expert in data collection, measurement, and analysis.
References
Healthcare Leadership Alliance and the American College of Healthcare Executives. (2018). ACHE healthcare executive competencies assessment tool. Retrieved from https://www.ache.org/pdf/nonsecure/careers/competencies_booklet.pdf
From your Leadership Self-Assessment, identify five competencies (one from each domain) that you would like to develop further. Identify an appropriate action step with a due date for each competency.
ACHE DomainCompetency for Further Development (Choose 1 for each domain from your Leadership Self-AssessmentAction StepDue DateCommunication and Relationship ManagementUsing factual data and delivering credible and understandable reports· Develop a culture of inquiry to embrace evidence-based practice and improve skills for nursing research
· Obtain a mentor and solicit feedback from more experienced colleagues regarding effective selecting and appraising evidence sources.
· Volunteer to a professional organization specializing in nursing research methods and information dissemination.
By the end of 2022LeadershipAnticipate and plan strategies for overcoming obstacles to change management and promotion· Develop listening and communication skills to understand colleagues’ views and feedback regarding the change process.
· Leverage data to convince my colleagues to accept change and implement its provisions.
· Review and understand various change theories and frameworks
By June 2022ProfessionalismBalancing professional and personal pursuits· Developing time management skills by setting priorities and timely planning
· Proper scheduling
· Regularly reviewing workloads
· Encouraging social activities to facilitate recreation and reduce burnout
ContinuousKnowledge of the Healthcare EnvironmentHealthcare economics· Soliciting feedback from more experienced colleagues
· Enrolling in part-time learning programs regarding health economics
· Obtaining a mentor to offer guidance and insights into various aspects of healthcare economics
By December 2022Business Skills and KnowledgeData collection, measurement, and analysis· Use internet-based databases, books, and other evidence sources to learn about effective methods for data collection, measurement, and analysis
· Enroll in part-time learning programs for data collection, measurement, and analysis
· Obtain a mentor and engage more experienced colleagues to obtain insights into data collection, measurement, and analysis methods.
By mid-2023Related Assignments:
BHA-FPX4020 Assessment 1: Health Care Problem Analysis Proposal
BHA-FPX 4020 Assessment 3: Data Collection and Analysis
BHA-FPX 4020 Assessment 4: Interdisciplinary Presentation of Evidence-Based Recommendations
People learn the most from having the opportunity to practice and demonstrate their skills. Although courses and readings certainly have value for personal development
Healthcare systems in the US bear the obligation to achieve a triad objective of improving the patient experience of care, including quality and satisfaction, improving public health services, and reducing the cost of care. Despite these considerations, Americans do not receive quality, timely, and affordable care due to the prevailing healthcare disparities. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (2021), a healthcare disparity is a “difference between population groups in the way they access, experience, and receive healthcare” (p. 193).
In this sense, the synergies between ethnic, social, economic, environmental, and geographical factors contribute to inequalities regarding access to care, experiences, and quality of life. Although the country enacts policies that ensure affordability, accessibility, and equality, eliminating ethnic and socio-economic disparities poses a public health challenge. Therefore, this proposal elaborates on strategies for measuring and assessing healthcare disparities, quality benchmarks, and evidence-based strategies for addressing the problem.
It is possible to measure and assess the problem of healthcare disparities by evaluating interactions between health and social determinants of health (SDOH), including age, education, neighborhood, employment, and population’s income levels. Also, it is essential to incorporate ethnic aspects because they influence access to quality care, experiences, and quality of life. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (2021) presents six profound domains for assessing disparities. These considerations are:
Often, it is possible to determine the prevailing health disparities by comparing the community’s performance against top-performing communities and state or national benchmarks. As noted earlier, it is vital to assess and measure health disparities by evaluating inequalities within the six domains, including access to patient-centered care, the level of care coordination, care affordability, the availability of effective treatment, and healthy living.
Gomez et al. (2021) argue that conditions in which people live, learn, work, and worship, alongside their age and growth patterns, influence well-being outcomes, quality of life, and access to timely, affordability, and quality care. Therefore, the social determinants of health (SDOH) are the causative and contributing factors for health disparities.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) collaborates with other agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), to document national and state benchmarks for the six domains. In this sense, it is possible to gauge communities’ performance regarding eliminating healthcare disparities by comparing their prevalence with states’ and national benchmarks.
One of the most profound benchmarks for healthcare disparities is the number of uninsured people of ethnic diversities. Carratala and Maxwell (2020) argue that about 10.6% of African Americans were uninsured compared with 5.9% of non-Hispanic Whites in 2017. Such statistics indicate ethnicity is a profound cause of disparities in care affordability and accessibility.
The stand unit for measuring health disparities entails often computing the total number of individuals with distinct characteristics against a predetermined population (1000, 100000, and so on). For example, healthcare professionals can calculate the total number of Black Americans with new cases of HIV by identifying the number of new cases per 100,000 people. Consequently, it is possible to compare the prevalence of disparities with achievable benchmarks.
Many scholarly and authoritative sources proposed evidence-based interventions for analyzing and addressing health disparities in patient safety, access to quality care, care affordability, quality of life, and care coordination. These interventions include:
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2021). National healthcare quality and disparities report (pp. 1-316). AHRQ. https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/research/findings/nhqrdr/2021qdr.pdf
American College of Healthcare Executives. (2020). ACHE healthcare executive: 2020 competencies assessment tool. https://www.ache.org/-/media/ache/career-resource-center/competencies_booklet.pdf.
Carratala, S., & Maxwell, C. (2020). Health disparities by race and ethnicity. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/health-disparities-race-ethnicity/
Garzón-Orjuela, N., Samacá-Samacá, D., Luque Angulo, S., Mendes Abdala, C., Reveiz, L., & Eslava-Schmalbach, J. (2020). An overview of reviews on strategies to reduce health inequalities. International Journal for Equity in Health, 19(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-020-01299-w
Gollust, S., Cunningham, B., Bokhour, B., Gordon, H., Pope, C., & Saha, S. et al. (2018). What causes racial health care disparities? A mixed-methods study reveals variability in how healthcare providers perceive causal attributions. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 55, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/0046958018762840
Gómez, C., Kleinman, D., Pronk, N., Wrenn Gordon, G., Ochiai, E., & Blakey, C. et al. (2021). Addressing health equity and social determinants of health through Healthy People 2030. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, s249-s257. https://doi.org/10.1097/phh.0000000000001297
Lavizzo-Mourey, R., Besser, R., & Williams, D. (2021). Understanding and mitigating health inequities — past, current, and future directions. New England Journal of Medicine, 384(18), 1681-1684. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp2008628
Suarez-Balcazar, Y., Mirza, M., & Garcia-Ramirez, M. (2017). Health disparities: Understanding and promoting healthy communities. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in The Community, 46(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1080/10852352.2018.1386761
Prepare a health care problem analysis proposal in outline format (3-10 pages) on a current, relevant health care problem. Include the rationale for selecting the problem, a description of the how the problem is assessed and measured for quality improvement purposes, a proposed industry measure of performance, action steps for completing the project, and a description of the applicable leadership competencies.
Effective health care leaders simultaneously maintain internal organizational and external industry environmental awareness. Leaders are challenged to focus on vision, mission, strategic direction, goals, and objectives while remaining mindful of emerging trends that may affect an organization’s viability.
Monitoring the external environment for issues that may represent major challenges to an organization requires ongoing diligence. Health care administrators must identify and prioritize issues affecting their organizations. Furthermore, leaders must select methods and tools with which to analyze data for identification of potential solutions.
In this first assessment in your capstone course, you will have an opportunity to select a health care problem that is relevant to your career interests and one that adds value to a current or future health care organization. By the end of the course, you will be drawing from current scholarly and/or authoritative sources to provide evidence-based recommendations to solve the problem.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Evaluate problems in health care organizations, and apply tools to improve quality and outcomes.
Describe, using an authoritative source, how the selected health care problem is assessed and measured for quality improvement purposes. Describe how five American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) leadership competencies apply to the selected capstone project topic.
Competency 2: Analyze foundational elements of the U.S. health care system.
Identify a relevant problem along with the rationale for selecting the problem.
Competency 4: Analyze records and reports based on established benchmarks and organizational goals and performance.
Propose an industry measure of performance, such as a benchmark, which pertains to the type of organization selected for problem analysis.
Competency 5: Create comprehensive and useable data-driven actions plans, based on industry benchmarks. Provide a bulleted list of the preliminary action plan steps to review the problem and propose solutions.
Competency 6: Communicate effectively with diverse audiences, in an appropriate form and style, consistent with applicable organizational, professional, and scholarly standards.
Create a clear, well organized, professional, and generally error-free outline that describes a relevant health care problem.
To successfully complete this first assessment in your capstone course, you will need to conduct independent research on current, relevant problems facing the U.S. health care system. The problem you select needs to meet all of the following criteria:
BHA FPX 4020 Assessment 1 Instructions: Health Care Problem Analysis Proposal
You may begin your research on current, relevant problems facing the health care industry by studying your suggested resources for this assessment. In addition, you may want to consult the Health Care Administration Undergraduate Library Research Guide to help you begin your search for scholarly and authoritative sources on significant, contemporary problems in the health care industry.
Please ensure that the problem is relevant and of sufficient interest to your career goals since all future course work is built upon the stated problem.
