What Consists of a Health Care Team? Essay Example

A health care treatment team must be well diversified, so that the patients of the workers get the best treatment possible. There are several categories of health care careers that constitute a health care team. Primary care physicians, nurses, partners and associates, a rehab team and occupational therapists, a variety of assistants and aides, as well as administrative members. Just like a sports team or any other team, if a health care team does not all work together, they will not succeed. Unfortunately in the health care profession, unlike in sports, peoples lives are on the line on a daily basis relying on the teams ability to communicate effectively and treat the patients properly.

A health care team typically consists of a primary care physician, a nurse, a variety of therapists and counselors (speech therapists, occupational therapists and psychological counselors), partners and associates of the hospital or health care treatment center, a wide variety of assistants and aides, and the administration that handles all of the paperwork and behind the scenes processing.

Health care management professionals need to serve as planners, chief executives, administrators and managers in institutions that handle the health of men and women. The need for a professionally run health care system that runs smoothly and efficiently is a much needed necessity. If one part of the chain within the healthcare system is weak, the entire chain falls apart and the patients are the people who suffer- that is why proper training, management and operation within a health care team is so crucial.

There are many ways to make sure a health care team is capable of fulfilling their necessary duties. Unfortunately, many health care treatment centers fail to make sure that all of the individual members live up to all of their employment obligations. When a hospital or health care center fails to monitor the entire organization properly and fails to run the organization properly, major problems can arise.

“The past decade has brought a growing public realization in many countries that health care facilities are often dangerous places. Reports published in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada have focused public and policy attention on the safety of patients and have highlighted the alarmingly high incidence of errors and adverse events that lead to some kind of harm or injury.^” (Donaldson, 2010)

Health care organizations and systems are beginning to both see and implement ideas, models, and techniques from safety science. All of which were developed and have long been applied in other industrial and commercial settings where both safety and reliability are critical concerns- much like the health care industry.

By implementing new ideas and techniques, constantly changing to the new and changing health care environment and managing the health care team at every single level, hospitals and health care institutions can begin to change their reputation and start working more efficiently and effectively. The health care industry is a constantly changing industry, understanding this is crucial to managing a health care team properly.

References:

L.T. Kohn, J.M. Corrigan, and M.S. Donaldson, eds., To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System (Washington: National Academies Press) Web. 08 June 2013.

Quinn, Kathy, RN. “Health Care Careers.” Health Care Roles Defined. NetPlaces, n.d. Web. 08 June 2013. <http://www.netplaces.com/health-care-careers/the-growing-opportunities-in-health-care/health-care-roles-defined.htm>.

Bovbjerg, Randall R. “State and Federal Roles in HealthCare.” University of Pennsylvania. Wharton Press, n.d. Web. 8 June 2013. <http://assets.wharton.upenn.edu/~housman/files/UrbanInstitute.pdf>.

Ferguson, Chris, JD. “State Roles in Healthcare.” George Washington Universty Department of Health, n.d. Web. 8 June 2013. <http://www.ltgov.state.ri.us/healthyri/meeting3presentation.pdf>.