What Is Value in Health Care? Coursework Example

Introduction

The United States’ healthcare system is in a position to achieve significant growth; however, consistency in quality of care and access to treatment remain critical concerns. Therefore, technology utilization in healthcare systems and electronic health records are two areas where quality and access may improve over time (Black et.al, 2011). Furthermore, these efforts may contribute to a reduction in healthcare cost over time that is instrumental to making improvements to the system (James & Savitz, 2011). Healthcare must provide the best possible value for patients and also improve quality at the same time, and this reflects the importance of new strategies to address key priorities in a cost effective manner to promote greater value to patients (Porter, 2010).

Analysis

Organizations must demonstrate a high degree of focus on the cost of specific healthcare services and the benefits that they provide in order to minimize waste and other inefficiencies that impact the bottom line (Owens et.al, 2011). Therefore, all services must be closely evaluated in order to determine when services are necessary versus those that could be minimized to improve overall quality and reduce cost (Owens et.al, 2011). It is necessary to establish lean processes that will improve processes and provide patients with a higher quality healthcare experience (Radnor et.al, 2012).  Finally, reforms throughout the healthcare system require a balance between cost efficiency and improved quality to prevent compromises in patient health and wellbeing (Orszag & Emanuel, 2010).

Conclusion

Healthcare organizations in the United States must continue to learn lessons from the past and present and gain valuable experience in promoting improvements in quality of care for all patients. This requires a delicate balance between different focus areas that will encourage cost effectiveness, while also considering how to best improve healthcare quality by minimizing waste and unnecessary procedures. This practice will encourage organizations to focus on quality and cost efficiency in a simultaneous manner in order to protect patients and improve their overall health.

References

Black, A. D., Car, J., Pagliari, C., Anandan, C., Cresswell, K., Bokun, T., … & Sheikh, A. (2011). The impact of eHealth on the quality and safety of health care: a systematic `overview. PLoS medicine, 8(1), e1000387.

James, B. C., & Savitz, L. A. (2011). How Intermountain trimmed health care costs through robust quality improvement efforts. Health Affairs, 30(6), 1185-1191.

Orszag, P. R., & Emanuel, E. J. (2010). Health care reform and cost control. New England Journal of Medicine, 363(7), 601-603.

Owens, D. K., Qaseem, A., Chou, R., & Shekelle, P. (2011). High-value, cost-conscious health care: concepts for clinicians to evaluate the benefits, harms, and costs of medical interventions. Annals of internal medicine, 154(3), 174-180.

Porter, M. E. (2010). What is value in health care?. New England Journal of Medicine, 363(26), 2477-2481.

Radnor, Z. J., Holweg, M., & Waring, J. (2012). Lean in healthcare: the unfilled promise?. Social Science & Medicine, 74(3), 364-371.