For this assessment, you will construct a capstone health care problem analysis proposal on your selected topic. You may wish to envision your current or future workplace as the potential site for presentation of the proposal. After your proposal is constructed, you will receive feedback from your faculty member. Later in the course, in a separate assessment, you will receive feedback from a practicing professional about the proposed approach to analyze data relating to the problem.
The requirement for this assessment is to produce a proposal that has clear section headings and contains a flow of logic. You may opt to use an outline format. Please avoid lengthy narrative paragraphs, as the proposal is intended to be presented in an imaginary workplace. Busy executives will not have time to read paragraphs word for word. Instead, expect that your audience will read the document by scanning. Your goal is to provide succinct yet substantive information with sufficient depth to cover your selected problem. Remember to include a cover page, table of contents, section headings, and reference list. The length of the proposal is based upon the breadth and depth of your selected topic.
The following general steps in construction of your proposal contain additional specific information requirements.
Step 1: Identify a relevant problem along with the associated rationale for the selection of the problem. Be sure to substantiate content with and authoritative source.
State the problem in a single sentence, tell why it is a problem, and add a citation from a current, authoritative source. For example: Condition X if not addressed may result in Consequence Y (source, year).
Step 2: Describe, using an authoritative source, how the selected health care problem is assessed and measured for quality improvement purposes. Include relevant factors and associated units of measurement.
Select six current authoritative sources that apply to your selected problem. You may consider your problem from an industry, organization, or
specific professional level. Be sure to include any industry standards, legal, and ethical considerations that relate to your problem. Summarize each of the six sources in a succinct sentence or two. Explain how each source directly relates to the problem. Be sure to add an APA formatted citation for each.
Step 3: Propose an industry measure of performance, such as a benchmark, which pertains to the type of organization selected for problem analysis.
State the major factors or performance indicators that directly relate to your problem. Assign a unit of measurement to each factor (days, dollars, percentage, et cetera.)
Identify the authoritative source(s) used to determine the major factors you selected that relate to the problem. Identify which industry assessment tool or framework you will use to analyze the problem.
Step 4: Provide a bulleted list of the preliminary action plan steps to complete the capstone health care problem analysis project. Examples include:
conduct library search, formulate problem statement, identify factors and units of measure, and so on.
Step 5: Describe one competency from each of the five American College of Healthcare Executives’ (ACHE) domains that relate to your capstone health care problem analysis proposal.
Review the ACHE competency model:
Healthcare Leadership Alliance and the American College of Healthcare Executives. (2018). ACHE healthcare executive competencies assessment tool. Retrieved from https://www.ache.org/pdf/nonsecure/careers/competencies_booklet.pdf
Provide a short statement about how you practice one competency within each of the five ACHE domains. Consider including a table such as the following within your outline. Note: You have been provided with one example of how you might complete this for one competency within one domain. You will need to complete the entire table—one competency within each of the five domains.
ACHE DomainACHE Competency SelectedHow This Competency Relates to the Capstone Health Care Problem Analysis ProposalCommunication and Relationship ManagementLeadershipProfessionalismKnowledge of the Healthcare EnvironmentHealthcare Systems and OrganizationsI chose health care systems and organizations because the capstone project will require me to develop skills in identifying substantive problems that the health care industry needs to address. It will also require me to develop skills in working to resolve a substantive problem within a health care organization.Business Skills and KnowledgeApply a selected tool to an identified health care problem, analyze the qualitative and quantitative results, and provide evidence-based recommendations to address the problem based on analyses performed. Include a minimum of two visual data displays (charts, graphs, et cetera).
Health care has become a data-driven industry that practices evidence-based decision making. Whether the issue is clinical or financial, health care leaders are expected to analyze problems using logic, established tools, and data. Effective leaders engage team members in the problem resolution process, encouraging a wide variety of perspectives. Once the problem is clearly defined, the health care leader is responsible for selecting an appropriate, established framework or tool with which to analyze the problem. Research, critical thinking, and team collaboration are important facets of problem solving.
Health care organizations have finite resources, so the solving of problems must take place within the confines of the organization’s available resources. In this assessment you will practice estimating the cost of one recommendation and determining whether implementing the recommendation is realistic for a specific health care organization. You will apply a simple cost benefit analysis and make a recommendation. Cost benefit analysis is another important skill for health care leaders, and this assessment provides an opportunity for you to demonstrate critical thinking skills.
This assessment also provides the opportunity to reflect upon the industry and organizational contexts before engaging in application of a tool for problem analysis. You will consider the organization’s setting with respect to level of care, mission, strategy, operations, and culture. Moreover, you will think critically about legal, regulatory, ethical, and risk management operational issues that relate to the selected problem. Let’s get started.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Evaluate problems in health care organizations, and apply tools to improve quality and outcomes.
Provide rationale for the selected problem analysis model or tool.
Competency 3: Construct evidence-based health care management recommendations in compliance with personal and professional values and legal, regulatory, and ethical considerations.
Construct evidence based recommendations which may include ethical, legal, regulatory, and organizational standards.
Competency 4: Analyze records and reports based on established benchmarks and organizational goals and performance.
Analyze date relative to internal and external benchmarks.
As you prepare to complete this third course assessment, consider the organizational context. How does analysis of the problem align with the organization’s vision, mission, strategy and financial viability? Using numbers and organizational considerations, you will explain why the organization should or should not proceed with the recommendation.
This assessment consists of three parts.
In this part of the assessment, you will apply the selected tool to the problem and produce a minimum of two visual data displays (charts, graphs, et cetera). Examples of tools you might include are:
Cost Benefit Analysis: Excel spreadsheet, converted into 2–3 worksheet tabs, graphs, or other visual display format. Compliance Assessment: 3 major criteria converted into 3 separate pie charts or other graphic display format.
Lean Analysis: The percent of variance by major factor converted into 2–3 trend lines.
Note: At a minimum, provide a cost benefit analysis of the recommendation.
In this part of the assessment you will analyze the collected data relative to benchmarks. Provide discussion as to whether the selected benchmarks are internal to the organization, external industry benchmarks, or a combination. Be sure to include a short summary of observations. Note: If the problem requires an additional tool, such as a compliance audit tool, you may include more than one discussion of the results.
In this final part of the assessment, provide evidence-based recommendations that will help to address the identified problem. Be sure to support your recommendations with references to current, scholarly, and/or authoritative sources. Also include an explanation as to why the recommendations are feasible for this particular organization. For example, one recommendation might be to offer a new service line. Even though the new service may not generate an immediate profit, it might serve to draw additional patients into the network.
Create and deliver a slide presentation (8-12 slides; 3-5 minutes maximum presentation) on the analysis of a selected health care problem that includes evidence-based recommendations. Your submission needs to include a narrated webcam recording, using your PowerPoint slides and speaker notes, which serve as a transcript.
Health care leaders scan for emerging and existing issues, prioritize problems, collect and analyze data, propose evidence-based solutions, and engage diverse teams in the process. Once a problem has been sufficiently analyzed, the health care leader must identify stakeholders who will participate in the final decision making for a proposed evidence-based solution.
Most importantly, the health care leader must craft a message that is aligned with organizational mission and strategy, based upon sound analysis and data, and includes of a wide variety of diverse stakeholders. The message needs to be communicated in a clear, concise, culturally competent, balanced, and professional manner.
In this assessment, you will have an opportunity to practice a wide variety of executive level skills by conducting a PowerPoint presentation on the selected health care problem. You will demonstrate a flow of logic and analysis by following a slide presentation outline template. In the presentation you will carry forward the work already completed in Assessment 3. Specifically you will cover the following in your presentation:
State the problem.
Identify clearly the relevant factors or performance indicators and associated units of measurement. Describe the application of an appropriate analysis tool to the problem.
Offer insights and evidence-based recommendations.
As you prepare for this webcam presentation, keep the imaginary audience in mind. It is comprised of a diverse senior leadership team at the selected organization. The team represents a variety of ages, cultures, and perspectives. You will communicate your presentation in a concise, professional, and culturally competent manner. The goal is to persuade the senior leadership team to implement the evidence-based recommendations presented. Consider that two senior leadership team members may be evaluating you as a high potential candidate for a promotion. Good luck! It is time to construct your presentation.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
Competency 3: Construct evidence-based health care management recommendations in compliance with personal and professional values and legal, regulatory, and ethical considerations.
Analyze evidence-based recommendations with respect to organizational context. Provide rationale for the execution of evidence-based recommendations.
Competency 5: Create comprehensive and useable data-driven action plans, based on industry benchmarks.
Construct a data-driven action plan based upon industry benchmarks to solve the selected health care problem.
Competency 6: Communicate effectively with diverse audiences, in an appropriate form and style, consistent with applicable organizational, professional, and scholarly standards.
Create a succinct PowerPoint presentation on the selected problem and recommendations that is designed for interdepartmental senior leadership team viewing.
Complete these tasks to successfully prepare for this presentation.
Slides
Review Guidelines for Effective PowerPoint Presentations [PPTX] for a refresher on how to create compelling, visually appealing slides that capture the audience’s attention.
Download and study the Final PowerPoint Template [PPTX] for a suggested structure for the slides. Using the slide template will help to keep your presentation within the maximum 3 to 5 minute presentation time frame.
