Maryland is one of the states which has focused its efforts on enhancing the quality of healthcare for its residents. Part of its greatest initiatives involves the incorporation of an all-payer progress model which was first adopted in 2011. Other initiatives comprise of, the enhancement of approaches for treating and managing chronic illnesses, and continuous support of patients after being discharged from hospitals. Also, public and private partnerships have been formed in a bid to expand the state`s healthcare infrastructure. High medical costs, prescription drug abuse and legalization of recreational marijuana are currently, Maryland`s greatest healthcare challenges.
Lawmakers in Maryland have formed a taskforce to review the cost of healthcare. The all-payer system is utilized by healthcare facilities in Maryland in order to minimize costs. It works in a manner such that equitable prices are set for all hospitals by the government and insurance entities. Besides, the model is expected to make it impossible for hospitals and care facilities to escalate prices. An analysis of the model, nevertheless demonstrated that no direct costs were minimized, hence, posing a challenge for savings targets to be attained. In order to manage the costs, the state should push for insurance rates to be lowered and issue a mandate for every resident to possess insurance; failure to which a penalty will be imposed.
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The abuse of prescription drugs is one of the problems that healthcare facilities in Maryland have been grappling with. The seriousness of this issue was first noted between 2004 and 2009 when 98.4 percent of the emergency visits in Maryland`s hospitals was caused by the abuse of prescription drugs ( Cyr et al., 2019 ). Since then, the problem has consistently intensified. In order to cope with the challenge, Maryland should reinforce the database meant to monitor the use of prescription drugs. The incentive can be achieved by requiring the collection of patient records from authorized pharmacists and other practitioners. Likewise, individuals with a substance abuse problem should be rehabilitated and, necessary precautions taken to prevent them from accessing the drugs. For instance, a detailed record of such individuals should be made accessible to pharmacists to ensure that they do not sell the prescription drugs to them.
Despite the many attempts made to prevent the introduction of medical marijuana, it still managed to find its way into Maryland. Notwithstanding the numerous compliments that medicinal marijuana has received, it is wreaking havoc to Maryland`s healthcare system. For instance, some people especially those suffering from chronic ailments opt for marijuana as opposed to the recommended drugs, hence, making it difficult for physicians to contain their medical problems (Mullins et al., 2018) . Also, marijuana causes lack of coordination, therefore, increasing the incidence of accidents occurring. Like most of the drugs, marijuana also tends to be addictive leaving the victim hooked. Besides, it increases chances for the casualty to abuse other hard drugs, hence, devaluing the efforts being made to contain serious medical conditions. An effective way of aiding in its containment is by instituting regulations requiring it to be taken only if prescribed by a qualified health professional.
To sum it up, high medical costs, prescription drug abuse and legalization of recreational marijuana are Maryland`s greatest healthcare challenges. High costs can be managed by pushing for insurance rates to be lowered. The database meant to monitor the use of prescription drugs should also be monitored to prevent abuse of prescription medication. Moreover, in order to contain misuse of medical marijuana, prescriptions can be introduced. With the adoption of such initiatives, it is likely that Maryland will effectively tackle the challenges affecting its healthcare system.
References
Cyr, M. E., Etchin, A. G., Guthrie, B. J., & Benneyan, J. C. (2019). Access to specialty healthcare in urban versus rural US populations: a systematic literature review. BMC health services research , 19 (1), 1-17.
Mullins, C. D., Wingate, L. M. T., Edwards, H. A., Tofade, T., & Wutoh, A. (2018). Transitioning from learning healthcare systems to learning health care communities. Journal of comparative effectiveness research , 7 (6), 603-614.
