US health care system is the expensive among the most of the countries. Though the spending of the nation is highest when compared to other countries, the life expectancy rates, mortality rate etc are not desirable. The strengths of the US Health Care System – 1) The nation is one of the leading in terms of medical technology and innovation .2) It is also one of the best in terms of research and development. (R&D).3) High quality care by using advanced technology by trained professionals (Doctors). i.e., it offers treatment for the rare diseases. The weaknesses are 1) Health care is the expensive and not affordable by all people, the main reason is due to heavy administrative burdens. Though the spending is more, it has fewer health outcomes with no central controlling, less efficiency and low access to health care2) low emphasis on preventive measures when focused can improve the efficiency as well as the health outcomes.3) No universal coverage (Insurance) and mostly dominated by lobbyists, Insurance companies, providers and it is not patient centred though efforts are being made. The opportunities of US Health care system include 1) The rise of consumerism (Barbo.D et., al. 2018, Becker review). 2) The use of health information which helps in integrating and coordinating the services as well as organizations.3) The changing of revenue methods based on the metrics of the care delivered to the patients and improving access to health care. The threats of the US health care system include. 1) Role of technology 2) Cyber-attacks and data breach 3) The rise of health care infections.
The opportunities of the healthcare include the rise of consumerism which is involvement of patients/consumers in decision making. The patients engaging in decisions can lead to improving the access to health care, affordability as the costs are monitored with increased quality and transparency. Earlier, people found it difficult in knowing the costs, what service is covered in their insurance but now they are now willing to take a step forward and ultimately this change would be beneficial in long run as the involvement of technology (digital apps) and patient engagement can provide the opportunity in achieving the triple aim goal – access to the care, quality and cost. Secondly, a sophisticated health information will improve the monitoring of public health and with this the providers, insurance companies, different organizations and government will be able to connect and coordinate the care and services and also have scope in detecting the health risks and act accordingly in providing the support. Thus, better information of clinical data among will provide the opportunity in disease surveillance. Lastly, the change of reimbursement methods from volume to value based provides an opportunity for accessing the quality health care. Though the change is overdue, it will be the milestone as it will change the entire delivery of care with low cost and function more efficiently.
The threats of US Health care system – The increased expenditures in the USA is mainly due to the medical technology, a leading contributor for the expensive healthcare. Through technology and innovations, many advancements in medicine are achieved and made possible. On the other hand, technology poses threats to patient safety like radiation therapy exposures etc. The other aspect is cyber risk and data breach which is a threat to the organization’s brand name, as well as individual’s privacy specially the data stolen from the organization may paralyze the health care system. For example, Peach tree Neurological clinic, Atlanta reported about 175000 patient data were affected by data breach. When organizations face cyber risks, it could affect whole system such as operations and it may lead to shutting down the urgent operations. Thirdly, the healthcare associated infections are a major threat to US Health care. According to the data provided by CDC, approximately 1.7 million people are affected by healthcare infections which is resulting 99000 deaths and a burden of $20 billions of health cost is levied and 5 to 10 % of hospitalized persons are affected by health care associated infections. The main infection is caused by catheter associated infection.
References
Barbo, D., Meindl, J., & Winston Smart. (n.d.). Opportunities and threats facing hospitals and health systems. from https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-transactions-and-valuation/opportunities-and-threats-facing-hospitals-and-health-systems.html
Kaplan, Robert S. PhD; Witkowski, Mary; . (2014, November). Using Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing to Identify Value: Journal of Healthcare Management. From https://journals.lww.com/jhmonline/Fulltext/2014/11000/Using_Time_Driven_Activity_Based_Costing_to.5.aspx