After developing slides and preparing your speaker notes, practice delivering the presentation multiple times via screen and webcam recording before making the final webcam recording for submission. Practicing your presentation multiple times will make the presentation more polished and professional. Likewise, multiple dry runs will also help you adhere to the 3 to 5 minute maximum presentation length. Before submitting the presentation, make sure the recording is audible, the slides are visible, and that you are included in a video capture.
Consult the Using Kaltura [PDF] for additional guidance on how to record the presentation.
Use the Final PowerPoint [PPTX] template to create a 3–5 minute recorded PowerPoint presentation of 8–12 preformatted slides. The template provides the outline of what you need to cover in the presentation. The goal of this assessment is to communicate essential elements of your analysis in a succinct manner. A 3- to 5-minute presentation may not seem long, but it is the reality in today’s health care workplace. Busy executives will not be able to spare more time than this. The presentation is for interdepartmental senior leadership team viewing.
Be sure to include visual summaries of your data, such as a pie chart or graph. The summarized data visual display should be in a readable format in a Word document or spreadsheet. It is important to include specific titles for the data summaries that identify the subject matter and measurement units.
Complete a self-assessment of 25 ACHE leadership competencies. Prepare a personal development plan that identifies specific action steps and due dates for improvement of five selected leadership competencies.
Throughout their careers, health care leaders must regularly assess their individual competencies and how those competencies align with organizational needs and priorities. Changing laws, regulations, technology, consumer preferences, medical treatment advances, and external environmental shifts can affect the skill sets needed for effective leadership. Accurate self-assessment is an important first step in identification of areas for future leadership development.
In this assessment, you will reflect upon your performance with respect to the industry-validated ACHE leadership competency model. After identifying areas of strength and a
Use the provided template to create an action plan to address a chosen health problem.
Information technology, specifically electronic health records (EHR) and patient portals, are helping to empower patients to take a more active role with their health care (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016). Information technology is also supporting collaborative efforts among multiple health care stakeholders, including providers, insurers, community health agencies, and policy makers (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016).
The use of decision support systems facilitates the mining of large amounts of data in population health, including data measurement and analysis. Three purposes of measurement include improvement, accountability, and research (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016). Decision support systems can also be used for predictive modeling to improve performance and predict potential outcomes (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016). As information technology and decision support systems become more sophisticated, and larger amounts of data are captured, the potential to further the IHI Triple Aim initiatives discussed previously in the course increases.
Population health continues to evolve, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) introduced several new regulations and models. The IHI Triple Aim initiative will be an ongoing area of focus, and information technology offers new ways to engage patients in their own health. Smart phones, health and wellness apps, and smart watches will give patients new ways to monitor their behaviors.
As providers educate themselves on behavioral change models and economics, they can help patients change unhealthy behaviors. Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, and Clarke (2016) predict that the next few years will likely result in an updated health risk assessment that includes additional determinants of health and performance, including stress and anxiety, and increased recognition of the importance of thriving and health. Beyond five years, we will likely see shared values among employers, employees, and the community.
Taking measurements, regulations, current and evolving technology, and models of care into account is critical to help ensure sound design of population and community health plans. Without a well-thought-out design, a well-thought-out and implementable action plan will prove difficult to impossible. So, these are critical considerations as you approach the Community Health Action Plan assessment.
Reference
Nash, D. B., Fabius, R. J., Skoufalos, A., & Clarke, J. L. (2016). Population health: Creating a culture of wellness (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Competency 1: Integrate principles of epidemiology, population health, and community engagement to plan interventions.
Evaluate an organization best suited to implement a community-health intervention.
Competency 2: Differentiate and evaluate evidence-based treatment models and prevention models designed to promote wellness and disease management for population health.
Formulate criteria for evaluation of task completion.
Competency 3: Create an action plan to promote wellness and disease management in a diverse population.
Define a goal for an action plan.
Identify roles, tasks, and timeframes required to implement a plan.
Identify human, capital, and material resources needed to complete tasks in a plan.
Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with expectations for health care professionals.
Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. Write following APA style for in-text citation, quotes, and references.
Note: It is recommended that you complete the assessments in this course in the order they are presented.
This assessment brings together aspects of the other three assessments in the course. The goal is to create an implementable action plan to achieve a SMART goal addressing the community-health need you have been exploring throughout the course.
To prepare to successfully create your Community Health Action Plan, it is recommended you complete the following:
Familiarize yourself with the Action Plan Template you will be completing as your assessment artifact.
Consult your previous assessments, and the feedback you received on them, to focus on what areas you should focus on when completing the template.
It may be helpful to complete the Community Health Programs formative activity.
For this assessment, create a detailed action plan to promote wellness and disease management by addressing your chosen health problem you have been working on throughout this course. Based on feedback received on your previous assessments, design a plan you could implement in a health care organization (such as a hospital, physician practice, or federally qualified health center) to address a specific SMART goal.
Make sure you download and complete the Action Plan Template. Only submit the completed template for your assessment. Do not submit a paper for this assessment. Papers will not be graded.
Consult the scoring guide to ensure that you are addressing all criteria at the level to which you desire. When completing the template, be sure you address the following:
Define a goal for an action plan.
You may want to review either (or both) of the media pieces related to SMART goals to help in addressing this criterion: SMART Goals | Transcript.
Evidence-Based Strategies and SMART Goals | Transcript.
Evaluate an organization best suited to implement a community-health intervention.
Identify a specific organization best suited to address the problem and implement the potential solution you have selected based on your work in the other assessments in the course.
Why is the organization best suited to address your chosen health problem? Why is the organization best suited to implement your potential solution?
How is the organization best suited to engage and help the affected populations in the community?
Identify roles, tasks, and time frames required to implement a plan.
This criterion is related to the first two columns in the template.
Be sure to detail the specific tasks that must be completed based on the research you have conducted in the first column.
Identify the roles of all stakeholders needed to implement your plan. Explain why they are needed.
For each task, be sure to identify an appropriate and realistic timeframe to complete the task in the second column.
Formulate criteria for evaluation of task completion.
This criterion is related to the third column of the template.
Make specific connections between these criteria and evidence-based strategies to promote wellness and disease management for a population.
Identify human, capital, and material resources needed to complete tasks in a plan.
This criterion is related to the fourth column of the template, as well as the Key Stakeholders section.
For the stakeholders:
Which stakeholders are required to complete each task? What are the roles of the stakeholders?
In other words, why are the specific stakeholders needed?
Additionally, make sure you identify any other people, capital, materials, and so on, needed to complete a task.
Write clearly, with correct spelling, grammar, and syntax, and good organization. Apply proper APA formatting and style.
Written communication: Ensure content is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
APA: Use current-edition APA style and formatting guidelines, including citations and a reference page in the second tab of the Action Plan Template
Communities exist within a set of populations and are distinguished by various forms of unique characteristics. For instance, a community can be distinguished by the natural resources surrounding it, such as water bodies, forests, or even land. People of a certain age group community based on that natural feature. Other features that distinguish a community include economic status, traditions, income, race, and ethnicity.
For example, people who live in Missouri City, Texas, can be classified as a community because they practice certain common traditions and activities. This paper analyses the health needs of Missouri City. Missouri City is a city in Texas, USA and exists within Houston-The Woodlands metropolitan area. 33% of Missourians are white alone, while Black African Americans alone constitute 41.9% of the population as of 2019; the city had a total population of 74557 people residing within 78.72 square kilometers (United States Census Bureau, 2019).
A recent health issue that has affected most communities is the coronavirus (COVID-19). Despite the efforts of both national and international bodies to minimize its spread and general effect on the population, the pandemic continues to kill many people and affect many families. With the constantly increasing rates of COVID-19, the Missouri City community requires more health facilities and equipment, such as staff, supplies, and hospital bed capacities. As a predominantly minority population, the Missouri City community is especially in need of additional healthcare equipment and facilities because of the health inequalities it faces as a minority community.
The virus has penetrated across the community, and most hospitals within the community are in desperate need for equipment and general supplies. Due to the increased number of patients requiring hospital admissions, the hospital requires additional bed capacity. They also need additional COVID-19 prevention equipment, such as masks, IV fusion pumps, and ventilators.
More importantly, community health centers need additional healthcare staff because as the number of patients increases, the ratio of healthcare providers to patients worsens (Zanettini et al., 2020). This issue is amplified partly by the fact that apart from COVID-19 patients, the hospitals still receive patients with other healthcare needs.
The community stakeholders are typically those involved in addressing the community’s challenges and issues. Some of the most prominent stakeholders include the healthcare organizations, the government, the citizens, and the community agencies. Each of them is responsible for ensuring the safety, health, and well-being of the community, including protecting the community against pandemics such as COVID-19. Because of this, the stakeholders must be aware of the health issue and are providing the necessary support (Gonzalez et al., 2020).
The most crucial stakeholder in the health issue of COVID-19 is the local government. All state governments should take various measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 and minimize its impact on the community. One of the most important steps taken so far by the local government to contain COVID-19 among the Missouri City community is the allocation of money to improve the delivery of healthcare systems, provide the necessary personal protection equipment and improve the hospitals’ capacity (Bruns et al., 2020).
