Demographic Changes That Will Affect Health Care Delivery in The Next 2 Years
Change in age, ethnicity, race, and population size can significantly affect the resources of healthcare that are needed, the costs of provided care, as well as the conditions related to each group of the population. Therefore, this condition necessitates a quick adaption from healthcare organizations in order to meet the evolving needs of the patients, while also addressing the requirements of healthcare reforms.
Americans are now capable of living longer as an individual that is born today is anticipated to attain 75 years of age, and advancements in medicine have also incremented the life expectancy of generations. Presently, the condition of the present US populace is that individuals over 65 years of age entail an increasingly large percentage of the total populace of the US. According to the World Health Organization, between 2015 and 2050, the proportions of the population of the world over sixty years of age will nearly double from 12 percent to 22 percent (2018). Extrapolationg this projection to 2022, the number of individuals with chronic disease are anticipated to increase significantly
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Embedded within this change in demographics is a considerable upsurge in the incidence and occurrence of chronic illnesses and diseases. Chronic diseases allude to illnesses that last longer than three months and are uncurable. The condition affects approximately half of the US population and according to estimations by Pew Environmental Health Commission, nearly 100 million American citizens have chronic illnesses, and this datum is anticipated to increment for the next few decades (The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st century, 2003). Therefore, this element means the typical healthcare delivery systems ought to conform to these projections as there will be an expected influx in the number of patients with chronic conditions as the present health care systems do not meet the challenges for the provision of cost-effective and clinically appropriate care for the chronically ill individuals.
How the Changes Will Affect the Health Care Delivery Systems
The present healthcare delivery system is intricate and multifaceted as it comprises of layers of processes as well as handoffs that families and patients find confusing and overwhelming and also clinicians view some of these processes as wasteful. Even though this is typically a challenge for anyone who is seeking care, the impacts are amplified, particularly for those individuals with chronic illnesses and conditions. These are some of the elements necessitated to alleviate outcomes for patients who are regularly ill (The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st century, 2003):
planned care that is based on evidence.
Restructuring and organization of present practices to satisfy the requirements of the patients that need more time, closer follow up, as well as a myriad of resources.
Systematic attention to the needs of the patients in regards to information and behavioral alterations.
Clinical expertise that can be accessed at any time and anywhere.
Information systems that are supportive.
The delivery systems presently cannot be able to deliver these elements, and recent surveys have showcased that less than half of the patients in the United States with asthma, diabetes, depression, and hypertension are receiving care that is appropriate (The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st century, 2003). The delivery of quality care to patients who are chronically ill is particularly a challenge in a fragmented and decentralized system, which is characterized by small practices. Smaller practices are inefficient in the organization of the plethora of support and services necessitated to efficaciously manage a chronic illness. Therefore, the result is poor management of the disease in conjunction with a high level of resource wastage. Therefore, as the proportions of the elderly population increments exponentially, the system-wide effects in regards to an increased disability, amalgamated with increased costs, may overwhelm the financial and human resources that are available to care for those that are chronically ill.
How the Changes Impact the Need for Changes in Technology, Laws, and Regulations
In regards to the required technological changes, the progress of improved IT and its utilization in hospitals, as well as other sections of the systems of healthcare delivery, can significantly improve the care quality. Superior information systems can also support families and patients in critical health decisions, reinforce both population-based and personal efforts in prevention, and also augment coordination with and participation in public health actions (Snyder et al., 2012). Similarly, a better information system and considerable utilization of IT can momentously improve care throughte provision of access to accurate and complete patient informatin and a myriad of data tools as well resources. Besides, the application and development of interoperable systems in conjunction with secure information sharing practices are crucial in the efforts to make the most of information technology.
Regarding the required changes in laws and regulations, there ought to be a collaboration between the government and public health agencies because their interests overlap. However, there have been minimal efforts in collaboration. When it pertains to direct laws and regulations, its strength stems from the capacity to recognize and create rights, impose penalties and obligations, and also establish institutional arrangements and permanent institutions. The government needs to regulate in order to establish a legal framework for the health system in a bid to ensure efficiency and cohesion (Clarke, 2016). The government also needs to regulate in order to advance crucial policy objectives such as the provision of universal access to health services, facilitate the utilization of technology, and encourage the equitable and efficient use of resources. These are some of the crucial changes that are required in regard to laws and regulations, especially within the context of the United States.
How the Demand and Supply of Professional and Paraprofessional workers Change
With the aging population that continues to increase, the health care system ought to be adjusted in order to cater for this emerging trend because chronic diseases necessitate a long period of treatment, which leads to the incline in demand for healthcare services and workers, both professional and paraprofessional. Professionals are required in the diagnosis as well as treatment of the chronic conditions of the aging population; therefore, demands for their services are anticipated to increase over time. Consequently, to cater for the needed supply in the healthcare industry, there ought to be a rigorous promotion of training and education of professionals in anticipation of the spike in demand. Similarly, paraprofessionals services would be on high demand considering they would part of the long-term care process since some of the significant aspects of the care process are delegated to them, including daily follow-ups, scheduling of medicines, and regular monitoring. Therefore, in both aspects of professionals and paraprofessionals, there is an anticipated increase in demand for their services and, thus, a necessary reaction to the demand by increasing the supply of their services.
