The quality of healthcare and safety in the United States varies depending on the location of hospital. In general, healthcare quality depends on good medical attention. It means that efficiency, safety, and quick response are part and parcel of healthcare quality. At the same time, patient safety refers to preventing errors in a medical facility that may cause harm or adverse effects on the patient (Bates et al., 2018). Overall, the United States has a poor performance regarding providing quality healthcare and ensuring its patient safety. This paper identifies three significant reasons for bad-quality healthcare and provides its two elements to improve medical service, which are the provision of essential medication and immunization against major infectious diseases.
Firstly, the high cost of treatment in America makes hospital services unaffordable for people. Many citizens in the country belong to the middle class, meaning their salary is not enough to afford quality medical services. In other words, most people accumulate for medical emergencies and thus cannot afford the expensive cost of treatment (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [ODPHP], n.d.). One person out of 10 lacks health insurance and, consequently, is less likely to have a primary care provider (Lee et al., 2021). In general, people cannot afford the high cost of treatment and medication in the country.
Secondly, the inequality in the provision of health care in the United States damages healthcare quality. People in low-income areas get less medical attention than those in high-end locations. Moreover, people living in high crime-rated areas, are lack medical personnel. Besides, the facilities that have them lack suitable types of equipment for treatment (Lee et al., 2021). An adequate health system infrastructure is a critical factor that impacts healthcare quality. Many people in the United States cannot access quality healthcare within a short radius of their homes. Living too far from healthcare providers is a significant inconvenience for patients to get medical attention when needed.
Third, the problem of a lack of medications in the hospitals leads to poor quality of healthcare. In the United States, many health institutions do not have enough medicines to serve their patients. Patients in the United States also face the challenge of lack of health insurance coverage. Sometimes people do not get recommended health care services, like cancer screenings, because they do not have a primary care provider. Poor training of medical personnel and healthcare providers poses a threat to the safety of patients. Medical practitioners, in some cases, lack the proper knowledge concerning a patient, endangering their safety and health (Kuriakose, 2020). Lack of skills on how to use medical equipment in the hospitals also threatens patients’ health, jeopardizing the quality of healthcare and safety.
There are essential elements that government and other shareholders should focus on to improve the healthcare system in the country. Two elements of healthcare that need to be significantly enhanced are the provision of essential medication and immunization against major infectious diseases. By conducting immunization campaigns against infectious diseases, the government can prevent the spread of infectious diseases and reduce the number of new infections. (Pati et al., 2018). It means that the number of people being treated for that disease lowers, and the country cuts costs for treatment. Providing medicines helps reduce the number of people hospitalized and the number of people being treated.
The provision of necessary medicines will improve the quality of healthcare, since they are the main element in treatment. To determine the success of quality improvement efforts, each element of healthcare should be benchmarked. This will allow the government to monitor the progress and the usefulness of the method used. Measuring the availability of essential medicines at facilities is one of the core components of these assessments. Observing the availability of at least one valid medicine unit across medical facilities is a viable way to evaluate. The availability of treatment can also be assessed by asking patients to take surveys and record their findings. This will help the surveyors find the kinds of readily available drugs that need to be restocked.
Regarding immunization, benchmarking should be done in terms of states and cities. This may involve training medical practitioners who can go around administering vaccinations and also teaching the public about the disease. Immunization effectively reduces the infection mortality rate and boosts the body’s immunity against the disease (Pati et al., 2018). Conducting a door-to-door vaccination exercise would ensure that most houses are covered. This will effectively benchmark and determine how many people vaccinate within a certain period.
In conclusion, the United States government should develop ways to promote the provision of quality healthcare, thus improving the quality of life for their citizens. It should also promote equity and adequate medical attention to everyone regardless of their living conditions, race, or background. The government must create and implement measures in medical facilities that protect and promote the safety of patients. Creating initiatives that encourage the immunization of children would also reduce death rates among children and infections later on in life.
References
Bates, D. W., & Singh, H. (2018). Two decades since to err is human: an assessment of progress and emerging priorities in patient safety. Health Affairs, 37(11), 1736-1743.
Kuriakose, R., Aggarwal, A., Sohi, R. K., Goel, R., Rashmi, N. C., & Gambhir, R. S. (2020). Patient safety in primary and outpatient health care. Journal of family medicine and primary care, 9(1), Web.
Lee, D. C., Liang, H., & Shi, L. (2021). The convergence of racial and income disparities in health insurance coverage in the United States. International journal for equity in health, 20(1), Web.
Healthy People 2030. (n.d.). Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Web.
Pati, R., Shevtsov, M., & Sonawane, A. (2018). Nanoparticle vaccines against infectious diseases. Frontiers in immunology, 9, 2224.