The Texas state government has also made a considerable effort to assist those who are most vulnerable to COVID-19, including the elderly and those with underlying health conditions such as cancer and diabetes. Zanettini et al. (2020) observed that by protecting the most vulnerable from COVID-19, communities can minimize the spread and effect of the pandemic, especially regarding the costs incurred by families to treat their loved ones, as well as the burden of caring for their loved ones. However, one of the most significant challenges experienced by the local government is enforcing the COVID-19 containment measures such as social distancing and quarantine. These challenges can be addressed by educating patients on the importance of observing the containment measures.
One of the most effective wellness models adopted in the COVID-19 scenario is the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) guidance, which offers comprehensive guidelines to all Texas communities regarding COVID-19 prevention measures. According to Gonzalez et al. (2020), the DSHS guidelines aims to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within Texas based on scientific evidence, research, and recommendations from healthcare professionals.
For example, the DSHS guidelines shares useful information with various stakeholders, including employers, food businesses, critical infrastructure workers and workers at high risk, on how to observe COVID-19 containment measures and minimize their exposure to the disease through safe operation (Zanettini et al., 2020). Furthermore, the DSHS framework is accompanied by tools that can effectively help stakeholders communicate safety messages to their customers and colleagues.
Another strategy that has largely been used in Missouri City is drive-in testing. According to Gonzalez et al. (2020), drive-in testing is a wellness model which enables healthcare professionals to test safely and efficiently the public while minimizing physical interaction within the testing area.
It is a strategy meant to ensure that only those who are negative can access public spaces, while those who are positive for COVID-19 can get quick medical attention. Furthermore, drive-in testing ensures safety within the testing area because people are contained within their cars. Generally, drive-in testing is an effective wellness strategy because it helps detect the infected individuals early and prevents further spread.
Bruns, D.P., Kraguljac, N.V. & Bruns, T.R. (2020). Covid19?> COVID-19: Facts, Cultural
Considerations and Risk of Stigmatization. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 31(4), pp.326-332. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043659620917724
Gonzalez, R. I., Munoz, F., Moya, P. S., & Kiwi, M. (2020). Is a COVID-19 quarantine justified in Chile or usa right now? https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.10879
United States Census Bureau (2019). 2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files. Retrieved January 4, 2022
Zanettini, C., Omar, M., Dinalankara, W., Imada, E. L., Colantuoni, E., Parmigiani, G., & Marchionni, L. (2020). Influenza Vaccination and COVID-19 Mortality in the USA. MedRxiv. 10.1101/2020.06.24.20129817
Create a 7-10 slide PowerPoint presentation that explains basic inventory management concepts and analyzes the current state of an organization’s inventory of pacemakers.
Health care operations is a complex topic, encompassing many aspects including (but not limited to) service locations, personnel, policy, leadership, finance, strategy, and quality. While the industry is generally viewed as a service industry, its systems are faced with complex operational challenges including supply chain, strategy, quality and project management, and service delivery. Given the changing landscape from a health reform and financial perspective, health care organizations must focus on improving their operations and improving efficiencies to remain competitive.
A component of the health care delivery process is the procurement, stocking, and dispensing of supplies. Within this process, opportunities exist to add value, reduce waste, and create standardization throughout the organization (Kros & Brown, 2013). Effective management of health care operations creates value for all stakeholders.
One way to potentially create value in operations is through inventory management. Whether you realize it or not, you are most likely familiar with the concept of inventory. For example, when you visit the grocery store perhaps they are out of your favorite ice cream, or, before you left home, maybe you took stock of your cupboards to determine what items you need to pick up on the grocery store trip. Both of these are everyday examples of the concept of inventory.
In health care, inventory management is vital for many reasons, including regulatory compliance and investment protection. When we think about the inventory of a health care organization, we must take into consideration items ranging from pots and pans to medical devices and surgical instruments (Kros & Brown, 2013).
Finance and accounting principles in health care operations and supply chain management are key concepts to understand, at least at a foundational
level. At a minimum, health care professionals should be familiar with the basic components of financial statements and financial ratios utilized by health care organizations, as well as concepts related to the value of money. Over the years, the health care industry has been subject to several changes in reimbursement methodologies. Each methodology was implemented with the intent of addressing the concerns facing the industry at the time (fraud, quality, utilization, et cetera).
Current methodologies regulate the payment amount or payment rate that organizations will receive in return for treating each patient. Changes to these payment methods have had major financial implications for health care organizations (Kros & Brown, 2013). To remain fiscally responsible, health care professionals must streamline operations to ensure costs are managed, productivity is maximized, and resources are optimized (Kros & Brown, 2013). Outside of payroll and benefits, supplies and materials are close contenders for health care organizations’ highest expenses.
Regardless of whether you work in a clinical or non-clinical unit, it is imperative to understand how to read and understand the organization’s financial statements. In addition to financial statements, each department operates off of an annual budget. These budgets are established as financial guidelines for
the department’s operations and always contain line items for materials and supplies.
Reference
Kros, J. F., & Brown, E. C. (2013). Health care operations and supply chain management: Operations, planning, and control. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Describe when and how the senior leader would directly impact health care operations.
Analyze leaders’ responsibilities in addressing the identified inventory recommendations. Competency 2: Analyze the impact of the various success factors of a health care organization.
Explain inventory control.
Competency 3: Analyze the concept of competitive strength by considering efficiency and effectiveness of organizational processes.
Describe options for inventory ordering.
Analyze the implications of having inventory control.
Competency 4: Apply management concepts to lead an efficient health care system.
Present findings based upon review of the EOQ and organizational data.
Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with health care professionals.
Write following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references.
Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
This assessment is based on the Vila Health: Pacemaker Inventory media simulation, which is linked in the Vila Health: Pacemaker Inventory section of Assessment 1. Go to that section to complete the scenario at this time. You will use the information you gather in this scenario, in which you assume the role of an inventory analyst, to provide context and information necessary for the assessment.
If you have questions about or would like to review tips on using PowerPoint, the following resources may be useful as you prepare to complete this assessment:
Guidelines for Effective PowerPoint Presentations [PPTX].
Microsoft Office Software Tutorials.
Based on the media simulation you completed, one of the directors has asked you to examine the the ordering, stocking, and use of pacemakers at the Peta King Heart Institute at St. Anthony Medical Center. In addition to your inventory investigation, you have been encouraged to research additional topics, such as inventory management, inventory control, inventory ordering systems, economic order quantity (EOQ) calculations, and inventory stocking techniques.
As you research, consider industries outside of health care, as techniques utilized in other industries may apply. After you have concluded your investigation and research, you have been asked to prepare a PowerPoint for the director to help them communicate with other stakeholders the basics of inventory control, the importance of having inventory control strategies, and the current state of the Peta King Heart Institute’s pacemaker inventory.
Your PowerPoint needs to address the following criteria. (Note: The questions under each criterion are there to help you think through each.)
You might want to (but do not have to) organize your presentation using the following outline:
Slide 1: Title of the presentation.
Slide 2: Overview of inventory control. Slide 3: Review of EOQ purpose and data.
Slide 4: Recommendations for inventory ordering. Slide 5: Leadership.
Slide 6: Implications.
Slide 7: Conclusions. Slide 8: Reference list.
Keep the design simple. Use Arial or Verdana font, size 24 point, at minimum.
Keep the slides concise. Use 5–7 bullet points per slide and 5–7 words per bullet. Use speaker notes to explicate the bullets. For best color contrast, use light text on dark background (for example, yellow on black, white on dark blue).
Use the proper slide layout. For example, if a slide has a title and text, create it using the correct Title and Text layout.
Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics
Create a 4-6-page analysis for two potential approaches to address a specific health problem in a community of your choosing.
Medical education in the United States has been deemed inadequate to properly train health care professionals in public health and prevention (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016). Current medical education systems focus on the treatment of acute medical conditions versus the prevention of diseases (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016). Experts agree that, to improve population health in our country, medical education programs must be redesigned to include new skills and approaches in preventative care; however, the same experts disagree on the best way to do this (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016).
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has developed and proposed a set of core competencies for all health care providers to ensure adequate care and address the health care needs of our communities. These competencies include: providing patient-centered care, working in interdisciplinary teams, employing evidence-based practices, applying quality improvement, and utilizing informatics (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016). Other recommendations have been put forward; however, adoption of these recommendations has been slow to emerge.
In the past, the typical patient care model comprised:
A patient seeking services.
A provider diagnosing and treating an acute concern.
The patient complying with the treatment recommendations or not.
Today, patient engagement and advocacy are increasing in focus. As provider reimbursement methodologies shift to pay for performance and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and patients demand higher-quality services at a lower cost, patient engagement is a critical variable to improved patient outcomes.
The patient engagement framework was developed to assist in the study of patient engagement. The framework consists of five steps and will be examined in this unit (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016):
The above framework illustrates one way in which population health strives to shift our focus from a reactive treatment model to a proactive wellness model (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016). For your future reference, each type of model can be briefly defined as:
Treatment models provide care to patients who exhibit a problem.
Wellness models take proactive steps to prevent development of a problem.
Reference
Nash, D. B., Fabius, R. J., Skoufalos, A., & Clarke, J. L. (2016). Population health: Creating a culture of wellness (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Competency 1: Integrate principles of epidemiology, population health, and community engagement to plan interventions.
Assess how social determinants affect individuals in relation to a specific health problem.