Types of Public and Private Financing of Healthcare in the Future
As depicted by research for several decades now, private and public healthcare spending has significantly grown. In the US, national health expenditure is anticipated to increase at an aggregate progression of 5.6% each year until 2025 (Levishchev, 2018). Health expenditure is also expected to grow 1.2 percentage points faster compared to the GDP, and consequently, the health portion of GDP is projected to incline from 17.8% in 2015 to almost 20% by the year 2025 (Levishchev, 2018). Therefore, direct public and private healthcare spending is a robust source of financing for healthcare providers as it has been in the past. Therefore, these sources of funding will be utilized extensively in improving service delivery as well as in training and development, considering healthcare institutions are usually not-for-profit.
Another source of funding and financing would be the restructuring of local and state resources to be utilized in medical care. Future public health sections ought to be posited to forge collaborations with health care entities and to provide information that is obtained from clinical sources of data in order to determine the health predencies in their particular locations. A diminished or decreased function in direct health service conveyance by the administration’s public health could potentially free up local or state general revenue funding of public health budgets, which had previously been assigned to the delivery of care (For the Public's Health: investing in a Healthier Future, 2012). Therefore, those funds could potentially be utilized in building data capacity as well as allocating to other crucial activities like training and development. Though the savings in the delivery of clinical care could be claimed for additional services provided by the government, the redirection of the savings in order to provide supplementary resources will cater for economic and health dividends. Other plausible and potential sources of funding would be from taxes that can collectively be used to provide free healthcare for all. American legislators have been lobbying for universal healthcare, and this can be a potential and robust source of funding for healthcare.
Most Significant US LTC Policy Issues
Among the most significant policy issue in the US is in regard to acute and long-term care, which are presently seen as two different entities. Therefore, there is a need for integration of medical and long-term care. However, many fear that such a combination would mean that one sector might lose its autonomy (World Health Organization, 2003). In the United States, the integration of acute and long-term care has been dependent on the integration of social and medical care funding streams. However, this is insufficient as the successful integration necessitates a significant restructuring of the programmatic infrastructure that can be reinforced with funding approaches, but merely merging the streams of funds is not sufficient. However, one caveat to the integration process is that bringing this integration level would be difficult.
Another policy issue in regards to long term care is the insufficient apparatuses for funding long-term services and supports. The legislators ought to consider holistic alterations, which will augment how Americans will consumer these services, harmonizing private and public insurance with friend and family caregiving (Bahr, 2014). Notably, some of the changes that aid in making long-term care to be inexpensive and readily available include the enhancement of the value of the insurance of long-term care and the extension of current service-corps projects to provide support for patients.
How these Issues Affect the Role of Health Service Managers
The amalgamation of these issues should be of great concern to health service managers because it directly relates to them as their primary purpose is to get the best care for both short-term and long-term care patients. Therefore, managers should be cognizant of some of the developments within the domain of healthcare in order to stay up to date and ensure that their organization conforms to the latest laws and regulations as they keep evolving with time. Failure to follow the directions of the law may lead to ramifications, and managers should thus avoid such instances. Similarly, health service managers should also keep tabs on the impacts of demographic changes on their service delivery and accordingly formulate tentative strategies to counter them and ensure that the best care is provided for their patients. Managers should also work towards the seamless integration of long-term care into the health care service process in order to adequately cater for the needs of the patients suffering from chronic and long-term illnesses.
References
Bahr, D. (2014). Reforms to Help Meet the Growing Demand for Long-Term Care Services - Center for American Progress. Retrieved 20 August 2020, from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/healthcare/reports/2014/10/31/100040/reforms-to-help-meet-the-growing-demand-for-long-term-care-services/
Clarke, D. (2016). Law, regulation, and strategizing for health. Strategizing national health in the 21st century: a handbook. Geneva: World Health Organization.
For the Public's Health: Investing in a Healthier Future. (2012). Retrieved 20 August 2020, from https://www.nap.edu/read/13268/chapter/6
Levishchev, Y. (2018). The Future of Healthcare Financing. Retrieved 20 August 2020, from https://healthcareinamerica.us/the-future-of-healthcare-financing-9840e18c4d7b
Snyder, C. F., Wu, A. W., Miller, R. S., Jensen, R. E., Bantug, E. T., & Wolff, A. C. (2011). The role of informatics in promoting patient-centered care. Cancer Journal (Sudbury, Mass.) , 17 (4), 211.
The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st century. (2003). Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/10548/chapter/7
World Health Organization. (2003). Key policy issues in long-term care . World Health Organization.
World Health Organization. (2018). Ageing and health. Retrieved 20 August 2020, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health
