Health Care System

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Interesting and somewhat complex question, indeed. Please see response attached (ALSO BELOW). I hope this helps and take care.

RESPONSE:

1. What basic service components are necessary in order for a healthcare system to be considered complete?

This is somewhat controversial, as there is no consensus on what makes a good or complete healthcare system, as no model will fit every healthcare facility. Gillies argues, for example, that no one model healthcare system can exist since basic needs and meeting patient expectations are two separate things (http://www.ijic.org/publish/articles/000177/index.html). Thus, it depends in part on the perspective one defines complete: economic or patient centered. Perhaps a model that considers both is the most useful model.

In the following example, from an economic perspective, four service components are considered necessary for a healthcare system to be considered complete:

(1) Method of payment for easy assess by all
(2) Delivery of quality services and care and services
(3) System needs to be integrated
(4) Flexibility

Let's look at each service component more fully below.

Example 1: Basic Economic Model of Healthcare - necessary Service Components
A healthcare system is the organization by which health care is provided. From an economic perspective, healthcare may be viewed as just another product or service to be purchased by an individual, however, healthcare has many special characteristics that encourage government intervention to a greater or lesser extent:
? The provision of critical healthcare treatment is often regarded as a basic human right, regardless of whether the individual has the means to pay?and some forms of healthcare treatment cost more than a typical family's life savings.
? Healthcare professionals are obligated by law and their oaths of service to provide lifesaving treatment.
? Healthcare professionals are monopolists in various respects: surgery, gynecology, prescribing, etc.
? Consumers often lack the information or understanding to be able to choose rationally between competing healthcare providers when they need treatment, particularly in the event of the need of urgent or emergency treatment (http://www.mywiseowl.com).

Four basic service components of healthcare:

1. Method of payment for easy assess by all

-In order for a healthcare system to be complete it must have certain components. However, this depended, in part, on the health care model employed, which determines the method of payment.

- Several Healthcare systems models exist:

? Purely private enterprise healthcare systems are comparatively rare. Where they exist, it is usually for a comparatively well-off subpopulation in a poorer country with a poorer standard of healthcare-for instance, private clinics for a small, wealthy expatriate population in an otherwise poor country. But there are countries with a majority-private healthcare system with residual public service (see Medicare, Medicaid).

? The other major models are public insurance systems:

o Social security healthcare model, where workers and their families are insuranced by the State.
o Publicly funded healthcare model, where the residents of the country are insured by the State.
o Sickness insurance model, where the whole population or most of the population is a member of a sickness insurance company, which many regard as the ideal U.S. model, but which due to increasing costs is now less true than it was previously in the U.S.

In almost every country with a government health care system a parallel private system is allowed to operate, this is sometimes referred to as two-tier health care. The scale, extent, and funding of these private systems is very variable, however. The country with the least private involvement is Canada, where pride is widespread in their one-tier system of only government-provided healthcare.

In United States most people are insured through their employers. On the other hand, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a prepaid health plan. As an HMO member, you pay a monthly premium. In exchange, the HMO provides maintenance care for you and your family, including doctors' visits, hospital stays, emergency care, surgery, lab tests, x-rays, and therapy. A health maintenance organization arranges for this care either directly in its own group practice and/or through doctors and other health care professionals under contract. Usually, your choices of therapy, diagnosis, doctors and hospitals are limited to those that have agreements with the HMO to provide care. However, exceptions are made in emergencies or when obviously medically necessary.

Because HMOs receive a fixed fee for your covered medical care, it is theoretically in their interest to make sure you get basic health care for simple problems before they become serious. Often, the HMO shifts the financial risk for your care to the doctors they contract with by paying a fixed monthly payment for each patient under the doctors care. HMO coverage typically includes preventive and early detection care, such as office visits, immunizations, well-baby checkups, mammograms, and physicals. The range of services covered vary in HMOs. Some services, such as outpatient mental health care, often are provided only on a limited basis, and more costly forms of care, diagnosis, or treatment may not be not covered. (http://www.mywiseowl.com/articles/Health_Maintenance_Organizations).

2. Delivery of quality services and care and services

- The delivery of modern health care depends on an expanding group of highly trained professionals coming together as an interdisciplinary team. Individuals are called health professionals if thay participate in delivery of medical care in some way. Thus, it is a rather broad term (http://www.mywiseowl.com/articles/Healthcare_professional). Examples of medical professionals are: Medical doctors have specializations on ...