Competency 2: Differentiate and evaluate evidence-based treatment models and prevention models designed to promote wellness and disease management for population health.
Assess an evidence-based treatment model that addresses a health need.
Assess an evidence-based wellness model for preventing development of a future health problem.
Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with expectations for health care professionals.
Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. Write following APA style for in-text citation, quotes, and references.
Note: It is recommended that you complete the assessments in this course in the order they are presented.
For this assessment, select one of the three specific health-improvement needs you identified in the Analyze Community Health Needs assessment. Once you have selected the health-improvement need you want to focus on, complete the following:
Conduct research on your chosen health improvement need and identify two possible approaches to address the problem in your community
One approach may be the same one that you identified in your Analyze Community Health Needs assessment, or you can select two new approaches.
Research how other communities are addressing your chosen need and locate relevant data.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may be a good place to start.
Complete the suggested Community Health Strategies activity if you want to check your knowledge about specific models and strategies for community health initiatives such as education, intervention, prevention, and treatment.
Examine potential interventions for the health-improvement need you selected during your preparation and compile a 4–6-page analysis. As previously stated, you must report on two possible approaches, one of which may be from those you identified in your Analyze Community Health Needs assessment.
For the purposes of this assessment, each intervention approach must be evidence based. Also, one intervention must be based on a treatment model and the other, a wellness model. For the purposes of this assessment, use these brief definitions when determining which model an intervention would be categorized as:
Treatment models provide care to patients who exhibit a problem.
Wellness models take proactive steps to prevent development of a problem.
Consult the scoring guide to ensure that you are addressing all criteria at the level to which you desire. Include the following in your analysis:
Assess how social determinants affect individuals in relation to a specific health problem.
Restate the specific health-improvement need that you are researching.
Restate the relevant characteristics of the affected community with regards to your chosen health improvement need. Identify the most relevant social determinants with regards to your chosen health need.
How do they impact individuals in the community?
How do these impacts affect the health and ability to seek out treatment of individuals?
What inequities with regards to social determinants exist between specific populations in the community?
Why is it important to acknowledge these inequities when determining interventions to improve a population health issue?
Assess an evidence-based treatment model that addresses a population health need.
Describe an evidence-based treatment model to address the health need.
Be explicit in your descriptions, pointing out the identifying characteristics of the model.
How can you tell that the model belongs in the treatment model category?
Explain why the treatment-based model is a potentially effective intervention for your identified health need. Comment on advantages and disadvantages of the treatment model.
Assess an evidence-based wellness model for preventing development of a future population-health problem.
Describe an evidence-based wellness model to prevent future development of the health problem. Be explicit in your descriptions, pointing out the identifying characteristics of the model.
How can you tell that the model belongs in the wellness model category?
Explain why the wellness-based model is a potentially effective intervention for your identified health need. Comment on advantages and disadvantages of the wellness model.
Create a 12-18-slide presentation for community stakeholders in which you recommend a strategy to address a community health need.
As the needs of the patient population change, the United States healthcare system remains relatively unchanged. Episodes of care are still relatively low in frequency and high in acuity (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016). Models of care must be changed. Treatments of chronic health conditions and preventative strategies require more frequent visits at a lower intensity (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016). Continuity
of care and care transitions maintain an ongoing, consistent contact with patients throughout their lives, not only when they are ill (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016). A population health perspective that focuses on chronic health conditions and prevention is needed to improve care transitions (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016). Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs) are two models emerging from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that help focus on chronic diseases and population health (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016).
An underlying assumption in version population and patient-centered models is that patients will adhere to the plan they develop with their provider; however, some behaviors may be difficult for patients to change. Unhealthy behaviors such as poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, and drug use have negative implications for health. Although many patients want to change their diet and exercise behaviors, many find it extremely difficult to do so. Health care providers must work with patients to understand what causes patients to exhibit certain behaviors and how they can be motivated to change these behaviors (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016).
The American Marketing Association (AMA) (2017) defines marketing as the processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging products and services for key stakeholders and society in general. The “4 Ps”—product, place, price, and promotion—are the primarily elements of marketing. Unlike a traditional consumer product such as an automobile, a health care “product” is more difficult to define.
In population health, an example of a product could be training health care providers to reduce obesity across the population. The place refers to where the health care service will be provided, such as an office, the home of a patient, or a community health center.
The price consists of two components: 1) the actual out-of-pocket price the consumer must pay for the service and 2) the opportunity cost, such as convenience. Finally, promotion refers to the method that is used to disseminate the message such as radio, TV, print and, most recently, social media and the Internet (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, & Clarke, 2016). To achieve the goals of population health, community needs must first be assessed and the health care “marketing mix” tailored to the needs of that community.
Reference
American Marketing Association (AMA). (2017). About AMA: Definition of marketing. Retrieved from https://www.ama.org/AboutAMA/Pages/Definition-of- Marketing.aspx
Nash, D. B., Fabius, R. J., Skoufalos, A., & Clarke, J. L. (2016). Population health: Creating a culture of wellness (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Competency 1: Integrate principles of epidemiology, population health, and community engagement to plan interventions.
Assess the target audience for recommended community health strategies.
Recommend strategies to mobilize community engagement including a promotion strategy and use of social media and information technology.
Competency 3: Create an action plan to promote wellness and disease management in a diverse population.
Define SMART goals for implementation of a community health need intervention. Analyze collaboration required to implement a community health strategy.
Recommend potential sources of funding and other resources.
Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with expectations for health care professionals.
Employ appropriate written and visual communication to convey content to an intended audience. Write following APA style for in-text citation, quotes, and references.
Note: It is recommended that you complete the assessments in this course in the order they are presented.
In this assessment, you will be creating a PowerPoint presentation to deliver to one or more groups of community stakeholders. You will recommend
a strategy to address the community health need you have been working with throughout the Analyze Community Health Needs and Potential Community Health Interventions assessments. You will focus on the strategy that best fits the needs of the target population within the context of the community and organization you have been using as the setting for your assessments.
To help prepare yourself to be successful when creating your PowerPoint, it is recommended that you complete the following:
Determine the single, best strategy to implement in your community. This should be one of the two interventions you identified and wrote about for your Potential Community Health Interventions assessment.
Determine which community stakeholders would be the best target audience for the PowerPoint.
Think about which populations or groups within the community will be receiving the intervention. Think about which stakeholders are vital for successful implementation of your chosen intervention.
Ensure you have an understanding on how to create a quality PowerPoint presentation. Capella’s Microsoft Office Software help page offers a number of guides and resources.
Contact Disability Services to request accommodations if you require the use of assistive technology or alternative communication methods to participate in these activities.
Instructions
Create an 8–12 slide PowerPoint to inform and create buy-in from the stakeholder groups you have determined are key to your chosen intervention’s success. These groups include those who influence decisions for funding and implementation, as well as those who would take direct roles in implementation.
As you work to determine the single, best strategy to implement for your chosen health need in the identified population (or populations) in your community, focus on how this presentation can narrow the focus from a broad population need to specific, actionable tasks that community stakeholders must consider before creating an action plan. In your presentation, be sure to consider factors such as educational outreach, financial considerations, and information technology.
Consult the scoring guide to ensure that you are addressing all criteria at the level to which you desire. In your PowerPoint, be sure to complete the following.
Assess the target audience for recommended community-health strategies. Define SMART goals for implementation of a community-health need intervention.
You may wish work through the Evidence-Based Strategies and SMART Goals activity to check your understanding about the various
characteristics of well-written SMART goals.
Analyze collaboration required to implement a community-health strategy.
Recommend strategies to mobilize community engagement, including a promotion strategy and use of social media and information technology. Recommend potential sources of funding and other resources.
Employ appropria
Access to quality healthcare services is a constitutional right and a subject of economic scrutiny. In this sense, it is essential to incorporate principles of demand and supply to determine efficiency, effectiveness, values, and consumer preferences regarding healthcare. Another justification for embracing health economics is to account for national and global expenditures for healthcare services, equipment, and infrastructure.
Since everybody has the right to access quality care, countries invest massively in addressing social determinants of health that influence populations’ willingness to pay for healthcare services and insurance premiums. Despite these justifications, economists face a daunting endeavor when integrating standard principles of demand and supply into healthcare because it sometimes circumvents these guidelines due to underlying factors that influence accessibility, affordability, and quality.
As a result, this paper compares supply and demand for healthcare services and an automobile while emphasizing current legislative trends and the impacts of different reimbursement models on services demand and supply.
Demand refers to the consumers’ desire to purchase goods and services alongside their willingness to pay the price for specific goods or services. On the other hand, supply entails the number of goods or services available to customers at a given price when other factors are constant. When discussing demand and supply for a particular good or service, it is essential to consider price/cost as the primary factor influencing an individual’s purchase power.
However, it is fundamental to approach the demand and supply for healthcare as uniquely different from other consumer entities like automobiles due to various distinctive features. According to Folland et al. (2017), demand and supply for healthcare services are partially consistent with the normal economic principles due to the presence of uncertainties, prominence of insurance, the problem of information, restrictions on competition, government subsidies, and public provisions, and the ever-expanding roles of non-profit firms.
As noted earlier, the demand for healthcare services often circumvents the standard principles of economics. In this sense, factors influencing consumers’ willingness to pay for services extend beyond the service price. Folland et al. (2017) contend that healthcare differs from other goods because consumers do not respond to financial incentives (p. 42).
