Managing Health Care Organizations, Term Paper Example

Key roles of public health organizations

The key roles of public health organizations involve essential functions, which refer to crucial set of actions that are fundamental in the achievement of public health goals. The public health goal is to protect, improve, promote, and restore the population’s health through collective action. There are many key roles or functions of public health organizations (Douglas et al. 2006). Public health organizations carry out monitoring of the status of health to identify and solve the problems of community health. This service includes statewide health status assessment, use of appropriate methods and technology, attention to vital statistics and a groups’ health status, accurate, periodic assessment of the community’s health status amongst other activities. A second role of public health organizations involves diagnosing and investigating community health hazards and health problems. This service includes epidemiological investigations of disease outbreaks, population based screening and active infectious disease epidemiology programs amongst others. A third role involves educating and empowering people on issues of health. This service includes health education, information and health promotional activities for the local, state and governance assessments. Also, included, are health communication activities and plans such as social marketing and media advocacy.

A fourth role of the public health organizations involves mobilizing community partnerships for identification and providing solutions to health problems. The service includes identification of potential stakeholders contributing or benefiting from public health in the governance, state and local assessments (Douglas et al. 2006). Another role involves the development of plans and policies to support community and individual health efforts. In this case, we have aspects such as development of codes, legislation, regulations, rules, ordinances amongst other policies. Public health organizations also work in enforcing laws and regulations, which ensure safety and protect the health. The organizations provide a link to essential personal health services and facilitate health care provision in cases where it is unavailable.

Reference

Douglas, S., Laura Hall, (., & Carol L., I. (2006). The public and public health organizations: Issues for community engagement in public health. Health Policy, 7776-85. doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2005.07.021

Addressing nonclinical technologies such data management systems in public health

Public health organizations need well-designed IT systems to facilitate easy handling of health-related data. The lack of these crucial systems in the organizations has led to poor management and inappropriate decisions (Debra et al. 2007). In order to address this problem in public health organizations, there should be provision of IT systems in the work place. There are crucial design considerations that I would consider in the development of information systems. These include population-based application and service-based objectives, data sources, analysis, technology selection, data linkage methods, information privacy sections and integration strategies. I would work to ensure the introduction of a Health Information System for the human resources and the financial section. The system should also support research work and analysis of crucial data for decision-making.

Linkages between nonclinical and clinical systems

The linkage between Health Information Systems and clinical systems is evident in the following:

1. Health information systems support the risk factor surveillance and epidemiologic disease objectives
2. It supports the objectives for public health and medical outcomes assessment
3. It supports evaluation and planning of programs
4. It supports demand estimation and utilization analysis
5. Some health systems facilitate diagnosis of diseases
6. Health information systems also support clinical research
7. Health information systems facilitate the objective of health information and health education dissemination. Health information systems also enhance performance and health assurance measurement objectives of public health systems (Debra et al. 2007).

Reference

Debra Revere (a, b., Anne M. Turner (a, d., Ann Madhavan (b, c., Neil Rambo (a, b., Paul F. Bugni (a, b., AnnMarie Kimball (a, d., & Sherrilynne S. Fuller (a, b. (2007). Understanding the information needs of public health practitioners: A literature review to inform design of an interactive digital knowledge management system. Journal Of Biomedical Informatics, 40(Public Health Informatics), 410-421. doi:10.1016/j.jbi.2006.12.008

Professional code of ethics in public health

Ethics refers to a code of behavior and thinking which is subject to a combination of personal, legal, a moral and moral standard about what is right (Thomas et al. 2005). The code of ethics in public health reflects key principles of the public health ethical practice. The code has a statement accompanying and listing inherent beliefs and values to a perspective of public health on which ethical principles find a basis. The principles of public health ethical practice include the one that advocates for public health addressing requirements for health and the fundamental causes of diseases amongst other principles. Ethical behavior brings some advantages, in addition to being the right, thing to do. A consistent, ethical behavior in a public health organization is capable of leading to an effective program.

Enforcement of the code of ethics

In the public health organizations, making enforcement meaningful is a crucial thing to make service delivery a success. This entails the involvement of everyone working in the public health organization. The administration of public health organization should formulate laws applicable to certain positions or professions. The organization should expect the concerned people to observe the code once in place (Thomas et al. 2005). The concerned people may include medical professionals such as doctors, mental health professionals, clergy, social workers, educators, public officials, mediators, lawyers and paralegals amongst others.

It is not necessary that a profession practice “policing” of its standards. This is because a well-established code of ethics in public health can serve to address all those who work in the community intervention programs. Every worker has known what the organization expects of him or her in the day-to-day activities. Therefore, rather than policing, the profession should learn to integrate ethics in its practice to realize a success in the community health interventions.

Reference

Thomas, J., Irwin, D., Zuiker, E., & Millikan, R. (2005). Health policy and ethics. Genomics and the public health code of ethics. American Journal Of Public Health, 95(12), 2139-2143. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2005.066878

References

Debra Revere (a, b., Anne M. Turner (a, d., Ann Madhavan (b, c., Neil Rambo (a, b., Paul F. Bugni (a, b., AnnMarie Kimball (a, d., & Sherrilynne S. Fuller (a, b. (2007). Understanding the information needs of public health practitioners: A literature review to inform design of an interactive digital knowledge management system. Journal Of Biomedical Informatics, 40(Public Health Informatics), 410-421. doi:10.1016/j.jbi.2006.12.008

Douglas, S., Laura Hall, (., & Carol L., I. (2006). The public and public health organizations: Issues for community engagement in public health. Health Policy, 7776-85. doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2005.07.021

Thomas, J., Irwin, D., Zuiker, E., & Millikan, R. (2005). Health policy and ethics. Genomics and the public health code of ethics. American Journal Of Public Health, 95(12), 2139-2143. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2005.066878