However, price matters when it comes to accessibility to healthcare services because people are willing to access more services when they become less costly in terms of out-of-pocket expenses. At this point, government incentives and insurance premiums significantly lower out-of-pocket costs, increasing demand for quality care services.
When considering how prices influence demand for healthcare services, it is clear that similar trends manifest in the automobile industry since the demand for care increases with decreased costs and vice versa. The inverse relationship between price and demand is consistent in almost all consumer goods, including healthcare services and automobiles.
Another similarity between healthcare services and automobiles is the role of personal income in determining individual purchase power. When income increases, customers are more willing and able to pay for healthcare services and insurance premiums. Similarly, increased income translates to higher demand for expensive automobiles if other factors are constant.
Complements are related goods or services whose changes influence the demand for complementary goods or services (Ghorban, 2021). Consumers’ access to various complementary services is common in healthcare because they guarantee care coordination and quality. For example, the demand for contact lenses may influence the number of optometrist visits at a given time.
Considering the demand for complementary goods, such as fuel and spare parts, is essential before settling on a specific automotive model in the automobile industry. To sum up the synergies between complementary goods and services, it is possible to argue that an increase in price for a good or service translates to decreased demand for its complement in a perfect market.
Similarly, the availability of substitute goods and services determines the demand for healthcare services and automobiles. In this sense, a substitute is a good or a service that offers similar characteristics and satisfies the same wants. Substitutes include generic drugs and service providers providing similar services in the healthcare sector.
In the automobile industry, substitutes may be competing for car models that claim market share by providing many sought-after features. According to Ghorban (2021), people are willing to demand a substitute product if it proves more effective than its alternatives. As a result, an increase in price for a product or service will prompt customers to favor alternatives, increasing their demand. The inverse relationship between the price of one product or service and the subsequent demand for its alternative (s) applies to healthcare and automobiles.
Individual perceptions of quality significantly influence demand for healthcare services and automobiles. When purchasing a car, evaluating quality measures such as fuel consumption, technology, energy efficiency, and safety factors is possible. In this sense, such factors influence individual willingness to pay for a particular model.
In the healthcare sector, patients’ perceptions of quality rely massively on care coordination, timeliness, proceed efficiency, and the plausibility of achieving positive medical outcomes and improved health. Other healthcare quality indicators are service price, accessibility, and policies for improving healthcare services. When services and goods satisfy individual preferences, customers become more interested in making purchases, increasing their demand.
A demand curve illustrates healthcare services and automobiles in a hypothetical market for a given period. In this sense, it is possible to determine the interactions between factors that influence customers’ ability to pay for services or goods. When comparing the demand curve for healthcare services and automobiles, it is essential to note the similarities and differences between the two industries.
As earlier stated, the healthcare sector sometimes circumvents these basic principles of economics because of the underlying factors such as the role of government in controlling prices, insufficient information by customers, insurance, and the perception of health as an investment. However, the two Industries share various factors that influence demand.
An increase in price for healthcare services or automobiles reduces demand, making the curve shift to the left side. Similarly, increasing income enables consumers to pay for cars or healthcare services, increasing their demand. Therefore, the curve shifts to the right upon increased customer income. Finally, an increase in price for substitutes services and goods increases the demand for alternatives, shifting their curves to the right.
Although price, substitutes, complements, and income influence the demand for healthcare services, there are exceptions where these factors do not influence the demand for services. According to Folland et al. (2017), patients may ignore the impact of increased prices for healthcare services because health is an investment rather than an expense.
In this sense, people are willing to pay for services regardless of their prices when the need arises. This factor renders healthcare services inelastic, meaning the demand curve would not shift to the left even after increasing the price of services. Conversely, the automobile industry is highly elastic, meaning customers make trade-offs and consider options following upsurging prices that make the demand curve shift to the left.
Supply refers to the number of goods and the nature of services available to customers at a given price for a particular time. Healthcare providers such as drug manufacturers and caregivers determine supplies depending on various factors, including technological change, inputs price, industry size, insurance coverage, and prices of production-related goods (Folland et al., 2019, p. 61).
On the other hand, technological changes, input prices, and production-related goods determine the supply of automobiles. Although these industries share factors that influence the supply of goods and services, the healthcare sector contains additional aspects, including coinsurance and indemnity insurance, that reduce out-of-pocket expenses, affecting subsequent supplies.
Advanced technologies, input prices, and production-related goods result in increased supply to maximize profit. An increase in supply shifts the supply curve to the right and vice versa. Healthcare services are prone to advancing technologies, leading to increased supply and enhanced services. Also, increasing input prices in labor and processes prompt health organizations to increase supply to match these developments. Similarly, these trends consistently determine the supply of automobiles.
However, healthcare services are prone to exogenous factors that alter the movement of the supply curve. For instance, coinsurance and indemnity insurance reduce out-of-pocket expenses, increasing the supply shifting the curve towards the right. Another factor that increases the supply of healthcare services is the improvement of transport and communication systems that allow people to access services and vice versa.
Medicare and Medicaid are the most prominent policies determining the demand and supply of healthcare services in the United States. According to Guth et al. (2020), studies show that Medicaid and Medicare increase access to care, enhance health outcomes, strengthen providers’ capacity, and guarantee financial security by reducing out-of-pocket expenses.
As stated earlier, reducing out-of-pocket expenses by subsiding care services through insurance premiums increases demand for quality care while strengthening providers’ capacity to provide quality care. More significantly, Medicaid expansion policies proposed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 are fundamental in addressing the problem of uninsured and underinsured populations. As a result, these policy priorities consistently increase the supply and demand for quality care services by guaranteeing access to coinsurance and comprehensive coverage for various health services.
Although Medicare and Medicaid legislation increases demand and supply for healthcare services, some states are yet to expand Medicaid, meaning they still grapple with the high rate of uninsured and underinsured populations. According to Shrank et al. (2020), states face various challenges in implementing ACA provisions, including high premium rates, stagnant wages, growing national debts, and strained local budgets. These constraints contribute to difficulties when paying for insurance premiums.
Eventually, uninsured people affect the demand and supply of healthcare services by increasing uncompensated care. Although the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) of 1986 requires healthcare organizations to provide emergency care to patients regardless of their insurance status and ability to pay, high rates of uninsured patients lead to increased uncompensated costs that reduce organizational capacity to provide quality care.
In the United States, employers, private insurance companies, national and state governments, and patients are the main payers of healthcare services. In this sense, employers, the national government, and states reimburse healthcare services through various models, including the Beveridge system (national health model), the Bismarck system (social insurance model), and private insurance. On the other hand, uninsured patients pay for healthcare services primarily through the out-of-pocket model (Crowley et al., 2020). These reimbursement models have varied effects on the supply and demand for healthcare services.
The national health insurance model entails a scenario where the government acts as a single-payer to provide universal coverage. This system improves demand and supply for healthcare services by creating affordable premiums that enable people to access quality care. On the other hand, the Bismarck system entails compulsory enrollment insurance plans that cover employees. It contributes to financial security, access to quality care, and a high demand for reliable services. Finally, private insurance and out-of-pocket models allow people to purchase insurance premiums from their income. These reimbursement models are expensive and inefficient for people of low income, reducing their demand for healthcare services.
The demand and supply for healthcare services rely massively upon various endogenous and exogenous factors, including government policies, insurance, consumer preferences, income, prices, and the availability of complements and substitutes. Unlike other consumer goods and products such as automobiles, healthcare services are prone to uncertainties, lack of consumer information, non-profit motives, restrictions on competition, and consumer ignorance. These factors affect the supply and demand curves for healthcare services. When considering the effects of these factors, it is possible to understand the role of current policies such as Medicare and Medicaid on the demand and supply of healthcare services.
Crowley, R., Daniel, H., Cooney, T., & Engel, L. (2020). Envisioning a better U.S. Health care system for all: Coverage and cost of care. Annals Of Internal Medicine, 172(2_Supplement), S7. https://doi.org/10.7326/m19-2415
Folland, S., Goodman, A., & Stano, M. (2017). The economics of health and health care (8th ed.). Routledge.
Ghorbani, A. (2021). Demand for Health and Healthcare. Healthcare Access, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98915
Guth, M., Garfield, R., & Rudowitz, R. (2020). The effects of Medicaid expansion under the ACA: Updated findings from a literature review (pp. 1–100). KFF. https://files.kff.org/attachment/Report-The-Effects-of-Medicaid-Expansion-under-the-ACA-Updated-Findings-from-a-Literature-Review.pdf
Shrank, W., DeParle, N., Gottlieb, S., Jain, S., Orszag, P., Powers, B., & Wilensky, G. (2021). Health costs and financing: Challenges and strategies for a new administration. Health Affairs, 40(2), 235-242. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01560
Write 7-9 pages that compare different models of supply and demand, as well as analyze how legislation and reimbursement methods impact supply and demand for health care.
As we take a closer look at the demand side of economics, we will consider how need versus demand is different and how this impacts planning and policy in the health care environment. Demand is typically initiated by the patient; however, provider involvement significantly impacts demand. Since the patient is dependent on the provider for expertise and medical opinion, there is a risk that demand will be increased. This is unique to the health care industry since consumers are not typically as dependent on the supplier of a service in other industries when making a purchase.
Another important driver of demand is the insurance company. Patients initiate the health care service but are not responsible to pay the bill—and this has the potential to skew the demand curve. This is one of the ideas behind high-deductible health care and the effort to control the consumption of services by making the patient responsible for a higher percentage of the overall bill. Finally, you will be offered an opportunity to think about the implications of free medical care and how that may impact the demand for health care services.
Like the demand curve, the health care field presents unique and interesting challenges to the supply of health care. You will be introduced to the concept of economic efficiency and the impact of inefficiencies on cost. The production function will be further explored, which is the relationship between the output of a product or service compared to the resources used to produce it (Feldstein, 2012). Competition, market structure, market performance, and public policies as they relate to the supply of health care services will be discussed as well.
The evolution of health care insurance has impact aspects health care economics such as price competition, medical loss ratios, and risk. As you prepare to complete the assessment consider the role that copays, coinsurance, and deductibles play on the demand curve and reflect on your opinions related to the effectiveness of high-deductible health plans in controlling the demand of health care services.
Reference
Feldstein, P. J. (2012). Health care economics (7th ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Analyze historical perspectives and current trends in the health care industry.
Explain current legislative trends that influence the supply and demand of health care. Competency 2: Assess the United States health care system from an economic perspective.
Compare and contrast the demand of health care services with the demand of an automobile.
Compare and contrast the supply of health care services with the supply of an automobile. Competency 3: Analyze the evolving economic reimbursement trends, methods, and technology.
Analyze reimbursement methods that influence the supply and demand of health care services.
Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with expectations for health care professionals.
Write following APA style for in-text citation, quotes, and references.
Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
The basic economic laws of supply and demand do not work the same way in the health care industry as they do in other industries. A few of the contributing issues include: demand cannot be restricted to only those with an ability to pay since health care is considered a basic human right (need versus demand), demand is increased due to a third party (insurance or government) that pays for the service, and our supply is limited based on a highly skilled human resource variable (physicians).
In this assessment, you will consider these contributing issues and others that you identify in your research as they relate to the free market. Compare and contrast the laws of supply and demand of the health care industry with that of the automobile industry and explain how the economic structure of the health care industry is different from other industries. Reviewing the following media pieces may help to solidify your understanding of the economic concepts and industries relevant to this assessment.
Health Care Supply and Demand | Transcript. Supply, Demand, & Reimbursement | Transcript.
Also, make sure to consult the scoring guide to make sure you are meeting the communication criteria and achieving at your desired rubric level.
Identify the key contributing factors that determine supply of health care
Written Communication: Prepare an assessment free of errors that detract from the overall message, with writing that is clear, precise, and scholarly. Concepts flow in a logical order.
References: Cite at least three references from peer-reviewed journals, in addition to your text.
Length: Submit 7–9 pages.
APA: Use correct APA style and formatting. You may wish to use or consult the following: APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX].
APA Style Paper Template [DOCX]. APA Style and Format.
Related Assignments:
BHA-FPX 4112 Assessment 3 Instructions: National Health Insurance in the United States
Access to quality healthcare services is a constitutional right and a subject of economic scrutiny. In this sense, it is essential to incorporate principles of demand and supply to determine efficiency, effectiveness, values, and consumer preferences regarding healthcare. Another justification for embracing health economics is to account for national and global expenditures for healthcare services, equipment, and infrastructure.
Since everybody has the right to access quality care, countries invest massively in addressing social determinants of health that influence populations’ willingness to pay for healthcare services and insurance premiums. Despite these justifications, economists face a daunting endeavor when integrating standard principles of demand and supply to healthcare because it sometimes circumvents these guidelines due to underlying factors that influence accessibility, affordability, and quality.
As a result, this paper compares supply and demand for healthcare services and an automobile while emphasizing current legislative trends and the impacts of different reimbursement models on services demand and supply.
Demand refers to the consumers’ desire to purchase goods and services alongside their willingness to pay the price for specific goods or services. On the other hand, supply entails the number of goods or services available to customers at a given price when other factors are constant. When discussing demand and supply for a particular good or service, it is essential to consider price/cost as the primary factor influencing an individual’s purchase power.
However, it is fundamental to approach the demand and supply for healthcare as uniquely different from other consumer entities like automobiles due to various distinctive features. According to Folland, Goodman & Stano (2017), demand and supply for healthcare services are partially consistent with the normal economic principles due to the presence of uncertainties, prominence of insurance, the problem of information, restrictions on competition, government subsidies, and public provisions, and the ever-expanding roles of non-profit firms.
As noted earlier, the demand for healthcare services often circumvents the standard principles of economics. In this sense, factors influencing consumers’ willingness to pay for services extend beyond the service price. Folland, Goodman & Stano (2017) contend that healthcare differs from other goods because consumers do not respond to financial incentives (p. 42).
However, price matters when it comes to accessibility to healthcare services because people are willing to access more services when they become less costly in terms of out-of-pocket expenses. At this point, government incentives and insurance premiums significantly lower out-of-pocket costs, increasing demand for quality care services.
When considering how prices influence demand for healthcare services, it is clear that similar trends manifest in the automobile industry since the demand for care increases with decreased price and vice versa. In this, the inverse relationship between price and demand is consistent in almost all consumer goods, including healthcare services and automobiles.
Another similarity between healthcare services and automobiles is the role of personal income in determining individual purchase power. When income increases, customers are more willing and able to pay for healthcare services and insurance premiums. Similarly, increased income translates to higher demand for the expensive automobile if other factors are constant.
Complements are related goods or services whose changes influence the demand for complementary goods or services (Ghorban, 2021). Consumers’ access to various complementary services is common in healthcare because they guarantee care coordination and quality. For example, the demand for contact lenses may influence the number of optometrist visits at a given time.
It is essential to consider the demand for complementary goods such as fuel and spare parts before settling on a specific automotive model in the automobile industry. To sum up the synergies between complementary goods and services, it is possible to argue that an increase in price for a good or service translates to decreased demand for its complement in a perfect market.
Similarly, the availability of substitute goods and services determines the demand for healthcare services and automobiles. In this sense, a substitute is a good or a service that offers similar characteristics and satisfy the same wants. Substitutes include generic drugs and service providers providing similar services in the healthcare sector. In the automobile industry, substitutes may be competing for car models that claim market share by providing many sought-after features.
According to Ghorban (2021), people are willing to demand a substitute product if it proves more effective than its alternatives. As a result, an increase in price for a product or service will prompt customers to favor alternatives, increasing their demand. The inverse relationship between the price of one product or service and the subsequent demand for its alternative (s) applies to healthcare and automobiles.
Individual perceptions of quality significantly influence demand for healthcare services and automobiles. When purchasing a car, it is possible to evaluate quality measures such as fuel consumption, technology, energy efficiency, and safety factors. In this sense, such factors influence individual willingness to pay for a particular model.
In the healthcare sector, patients’ perceptions of quality rely massively on care coordination, timeliness, proceed efficiency, and the plausibility of achieving positive medical outcomes and improved health. Other healthcare quality indicators are service price, accessibility, and policies for improving healthcare services. When services and goods satisfy individual preferences, customers become more interested in making purchases, increasing their demand.
A demand curve illustrates healthcare services and automobiles in a hypothetical market for a given period. In this sense, it is possible to determine the interactions between factors that influence customers’ ability to pay for services or goods. When comparing the demand curve for healthcare services and automobiles, it is essential to note the similarities and differences between the two industries.
As earlier stated, the healthcare sector sometimes circumvents these basic principles of economics because of the underlying factors such as the role of government in controlling prices, insufficient information by customers, insurance, and the perception of health as an investment. However, the two Industries share various factors that influence demand.
An increase in price for healthcare services or automobiles reduces demand making the curve shift to the left side. Similarly, an increase in income enables consumers to pay for cars or healthcare services, increasing their demand. Therefore, the curve shifts to the right upon increased customer income. Finally, an increase in price for substitutes services and goods increases the demand for alternatives, making their curves shift to the right.
Although price, substitutes, complements, and income influence the demand for healthcare services, there are exceptions where these factors do not influence the demand for services. According to Folland, Goodman & Stano (2017), patients may ignore the impact of increased prices for healthcare services because health is an investment rather than an expense.
In this sense, people are willing to pay for services regardless of their prices when the need arises. This factor renders healthcare services inelastic, meaning the demand curve would not shift to the left even after increasing the price of services. Conversely, the automobile industry is highly elastic, meaning customers make trade-offs and consider options following upsurging prices that make the demand curve shift to the left.
Supply refers to the number of goods and the nature of services available to customers at a given price for a particular time. Healthcare providers such as drug manufacturers and caregivers determine supplies depending on various factors, including technological change, inputs price, industry size, insurance coverage, and prices of production-related goods (Folland, Goodman & Stano, 2019, p. 61).
On the other hand, technological changes, input prices, and production-related goods determine the supply of automobiles. Although these industries share factors that influence the supply of goods and services, the healthcare sector contains additional aspects, including coinsurance and indemnity insurance that reduce out-of-pocket expenses, affecting the subsequent supplies.
Advanced technologies, inputs prices, and production-related goods result in increased supply to maximize profit. An increase in supply makes the supply curve shift to the right and vice versa. Healthcare services are prone to advancing technologies that lead to increased supply and enhanced services. Also, increasing inputs prices in labor and processes prompt health organizations to increase supply to match these developments. Similarly, these trends consistently determine the supply of automobiles.
However, healthcare services are prone to exogenous factors that alter the movement of the supply curve. For instance, coinsurance and indemnity insurance reduce out-of-pocket expenses, increasing the supply, shifting the curve towards the right. Another factor that increases the supply for healthcare services is the improvement of transport and communication systems that allow people to access services and vice versa.
Medicare and Medicaid are the most prominent policies determining the demand and supply for healthcare services in the United States. According to Guth, Garfield & Rudowitz (2020), studies show that Medicaid and Medicare increase access to care, enhance health outcomes, strengthen providers’ capacity, and guarantee financial security by reducing out-of-pocket expenses. As stated earlier, reducing out-of-pocket expenses by subsiding care services through insurance premiums increases demand for quality care while strengthening providers’ capacity to provide quality care.
More significantly, Medicaid expansion policies proposed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 are fundamental in addressing the problem of uninsured and underinsured populations. As a result, these policy priorities consistently increase the supply and demand for quality care services by guaranteeing access to coinsurance and comprehensive coverage for various health services.
Although Medicare and Medicaid legislation increases demand and supply for healthcare services, some states are yet to expand Medicaid, meaning they still grapple with the high rate of uninsured and underinsured populations. According to Shrank et al. (2020), states face various challenges implementing ACA provisions, including high premium rates, stagnant wages, growing national debts, and strained local budgets. These constraints contribute to difficulties when paying for insurance premiums.
Eventually, uninsured people affect demand and supply for healthcare services by increasing uncompensated care. Although the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) of 1986 requires healthcare organizations to provide emergency care to patients regardless of their insurance status and ability to pay, high rates of uninsured patients lead to increased uncompensated costs that reduce organizational capacity to provide quality care.
In the United States, employers, private insurance companies, national and state governments, and patients are the main payers of healthcare services. In this sense, employers, the national government, and states reimburse healthcare services through various models, including, Beveridge system (national health model), the Bismarck system (social insurance model), and private insurance. On the other hand, uninsured patients pay for healthcare services primarily through the out-of-pocket model (Crowley et al., 2020). These reimbursement models have varied effects on the supply and demand for healthcare services.
The national health insurance model entails a scenario where the government acts as a single-payer to provide universal coverage. This system improves demand and supply for healthcare services by creating affordable premiums that enable people to access quality care. On the other hand, the Bismarck system entails compulsory enrollment insurance plans that cover employees. It contributes to financial security, access to quality care, and high demand for reliable services. Finally, private insurance and out-of-pocket models allow people to purchase insurance premiums from their income. These reimbursement models are expensive and inefficient for people of low income, reducing their demand for healthcare services.
The demand and supply for healthcare services rely massively upon various endogenous and exogenous factors, including government policies, insurance, consumer preferences, income, prices, and the availability of complements and substitutes. Unlike other consumer goods and products such as automobiles, healthcare services are prone to uncertainties, lack of consumer information, non-profit motives, restrictions on competition, and consumer ignorance. These factors affect the supply and demand curves for healthcare services. When considering the effects of these factors, it is possible to understand the role of current policies such as Medicare and Medicaid on the demand and supply for healthcare services.
Crowley, R., Daniel, H., Cooney, T., & Engel, L. (2020). Envisioning a better U.S. Health care system for all: Coverage and cost of care. Annals Of Internal Medicine, 172(2_Supplement), S7. https://doi.org/10.7326/m19-2415
Folland, S., Goodman, A., & Stano, M. (2017). The economics of health and health care (8th ed.). Routledge.
Ghorbani, A. (2021). Demand for Health and Healthcare. Healthcare Access, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98915
Guth, M., Garfield, R., & Rudowitz, R. (2020). The effects of Medicaid expansion under the ACA: Updated findings from a literature review (pp. 1-100). KFF. https://files.kff.org/attachment/Report-The-Effects-of-Medicaid-Expansion-under-the-ACA-Updated-Findings-from-a-Literature-Review.pdf
Shrank, W., DeParle, N., Gottlieb, S., Jain, S., Orszag, P., Powers, B., & Wilensky, G. (2021). Health costs and financing: Challenges and strategies for a new administration. Health Affairs, 40(2), 235-242. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01560
Write a 2-4-page executive summary recommending resource investment in a program based on its potential to deliver positive health and economic outcomes.
As a health care professional, you must have a foundational, high-level understanding of health care economics:
One part of this foundation comes from understanding:
The basic laws of economics as they apply to the health care industry.
How the health care system creates unique economic challenges and burdens on all stakeholders.
Another part of this foundation comes from understanding:
The history and trends in health care economics around such topics as the role of the government and government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
Trends in patient payments.
The resulting changes in health care expenditures, as well as areas for improvement in the health care system (Feldstein, 2012).
Another key is understanding the concepts and processes involved in the production of health care: Multiple inputs influence health and wellness.
Medical care is only one input, although a significant one.
The health production function and decision rules for allocating health care resources is a key component of the first assessment in this course. For this assessment, think about the ways in which health production efficiency, both technical and economical, can help drive decisions on the allocation of resources (inputs) to drive improved patient health and results (outcomes) (Feldstein, 2012).
Reference
Feldstein, P. J. (2012). Health care economics (7th ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Analyze historical perspectives and current trends in the health care industry.
Describe the current state of a health care organization with regards to alignments to historical health care industry trends. Explain how a health care organization needs to change to better align itself with current trends in the health care industry.
Competency 3: Analyze the evolving economic reimbursement trends, methods, and technology.
Analyze two current programs in a health care setting with regards to the inputs required to operate and its outputs with regards to health outcome rates and patients served.
Competency 4: Analyze how economic and stakeholder influences affect operational planning and decision making.
Propose whether to reallocate, maintain, or increase funding for current programs based upon available resources and projects outputs. Explain how opinions and agendas of stakeholders influence decisions related to the funding of programs in a health care setting.
Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is
consistent with expectations for health care professionals.
Write following APA style for in-text citation, quotes, and references.
Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
The ability to research, examine, and determine the most efficient ways to allocate resources in order to produce to best health outcomes is a key competency for health care economic professionals. In the complex field of health care, there will always be multiple ways and multiple programs in which an organization can invest resources.
It is the health care economics professional’s responsibility to examine the cost of the inputs in comparison to the historic or projected output of health and then make recommendations regarding investment. Looking at investment is not always entirely about the amount of positive outputs—technical efficiency, economic efficiency, and stakeholder priorities will all also play a part (Feldstein, 2012). Being able to not only understand and crunch the numbers, but also navigate these other considerations, is vital in becoming an effective health care economics professional.
You are a health care economics professional with specific expertise in using a health production function to allocate resources. A member of the Board of Directors has asked you to prepare an executive summary that will help the board understand the current practices of the organization and where the organization should align itself in light of current and emerging trends.
Additionally, you have been asked to analyze the inputs and outputs of two current programs in the organization in order to make allocation recommendations about how to best utilize the available resources to achieve the best possible outputs for the programs.
This assessment has three main parts:
The first part is your examination of the organization’s current practices and alignments with historical health care trends, as well as how the organization needs to change to align itself with current and emerging
If you have not already, it may be helpful to complete the formative activity to check your understanding of the economic concepts relevant to this assessment.
Economic Elements in Health Care | Transcript.
Consult the scoring guide to make sure you are meeting the communication criteria and achieving your desired rubric level.
Describe the current state of a health care organization with regards to alignments to historical health care industry trends. (Competency 1)
For this, use either an organization that you currently or previously had worked for, have researched as an organization you would like to work for in the future, or one that was present in the textbook or other research you conducted.
Explain how a health care organization needs to change to better align itself with current trends in the health care industry. (Competency 1)
Continue using the organization that you described to meet the first scoring guide criteria.
Analyze two current programs in a health care setting with regards to the inputs required to operate and its outputs with regards to health outcome rates and patients served. (Competency 3)
As noted in the instructions above, you may use program examples from your textbook, your own research, or your own organization. Be sure you choose examples for which you can report the inputs, outputs, and approximate patients served.
Propose whether to reallocate, maintain, or increase funding for current programs based upon available resources and projects outputs. (Competency 4)
Use the two programs you analyzed in Part II. It will be helpful to cite evidence (literature, your textbook, or current health improvement initiatives [like those being pursued via your state’s Department of Health] to help support your proposals.
Explain how opinions and agendas of stakeholders influence decisions related to the funding of programs in a health care setting. (Competency 4) Make explicit reference to the stakeholders and their statements in the Scenario section for this assessment, or to specific examples from your current or former career experiences.
Written Communication: Prepare an executive summary free of errors that detract from the overall message. Writing must be clear, precise, and scholarly, with concepts that flow in a logical order.
References: Cite at least three references from peer-reviewed journals, in addition to your text.
Length: Submit a 2–3-page executive summary, not including any title or reference page.
APA: Use correct APA style and formatting. You may find it helpful to use the following: APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX].
APA Style Paper Template [DOCX].
APA Style and Format.
Related Assignments:
BHA-FPX 4112 Assessment 3 Instructions: National Health Insurance in the United States